The Power of PLEN 40 Years of History and Impact PLEN is the only national organization with the sole focus of preparing college women for leadership in the policy arena. Our mission is to increase the number of women in policy leadership positions who influence all aspects of the decision-making process. Table of Contents Letter from the Executive Director ................................................................................................................2 Timeline ......................................................................................................................................................................4 The Beginnings ........................................................................................................................................................6 Early Days in DC ......................................................................................................................................................9 Breaking Barriers ..................................................................................................................................................14 Member Schools ...................................................................................................................................................19 Where PLEN Students Come From .............................................................................................................22 PLEN Alumnae: Going Strong ........................................................................................................................24 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................... 28 2 Letter from the Executive Director Photo by SevenTwenty Strategies October 2018 3 Dear friends, What a great milestone we’ve reached. PLEN is 40 and it’s time to brightest women leaders in policy. Our theme for this celebration — celebrate! We’re thrilled to have friends, faculty, students, and sponsors confidence, leadership, and connection — is what PLEN gives and what join us as we look back at PLEN’s beginnings, some of our successes, students take back to their campuses. and stories of our past. What follows isn’t just a nostalgia tour. It’s a Our alumnae have found success in graduate programs from public celebration of PLEN’s impact — past and present — and a peek at what health to law to business school. They are serving in government in the future holds. every role from Senior Attorney at the Department of Justice to Chief of No nonprofit organization survives 40 years without the contributions Staff on Capitol Hill. They are in state houses as elected representatives of multiple people making the dream a reality. In our case, thousands and staffing local mayoral offices. Looking for a PLEN alumna? She may of students, faculty, and administrative staff at well over 200 schools; be the executive director of a corporate foundation; a political appointee; countless members of the board of directors and advisory council; and teaching on a college campus (or there as a dean); or leading a nonprofit, scores of former and present staff and interns have worked tirelessly at trade association, or corporation. The collective achievements of our PLEN from the first days in 1978 to present. Without these women and alumnae tell the PLEN success story better than any single accomplish- men, there would be no PLEN. Thank you to everyone who has worked ment ever could. on campuses and in a succession of PLEN offices here in Washington, Beyond policy and tactical employment skills, PLEN teaches the power DC, to bring PLEN to life. of networking, instills confidence, and plants the seeds of possibility in Staff, students, and academic faculty don’t tell the full story. PLEN has our students. We create leaders. also relied on hundreds of foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and This is our story. This is the power of PLEN. individuals to support our programs here and abroad. We are thankful to them and to all the speakers and mentors — including countless elected officials and staff — who have volunteered their time and talents to bring the best of politics and policy education to PLEN students. PLEN has welcomed college women to Washington, DC (and, in the Sarah Bruno early days, on their college campuses), to learn from the best and Executive Director 4 Timeline 1990: PLEN receives Kellogg Grant to support a Women in Public Policy Internship Program. 1986: PLEN names Marianne 1991: PLEN partners with the Alexander its first executive Center for American Women and director. Politics to offer the first NEW Leadership program at Douglass 1980–1982: A grant from the 1988: PLEN moves to Washing- 1978: PLEN is founded by Wells Residential College at Rutgers Carnegie Corporation of New ton, DC and officially becomes an College president Frances Tarlton University. York supports PLEN’s expansion independent 501(c)3 non-profit “Sissy” Farenthold with the help and encourages the organization organization. 1992: Advisory Board formed. of Ruth Mandel of the Center for to move in new directions. American Women and Politics 1989: The first Women and 1993: PLEN travels to Europe (CAWP) and Betsey Wright of 1983: The first Women in Congress and Women, Law, and for a seminar on Women and the National Women’s Education Public Policy seminar is held Legal Advocacy seminars are held European Public Policy in London, PLEN History Fund (NWEF). in Washington, DC. in Washington, DC. Brussels, Strasbourg, and Berlin. 1970 1980 1990 1972: Shirley Chisholm is the first 1972: Congress passes Title IX, 1981: Sandra Day O’Connor is 1984: Geraldine Ferraro runs for 1991: Anita Hill testifies on African American woman to seek which prohibits discrimination the first woman to be appointed vice-president of the Democratic Capitol Hill, bringing light to the the presidential nomination for a against girls and women in to the Supreme Court. Party, the first woman on the prevalence of sexual harassment major party (the Democrats). federally-funded educational ticket for a major party. in the workplace. programs. 1987: Congress declares March 1992: “The Year of the Woman” 1978: Congress passes the as Women’s History Month. — A record number of women Pregnancy Discrimination are elected to the Senate, includ- 1988: Lenora Fulani is the first Act, which bans employment ing Carol Moseley Braun, the first Women’s History Women’s African American independent discrimination against women female African American Senator. and the first female presidential who are pregnant. candidate on the ballot in all 50 1993: Ruth Bader Ginsberg is states. appointed to the Supreme Court; Janet Reno is the first woman to 1982: The Equal Rights Amend- 1989: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen serve as Attorney General. ment, proposed to guarantee becomes the first Latina woman equal legal rights for citizens elected to the U.S. House of 1994: The Violence Against Wom- regardless of sex, fails to be Representatives. en Act passes Congress and is ratified by the states. signed into law for the first time. 5 1994: The first annual Mentor Awards is held, honoring Betsy Crone, Constance Morella, Constance Newman, Helen Norton, Antonia Coello Novello, and Claudia Withers. The first Women in International 2014: PLEN hosts a Human Policy seminar is held in Wash- Rights and Trafficking seminar ington, DC. for Douglass Residential College students. 1995: PLEN students attend UN Conference on Women in Beijing. 2004: PLEN celebrates 25 years. 2017: PLEN partners with the 2000: PLEN holds the first Center for American Women and PLEN creates an associate mem- Women in Science/Technology 2006: PLEN launches online Politics, IGNITE, Running Start, ber category for co-educational Policy seminar in January and alumnae networking tools She Should Run, VoteRunLead, institutions. launches a new workplace through Facebook and MySpace. 2010: First alumnae leadership Women in Government Relations, diversity internship. award given to Kristin Haffert. 1998: In conjunction with Wells 2007: PLEN convenes the Women in Public Service Project, College, PLEN holds a program in 2002: PLEN begins partnership Corporate Advisory Council, with 2013: St. Lawrence University and others for #NewWomen- Seneca Falls, NY to commemo- with Hansard Society, placing members representing industries becomes the first non-women’s Members, an event that celebrat- rate the 150th anniversary of the PLEN students at the House of from oil and gas to financial college or former non-women’s ed the women newly elected to first women’s rights convention. Commons in London. services to pharmaceuticals. college to join PLEN. Congress. 2000 2010 1995: Hillary Clinton addresses 2001: Ruth Simmons becomes 2007: Nancy Pelosi is elected as 2010: Elena Kagan is appointed 2017: #MeToo movement is pop- the UN Conference on Women president of Brown University, the first female speaker of the to the Supreme Court. ularized on social media, again and makes the now famous the first African American to U.S. House of Representatives. drawing attention to the ongoing 2013: Mazie Hirono becomes statement “Women’s rights are serve as president of an Ivy issue of sexual harassment in the 2008: Activist and, at the time, the first Asian American woman human rights.” League institution. workplace. youth worker, Tarana Burke elected to the U.S. Senate. 1997: Madeleine Albright is the 2005: Condoleezza Rice is the begins the me too MovementTM.