WASHINGTON, DC – The Ripon Society and Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange held their 12th annual bipartisan luncheon this past Friday honoring the Schedulers and Executive Assistants in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate who, in the words of Ripon and Franklin President & CEO Jim Conzelman, “are truly the unsung heroes of Capitol Hill.”
“You all make such a difference in the lives of our leaders,” Conzelman stated in remarks to open the event. “And by doing that, you make a difference in the life of our nation. As someone who spent nearly three decades as a Congressional Chief of Staff, I know full well how important and challenging your job is. You are truly the unsung heroes of Capitol Hill. So we’ve gathered here today to say something that we should say every day — Thank you for all your hard work!
“You all make such a difference in the lives of our leaders. And by doing that, you make a difference in the life of our nation.”
“We reached out to our membership and asked them to vote for the Schedulers and Executive Assistants who go above and beyond each day they walk into the office. We hold this event each year, and each year we are overwhelmed with responses praising the individuals like those we are honoring today.”
The Top Schedulers and Executive Assistants of 2023 include:
- Lauren Allen – with Senator Shelley Moore Capito (WV);
- Hannah Barr – with Senator Bill Cassidy (LA);
- Lili Benzel – with Congressman John Joyce (PA-13);
- Ansley Boylan – with Congressman Larry Bucshon (IN-8);
- Errical Bryant – with Congressman Kelly Armstrong (ND);
- Emily Button – with Senator Todd Young (IN);
- Kyla Cole – Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-3);
- Megan Deusenberry – Congresswoman Laurel Lee (FL-15);
- Nicole Golden – Congressman Scott Peters (CA-50);
- Jasmine Goodman – with Congresswoman Terri Sewell (AL-7);
- Carol Kresse – with Congressman Blake Moore (UT-1);
- Nicole Malec – with Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8);
- David Nelson – with Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-16);
- Karli Plucker – with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5);
- Alexa Roth – with Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-19);
- Kalyn Schroeder – with Congressman Jay Obernolte (CA-23);
- Angela Schulze – with Senator Thom Tillis (NC);
- Alli Smith – with Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (OK-5);
- Laura Steven – with Congressman Randy Feenstra (IA-4);
- Hannah Thomas – with Senator Joni Ernst (IA);
- Courtney Trigg – with Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-3);
- Elizabeth Virga – with Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-8);
- Sara Wajda – with Congressman Don Bacon (NE-2); and,
- Kathi Wise – with Senator John Barrasso (WY)
According to Conzelman, today’s luncheon was attended by a crowd of over one hundred. Also attending the luncheon was Bill McBride, a veteran state and federal policy strategist who currently serves as Executive Director of the National Governors Association. McBride, who previously served as the Chief of Staff to two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, delivered remarks about his own experience with schedulers and executive assistants and the critical role they play.
Also delivering remarks was former Congresswoman and Ambassador Connie Morella, who serves as Chair Emeritus of The Franklin Center and talked about the important role that her own schedulers and executive assistants played throughout her career.
The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.
Founded in 1978, The Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to enhancing global understanding of important international issues. The Franklin Center brings together Members of the U.S. Congress and their international parliamentary counterparts as well as experts from the Diplomatic corps, foreign officials, senior private sector representatives, scholars, and other public policy experts. Through regular conferences and events where leading international opinion leaders share ideas, the Franklin Center promotes enlightened, balanced, and unbiased international policy discussion on major international issues.