Women as Leaders and Agents of Change:
A Panel Discussion on Women in Public Affairs
RSVP here.
Location: 1957 E St. NW, Room 113
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2014
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Women in Public Affairs at GW (WIPA) is hosting a panel discussion on women as influencers and agents of change within the public affairs field. A panel of inspiring women leaders working in various industries will discuss the importance of women in public affairs, specific barriers to advancement, and strategies for success in a highly competitive and growing field. After the discussion and a brief Q&A session, join fellow attendees and panelists for a networking reception with light refreshments. The event is free and open to the GW community. RSVP here.
Moderator
Christina Bellantoni
Editor-in-Chief Roll Call Christina Bellantoni is an award-winning journalist with unsurpassed knowledge of local and national politics. She is the editor-in-chief Roll Call, the esteemed Capitol Hill newspaper read by members of Congress since 1955. She is in charge of a 24-person staff, and writes a column called "Newsroom Confidential" in addition to growing Roll Call's print and digital platforms. You may have seen her on CNN, MSNBC or Fox News, or appearing on PBS in her previous job as the political editor of the NewsHour. Bellantoni took over Roll Call after her successful run at directing coverage of the White House, Congress, political campaigns, and serving as an on-air political analyst. During the 2012 Democratic and Republican national conventions, her team broadcast more than 31 hours of coverage, including a 24-hour livestream. Bellantoni has been covering presidential elections, Congress and national political trends since arriving in Washington in 2003. She worked as a senior political reporter in Talking Points Memo's D.C. bureau, covering the White House, and also worked for The Washington Times. During the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign, she traveled through 26 states and Europe with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. She was a fall 2011 fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and plays on the Bad News Babes, the media team in the annual Congressional Women's Softball Game. Bellantoni began her journalism career in 1998 writing about technology and business in her home state of California. |
Panelists
Hannah Kim
Press Secretary U.S. Representative Charles Rangel Hannah Y. Kim is currently the communications director for Congressman Charles B. Rangel who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1971. She chairs the 10-elected-member Board of Democratic Communicators Network made up of congressional press aides in both chambers and the administration. As founder of Remember727, she spearheaded the historic passage of the Korean War Veterans Recognition Act (U.S. Public Law 111-41), which was enacted by President Barack Obama on July 27, 2009. Growing up in Los Angeles, California, and envisioning herself as an ambassadress between the United States and Korea, Hannah graduated early from high school to attend the Seoul National University, where she eventually earned a bachelor’s in literature. Upon returning home to the United States, she obtained a master’s in legislative affairs at the George Washington University as well as graduate certificates in entrepreneurship at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and international relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Hannah's experiences include working for the United States Institute of Peace and Peace Corps Headquarters in D.C., in addition to being a published author and CEO of a start-up company in Los Angeles. She remains passionate about all things related to the Korean War, public service, lifetime learning and fitness. |
Anna Tunkel
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives APCO Worldwide Anna Tunkel, director, leads strategic initiatives for the office of the founder & CEO at APCO Worldwide and is based in APCO’s Boston office. Ms. Tunkel leads numerous innovation initiatives and external partnerships for the company, focusing on key industries represented by APCO’s global clients, including energy and renewables, clean technology, telecommunications and financial services. Ms. Tunkel oversees global projects, counseling multinational clients on a broad gamut of public affairs and communications issues, public-private partnerships, government relations, market entry and global reputation-building strategy with a focus on emerging markets. She also manages APCO’s partnership with the World Economic Forum and other strategic relationships for the firm. She works closely with APCO’s distinguished International Advisory Council (IAC) and Global Political Strategy (GPS) groups. In her previous positions at APCO, Ms. Tunkel served as an associate director in Shanghai, managing a number of projects with Chinese multinational firms, an emerging market sovereign wealth fund and several global companies seeking expansion in China. She also worked in Washington, D.C., on a variety of business development and special projects for the firm, spanning APCO’s offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining APCO in 2005, Ms. Tunkel worked for the Division of External Relations at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, as well as Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and an Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign in Israel. Ms. Tunkel received a Master of Science with academic distinction from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and the Landegger Honors Certificate in international business diplomacy. She was named one of the 99 most influential foreign policy leaders under the age of 33 by the Diplomatic Courier and is an alumna of the Bucerius Global Governance Leadership program. Raised and schooled in Russia, Israel and India, she is fluent in Hebrew, Russian, English and Spanish and maintains a working knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. |
Dr. Frances Colon
Deputy Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary of State U.S. Department of State Dr. Frances Colón is the Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State at the U.S. Department of State where she promotes integration of science and technology into foreign policy dialogues; global scientific engagement for capacity-building; advancement of women in science; and innovation as a tool for economic growth around the world. In her time at STAS, Dr. Colón has overseen the creation of the Networks of Diasporas in Engineering and Science (NODES) initiative in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Sciences. NODES seeks to empower diasporas with science and engineering expertise to develop and influence effective policies and solve challenges in their countries of origin. Previously, Dr. Colón served the U.S. Department of State as the Science and Environment Adviser at the Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau where she was responsible for providing technical advice on how environmental and scientific issues affected foreign policy objectives in the Americas. During that time, Dr. Colón coordinated climate change policy for the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas announced by President Obama in 2009. As a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow (2006-2008), Dr. Colón led a program for Muslim world outreach through K-12 science and math education cooperation. Dr. Colón earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2004 from Brandeis University by studying Peripheral Nervous System development in mammals. She earned her B.S. in Biology in 1997 from the University of Puerto Rico where her passion for science was sparked as an undergraduate researcher. |
Gigi Scoles
Director of Human Rights Vital Voices Ms. Scoles joined Vital Voices Global Partnership in the fall of 2013 as the Director of Human Rights, where she develops and implements programs for and with foreign leaders on issues involving gender based violence, human trafficking, harmful traditional practices, sexual assault and domestic violence. Prior to joining Vital Voices, she spent more than 8 years as an Assistant Prosecutor at the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in Newark, New Jersey, where she spent the majority of her tenure assigned to the Special Victims Unit. She has been active on issues involving the abuse of women and children, developing an expertise in policy issues involving human trafficking and sexual assault. In 2009, Ms. Scoles was selected by the U.S. Department of Justice to serve as the intermittent legal advisor to Djibouti on Human Trafficking from November 2009 to June 2012. She has taught and designed courses on a variety of topics ranging from the commercial sexual exploitation of children, child protection, and human trafficking in New Jersey and around the world, particularly in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Mexico. Ms. Scoles received her undergraduate degree from McGill University in Montreal; her law degree from the Rutgers University School of Law, Camden Campus and an LL.M. Adv. in Public International Law from the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands. |
Angela Rye, Esq.
Director of Strategic Partnerships IMPACT Angela Rye is a principal at IMPACT Strategies and has been recognized as one of the most dynamic, young leaders on Capitol Hill. She has been featured on MSNBC, TV One, C-SPAN, BET as well as in The Root 100, MSNBC’s “BLTWY Power List: 35 Under 35 Who Changed DC”, the Washington Post “Who Runs Gov”, and recognized as one of DC’s Most Influential. In 2011, Rye became the youngest woman Executive Director and first General Counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus. In her role as Executive Director, Rye was tasked with developing the overall legislative and political strategy. Prior to her tenure with the CBC, she served as Senior Advisor and Counsel to the House Committee on Homeland Security under the leadership of Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman. There she was charged with developing the general political strategy for the Committee with a focus on assisting the business community. Upon moving to the nation’s capital, Rye co-founded IMPACT, an organization that seeks to encourage young professionals in three core areas: economic empowerment, civic engagement, and political involvement. The organization has quickly become a powerful voice and ad- vocate for today’s young professionals of color nationwide. Rye continues to serve as IMPACT’s Director of Strategic Partnerships. Rye began her career in legislative advocacy after graduating from Seattle University School of Law, at the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), which is the umbrella association for the Nation’s 120 historically and predominately black colleges and universities on Capitol Hill and with the Executive Branch. At NAFEO, she served as the Coordinator of Advocacy and Legislative Affairs. Prior to NAFEO, Rye had the privilege of serving as a legal extern in Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ Los Angeles office. |