Capitol Hill Intern Summit

The Network of enlightened Women will host the Fall Capitol Hill Intern Summit on Friday, October 24, 2025, at the Capitol Hill Club.

Our speaker lineup for the event includes Brette Carolyn Powell, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, Emma Waters, Policy Analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation, and Karin Lips, Founder and President of NeW.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the NeW community and network with other conservative women from around the country.

This event is open to all female interns, students, and young professionals in the Washington, DC, area. Interns can work in the morning and attend over lunch before returning for the last couple of hours of the day. This event is free, but seats are limited. Attendees receive a FREE lunch and the opportunity to have a professional headshot taken.

Click the link below to register today!

Meet the Speakers

Brette Carolyn Powell, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison

Brette Carolyn Powell currently serves as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, where she plays a key role in connecting Americans from all walks of life to the work and priorities of the White House.

Prior to her current role, Brette was the Director of Strategic Political Stakeholder Engagement for the Donald J. Trump for President 2024 campaign and the Republican National Committee.In this position, she led national outreach efforts to build and strengthen relationships with key political, grassroots, and issue-based constituencies across the country. Brette also served as the Director of External Affairs for the Trump campaign, overseeing a broad portfolio of partnerships and public-facing initiatives aimed at coalition-building and mobilization.

Her service in the White House began during President Trump’s first administration in January 2018, where she started as a White House intern. Through hard work and dedication, she rose through the ranks to become Associate Director for Logistics and Operations and later servedas a Lead Press Advance Representative, managing the planning and execution of high-profile presidential events both domestically and abroad.

Brette brings a strong background in public affairs, stakeholder engagement, and political strategy. Her professional trajectory reflects a deep commitment to public service and a results-driven approach to communication, coalition-building, and organizational leadership. She holds a Master of Business Administration and is widely respected for her strategic insight and ability to deliver under pressure.

Emma Waters, Policy Analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation

Emma Waters is a Policy Analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation.

Her work focuses on family, biotechnology, and reproductive medicine. She is a co-author of “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right” statement at First Things. Her first book, Lead Like Jael, will be released with Skyhorse Publishing in 2026.

Emma graduated Valedictorian at Lee University with a B.S. in Political Science and a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy at The Catholic University of America. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.

Karin Lips, Founder and President of NeW

Karin Lips is the Founder and President of the Network of enlightened Women (NeW), author of You’re Not Alone: The Conservative Woman’s Guide to College, and Editor of She’s Conservative: Stories of Trials and Triumphs on America’s College Campuses. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Law and practiced law at Wiley Rein LLP. She was a Spring 2016 Resident Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics.

She speaks frequently on conservative public policy solutions, feminism, and equal pay. She is a contributor to the Washington Examiner and has been published in The Washington Post, Time Ideas, Politico, National Review Online, Fox News, The Atlantic, The Boston Herald, and The News & Observer, among other outlets. She has appeared on Fox, CNN, and C-SPAN. In 2019, she testified before the Utah Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on equal pay.

In October 2014, Karin was selected as one of Fortune’s 55 most influential women on Twitter. In August 2013, she was also named to Red Alert Politics 30 under 30 list. In 2012, Karin was selected for the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Law and Policy. In 2010, she was awarded a William F. Buckley Award from the Young Conservatives Coalition for her work in leading NeW.