Summer 2010 Fellows
We have 1 Executive-in-Residence and 7 fellows working in our office across our various departments: Political Programs, Development, Communications, Operations & WCF Foundation Research. Click here to learn more about our fellowship program.
WCF Executive-in-Residence Program
As an extension of our current Fellowship program, the Executive-in-Residence program is geared to highly qualified professionals looking to immerse themselves in the important work of WCF.
Robin Talbert, Executive-in-Residence
Robin Talbert, former President of the AARP Foundation and an accomplished executive who is passionate about achieving political parity for women, has joined WCF as its first Executive in Residence. Talbert brings to WCF a demonstrated ability to lead, innovate, and influence. She has excelled in developing partnerships, leading change, focusing resources, and building organizations that benefit individuals and society.
As President of the AARP Foundation, Talbert provided strategic leadership for a national team of staff and volunteers who serve millions of low income older Americans each year with an annual budget of over $140 million. She serves on many boards, including the Women’s Leadership Board at the Harvard Kennedy School and the leadership committee for the Political Parity Project sponsored by Hunt Alternatives Fund. A former legal services attorney, she received her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
WCF Fellowship Class of Summer 2010
Monica Brazelton, Development Fellow
Monica is a California native who just graduated from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California with a bachelor's degree in International Relations. She's lived in Cairo, Egypt and Bali, Indonesia, and is enjoying spending the summer in Washington DC. While studying in Claremont, she developed a passion for women's issues as a project assistant at a transitional home for women who had been recently released from prison. She believes that all women deserve the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, and is happy to be working with the WCF to help female candidates achieve their goals and protect women’s rights!
Mike Ellement, PAC Fellow
Mike was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and just recently completed his undergraduate degree in Political Science at Siena College in Loudonville, NY. He will begin studying at Catholic University Law School in the Fall, where he hopes to specialize in Constitutional Law. Mike has been working on gender issues for some time now, first during his abroad experience in South Africa and Botswana, and also at his undergraduate institution, where he worked at the Sister Thea Bowman Center for Women. He also helped begin a group entitled "Siena Students for Fair Trade" which has worked over the past year to make Siena the second Fair Trade College in the country, pledging to purchase products that take into account the labor standards of the workers involved in their production.
Rebecca Freedholm, Communications Fellow
Rebecca recently graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, OH with a bachelor’s degree in English. Last spring she studied Art History in Rome and then returned to the states to intern with a publishing company in New York City. Having received two college honors awards from Kenyon’s English Department, Rebecca now looks forward to applying her writing skills to a cause she truly cares about. A previous summer internship with a women’s reproductive health organization stimulated her passion for women’s rights advocacy. She’s excited to work for WCF, where achieving gender parity for women in public office and protecting reproductive health choices are central.
Emily Heaslip, Development Fellow
Emily comes to WCF as a recent graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts. She has previous experience working on Capitol Hill, as the Community Outreach coordinator of the Women’s Collective at Williams, and as the Head Class agent for her graduating class. Emily enjoys running, traveling, and being outside.
Natalie Mette-Bory, Foundation Research Fellow
Originally from Illinois, Natalie received a MA in Sociology in 2008. She has always been interested in women’s rights and researched male feminist self-identification in graduate school. After her recent service as a Health Education Volunteer in Peace Corps Mali, she knew she wanted to continue working for women’s parity. She is new to DC and excited to use her knowledge of women’s studies at a national women’s political organization.
Courtney Samuels, Political Programs Fellow
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Courtney has an M.A and B.A in International Studies from Old Dominion University. With a passion for politics and foreign policy, Courtney moved to DC and worked in polling as an international project director for Princeton Research Associates International. After leaving DC for greener pastures in Ohio, Courtney worked for Friends of the World Food Programme, HeadCount, and most recently volunteered for Jennifer Brunner's US Senate campaign, Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls and the Ohio Democratic Party. Courtney is absolutely delighted to move back to Washington and is bringing her husband and cats with her!
Sophie Shulman, Communications Fellow
Sophie graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and will finish her Master’s degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC in May 2011. Sophie was happy to trade her hometown of rainy Seattle for the sunnier East Coast. Although studying American Foreign Policy at SAIS, Sophie has worked on several political campaigns and hopes to work in a field that combines her interests in international and domestic politics.
