Last year marked several historic moments for women, particularly conservative women, and NeW has been proud to celebrate those moments this year with our campaign, The Year of the Conservative Woman. As part of this campaign, we are thrilled to be partnering with the Washington Examiner to co-host our annual NeW Essay Contest.
We are inviting high school seniors and college women to reflect on these momentous achievements and what they mean for women going forward in a 600-750 word essay for the chance to win a $500 scholarship and the opportunity to be published by the Washington Examiner. The Essay Contest will be opening on April 19. Participants will be asked to respond to one or more questions in the following prompt. If you know any high school seniors or college students, could you share the Essay Contest with them?
Last year was a historic year for women in America, with a record number of women elected to Congress, the election of our first female Vice President, and the fifth woman to ever be confirmed to the Supreme Court. These women represent a diversity of views and don’t all agree on issues. But they all blazed new trails for women. What do their achievements mean for the future of women in America? How does having women with different views and from different backgrounds benefit America? What issue(s) do you think all women should come together on to advance women? How can we encourage other countries around the world to support women in positions of power?
Additionally this month, we are proud to announce our April Conservative Woman of the Month is Laura Cox Kaplan, creator and host of the She Said/She Said Podcast. She is also an adjunct professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University where she teaches a personal development course called “Women, Leadership, Politics & Power: Building Awareness, Tools & Capabilities for Success in Business, Politics and Life.” Cox Kaplan has more than two decades experience in communications, corporate governance, stakeholder engagement, and public policy strategy. She spent almost 12 years as the Partner-in-Change of Government, Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and a decade on the firm’s executive management team. She also served in senior positions at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and on Capitol Hill.
Currently, Cox Kaplan serves as a corporate director at CoStar Group, and The Hunt Companies; is the Board co-chair at non-profit Running Start; and serves on the boards of directors of: The Policy Circle; The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University; and the Women in Foreign Policy Group. She also advises several other non-profit organizations.
Cox Kaplan has a Master’s degree from American University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives with her husband and two children in Chevy Chase, MD.
Cox Kaplan inspired our women at the NeW National Conference in 2019 and we look forward to hosting her for another conversation on Thursday, April 15 at 2pm EST on Facebook Live.
This month, we are excited to recognize the recent historic wins for women as well as celebrate women like Laura Cox Kaplan. If you want to stay up to date on our latest events and opportunities, be sure you are following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Best,
Kathryn Alford Communications Manager for NeW
Professional Development Week
NeW is excited to offer a new program for our students and members this year. We are hosting Professional Development Week from April 26-30. Throughout the week we will be sharing professional development tips from industry leaders on our social media pages and new blog content on our website with advice from how to dress professionally to networking online.
Additionally, members will have the opportunity to schedule 30-minute one-on-one meetings with NeW staff on a variety of different professional topics including where to begin your job search, feedback on job application materials, how to improve your LinkedIn profile, and so much more. If you know any young women who would benefit from these conversations, please encourage them to sign up for membership here.
NeW on Campus
Last month, NeW chapters across the country celebrated Women’s History Month, honoring the women who have made history and paved the way.
On March 10, NeW at the University of Virginia and NeW at Catholic University co-hosted a conversation with Olivia Enos, senior policy analyst in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, and Nicole Robinson, Middle East Policy research assistant in The Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. They discussed human rights issues women face in Asia and Jordan.
On March 25, NeW at Mercer University hosted Susan Charnaux, Principle and Founder of Fairhill Ventures LLC. Their event, “Lead Like a Lady: College to Career” brought in more than 30 students. Throughout the event, attendees learned from Charnaux about three guiding principles that have helped her find success in her career: make relationships and network, be true to yourself, and seek out other people for their feedback and guidance.
On March 29, NeW at Baylor University hosted Dr. Allison Beth Barr, Professor of History, for a conversation on "What if Biblical Womanhood Isn't Biblical?" as part of their Women's History Month programming on campus.
NeW at the University of South Carolina was privileged to host South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette on March 31 for their event, "Lead Like a Lady: Empowering Conservative Women in Leadership". This event was an inspiring way to wrap up Women's History Month for their chapter.
