Congressional
Fellowships
on Women and Public Policy
Class
of 2006
These
seven remarkable women are already making a difference as WREI Fellows
on Capitol Hill.
Jacqueline
Ayers works in the office of Congressman Robert Scott (D-VA) on issues
before the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
as well as on health, labor, and women's issues. She previously served
as the Associate Director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, where
she was responsible for legislative advocacy, public education, and development.
During her time with ICLU, Jacqueline coordinated several public education
campaigns on racial profiling and also taught constitutional rights and
civic participation to recent immigrants and at-risk youth. In 2000, she
received her B.A. in mass communications and government from Western Kentucky
University and then in 2004, her juris doctorate from the Indiana University
School of Law-Indianapolis. Jacqueline is admitted to practice law in
the State of Indiana, and before the United States District Courts for
the Southern Districts of Indiana. While in law school, Jacqueline spent
a summer in Accra, Ghana, working on various human rights issues and community
mobilization. Her volunteer efforts include advocating for Planned Parenthood
of Indiana on women's reproductive rights. A member of the Marion County
Bar Association, an organization that supports minority attorneys in Indianapolis,
Jacqueline also tutored low income high school students and encouraged
them to attend college.
Berre
Burch is a fellow in the office of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy
of Rhode Island working on mental health policy. Previously, Berre was
a child and adolescent forensic interviewer at Safe Shores: The DC Children's
Advocacy Center, where she conducted interviews with child and adolescent
victims of violent crimes in Washington, DC. Working with investigators
and prosecutors, she and her colleagues promoted collaboration between
civil and criminal investigations. Berre received her master's in Art
Therapy from the George Washington University. While at GWU, she had the
opportunity to work in a variety of mental health settings, including
an elementary school for children with severe emotional disturbances and
Walter Reed Hospital's adult inpatient psychiatric ward. As part of her
work for the Department of the Army, Berre also had the rare and rewarding
experience of working at the Pentagon Family Relief Center providing support
and services to the family members who lost loved ones in the terrorist
attacks of September 11th. She has presented papers at national conferences
on art therapy and trauma. An Arkansas native, Berre completed her BA
at Hendrix College, a liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas
Jill
Feldstein covers education policy in the office of Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA). She has spent the last few years working in the areas of community
organizing, voter mobilization, and electoral politics, bouncing back
and forth between the U.S. and Latin America. She spent last summer in
Mexico, interviewing state congresswomen and party leaders on the role
of gender in the candidate nomination and selection process. The previous
year, she served as deputy director of a Get-Out-the-Vote effort in Washington
State, where she helped mobilize more than 100,000 low-income voters for
the 2004 presidential election. In 2002-2003, Jill used a Fulbright grant
to train local activists on the principles of community organizing and
to conduct an evaluation of a women's reproductive health advocacy project
in the Andes. Jill holds dual Master of Arts degrees in Public Affairs
and Urban and Regional Planning from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton
University and BAs in Economics and Political Science from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Heidi
Hollonbeck double majored in Global Studies and Political Science
at the University of Iowa, graduating with honors. After graduation, she
joined the Peace Corps and was sent to French-speaking Cote d'Ivoire in
West Africa. The first two years of her service were spent in a rural
village building a maternity ward. She also served on the Women in Development
(WID) Committee and helped coordinate the WID Scholarship Program. Heidi
extended her Peace Corps service for a third year to be the coordinator
of the WID committee and the HIV/AIDS committee. Heidi expanded the scholarship
program and planned a four-day "Take Our Daughters to Work" seminar for
scholarship recipients. She also organized a seminar to train fellow Volunteers
how to teach about HIV/AIDS in their villages, including country specific
teaching tools and resources. Next, Heidi went to Japan to teach English
for two years. She was employed by a Japanese school board to teach at
three junior high and three elementary schools. She took advantage of
this opportunity to study the Japanese language, as well as the arts of
calligraphy and kendo. Upon returning to the US, Heidi enrolled in the
MBA program at St. Ambrose University, with a concentration in international
business. Heidi is working in the office of Congresswoman Betty McCollum.
She is working on the Global Health Caucus and focusing on the issues
affecting women and children around the world.
Leslie
Greenberg is working as a health policy fellow on Senator Barbara
Mikulski's Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging. Leslie is a
registered nurse. She went into nursing to help people, but became attracted
to health policy after observing the positive and negative effects of
national programs on local patients, doctors, and hospitals. As an oncology
research nurse at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC, Leslie coordinated
the clinical, financial, and operational aspects of clinical trials. Leslie
also worked with community oncologists to promote research and oncology
services for cancer patients in the metropolitan Washington DC area. In
2004, she earned a Master's of Nursing/Health Policy from the University
of Maryland at Baltimore with an Advanced Certificate of Health and Public
Policy from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. During the spring
of 2004, Leslie interned in the Government Affairs office of the American
Nurses' Association, working on federal and state policy and grassroots
lobbying. She has also been very active with the Oncology Nursing Society.
Leslie participated in the 2005 One Voice Against Cancer lobby day, to
raise support for increased funding for cancer research and programs.
Savannah
Lengsfelder recently received her Master's in International Governance
and Development from the Institute of Development Studies in the United
Kingdom. Her dissertation on the human rights responsibilities of transnational
corporations was the culmination of five years of study and research in
Guanajuato, Mexico; Valparaiso, Chile; Sevilla, Spain; the Hauge, the
Netherlands; Pretoria, South Africa; and Brighton, England. In England,
Savannah founded Advocates for Informed Democracy, a forum for student/faculty/policymaker
debates on international affairs. A graduate of Stanford University in
her native California, Savannah studied International Relations and Economics
and minored in Latin American Studies and Spanish. At Stanford, she helped
form Volunteers in Latin American, which funds summer trips for students
to serve in an Ecuadorian children's shelter. She was also vice president
of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Savannah has interned at the U.S. Treasury
Department's Office of Development Policy, for a Californian Congresswoman,
and at an international humanitarian aid NGO, and recently fulfilled a
Fellowship working on human rights law at the University of Pretoria's
Centre for Human Rights. Savannah is drawing upon all of these interests
and experiences in her work for Congressman Adam Schiff (D - CA, 29th
District), where she is responsible for issues relating to human rights,
democracy-promotion, international development and security, Latin America,
Africa, trade, Latinos, and the environment.
Anthea
Watson accepted placement on the staff of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY),
and will focus on women's issues, including access to reproductive health
services and the Equal Rights Amendment. Anthea graduated from Boston
University School of Law in May, where she was the articles editor for
the Boston University International Law Journal. During law school, she
spent time studying the effect domestic tax policy has on women's economic
choices. Anthea hopes to publish her paper, "Examining the Gender Bias
in the Tax Code," this year. While at BU, Anthea volunteered with the
Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and the Women's Bar Association legislative
policy committee. Prior to law school, she worked as a research assistant
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington,
DC, where she researched the peace-building efforts of women in Ireland
and Serbia. A former champion at synchronized swimming, Anthea enjoys
any excuse to get in the water and swims with a D.C. area master's swimming
team.
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Jacqueline
Ayers works in the office of Congressman Robert Scott (D-VA) on issues
before the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
as well as on health, labor, and women's issues. She previously served
as the Associate Director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, where
she was responsible for legislative advocacy, public education, and development.
During her time with ICLU, Jacqueline coordinated several public education
campaigns on racial profiling and also taught constitutional rights and
civic participation to recent immigrants and at-risk youth. In 2000, she
received her B.A. in mass communications and government from Western Kentucky
University and then in 2004, her juris doctorate from the Indiana University
School of Law-Indianapolis. Jacqueline is admitted to practice law in
the State of Indiana, and before the United States District Courts for
the Southern Districts of Indiana. While in law school, Jacqueline spent
a summer in Accra, Ghana, working on various human rights issues and community
mobilization. Her volunteer efforts include advocating for Planned Parenthood
of Indiana on women's reproductive rights. A member of the Marion County
Bar Association, an organization that supports minority attorneys in Indianapolis,
Jacqueline also tutored low income high school students and encouraged
them to attend college.
Berre
Burch is a fellow in the office of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy
of Rhode Island working on mental health policy. Previously, Berre was
a child and adolescent forensic interviewer at Safe Shores: The DC Children's
Advocacy Center, where she conducted interviews with child and adolescent
victims of violent crimes in Washington, DC. Working with investigators
and prosecutors, she and her colleagues promoted collaboration between
civil and criminal investigations. Berre received her master's in Art
Therapy from the George Washington University. While at GWU, she had the
opportunity to work in a variety of mental health settings, including
an elementary school for children with severe emotional disturbances and
Walter Reed Hospital's adult inpatient psychiatric ward. As part of her
work for the Department of the Army, Berre also had the rare and rewarding
experience of working at the Pentagon Family Relief Center providing support
and services to the family members who lost loved ones in the terrorist
attacks of September 11th. She has presented papers at national conferences
on art therapy and trauma. An Arkansas native, Berre completed her BA
at Hendrix College, a liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas
Jill
Feldstein covers education policy in the office of Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA). She has spent the last few years working in the areas of community
organizing, voter mobilization, and electoral politics, bouncing back
and forth between the U.S. and Latin America. She spent last summer in
Mexico, interviewing state congresswomen and party leaders on the role
of gender in the candidate nomination and selection process. The previous
year, she served as deputy director of a Get-Out-the-Vote effort in Washington
State, where she helped mobilize more than 100,000 low-income voters for
the 2004 presidential election. In 2002-2003, Jill used a Fulbright grant
to train local activists on the principles of community organizing and
to conduct an evaluation of a women's reproductive health advocacy project
in the Andes. Jill holds dual Master of Arts degrees in Public Affairs
and Urban and Regional Planning from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton
University and BAs in Economics and Political Science from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Heidi
Hollonbeck double majored in Global Studies and Political Science
at the University of Iowa, graduating with honors. After graduation, she
joined the Peace Corps and was sent to French-speaking Cote d'Ivoire in
West Africa. The first two years of her service were spent in a rural
village building a maternity ward. She also served on the Women in Development
(WID) Committee and helped coordinate the WID Scholarship Program. Heidi
extended her Peace Corps service for a third year to be the coordinator
of the WID committee and the HIV/AIDS committee. Heidi expanded the scholarship
program and planned a four-day "Take Our Daughters to Work" seminar for
scholarship recipients. She also organized a seminar to train fellow Volunteers
how to teach about HIV/AIDS in their villages, including country specific
teaching tools and resources. Next, Heidi went to Japan to teach English
for two years. She was employed by a Japanese school board to teach at
three junior high and three elementary schools. She took advantage of
this opportunity to study the Japanese language, as well as the arts of
calligraphy and kendo. Upon returning to the US, Heidi enrolled in the
MBA program at St. Ambrose University, with a concentration in international
business. Heidi is working in the office of Congresswoman Betty McCollum.
She is working on the Global Health Caucus and focusing on the issues
affecting women and children around the world.
Leslie
Greenberg is working as a health policy fellow on Senator Barbara
Mikulski's Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging. Leslie is a
registered nurse. She went into nursing to help people, but became attracted
to health policy after observing the positive and negative effects of
national programs on local patients, doctors, and hospitals. As an oncology
research nurse at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC, Leslie coordinated
the clinical, financial, and operational aspects of clinical trials. Leslie
also worked with community oncologists to promote research and oncology
services for cancer patients in the metropolitan Washington DC area. In
2004, she earned a Master's of Nursing/Health Policy from the University
of Maryland at Baltimore with an Advanced Certificate of Health and Public
Policy from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. During the spring
of 2004, Leslie interned in the Government Affairs office of the American
Nurses' Association, working on federal and state policy and grassroots
lobbying. She has also been very active with the Oncology Nursing Society.
Leslie participated in the 2005 One Voice Against Cancer lobby day, to
raise support for increased funding for cancer research and programs.
Savannah
Lengsfelder recently received her Master's in International Governance
and Development from the Institute of Development Studies in the United
Kingdom. Her dissertation on the human rights responsibilities of transnational
corporations was the culmination of five years of study and research in
Guanajuato, Mexico; Valparaiso, Chile; Sevilla, Spain; the Hauge, the
Netherlands; Pretoria, South Africa; and Brighton, England. In England,
Savannah founded Advocates for Informed Democracy, a forum for student/faculty/policymaker
debates on international affairs. A graduate of Stanford University in
her native California, Savannah studied International Relations and Economics
and minored in Latin American Studies and Spanish. At Stanford, she helped
form Volunteers in Latin American, which funds summer trips for students
to serve in an Ecuadorian children's shelter. She was also vice president
of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Savannah has interned at the U.S. Treasury
Department's Office of Development Policy, for a Californian Congresswoman,
and at an international humanitarian aid NGO, and recently fulfilled a
Fellowship working on human rights law at the University of Pretoria's
Centre for Human Rights. Savannah is drawing upon all of these interests
and experiences in her work for Congressman Adam Schiff (D - CA, 29th
District), where she is responsible for issues relating to human rights,
democracy-promotion, international development and security, Latin America,
Africa, trade, Latinos, and the environment.
Anthea
Watson accepted placement on the staff of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY),
and will focus on women's issues, including access to reproductive health
services and the Equal Rights Amendment. Anthea graduated from Boston
University School of Law in May, where she was the articles editor for
the Boston University International Law Journal. During law school, she
spent time studying the effect domestic tax policy has on women's economic
choices. Anthea hopes to publish her paper, "Examining the Gender Bias
in the Tax Code," this year. While at BU, Anthea volunteered with the
Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and the Women's Bar Association legislative
policy committee. Prior to law school, she worked as a research assistant
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington,
DC, where she researched the peace-building efforts of women in Ireland
and Serbia. A former champion at synchronized swimming, Anthea enjoys
any excuse to get in the water and swims with a D.C. area master's swimming
team.