Capitol Hill Intern Summit

The Network of enlightened Women hosted the Spring Capitol Hill Intern Summit on Friday, April 4, 2025, at the Capitol Hill Club.

Attendees heard from Brianna Howard, Ambassador and Influencer Manager at Independent Women’s Forum, in a session titled, “Turning Passion into Purpose.” They also heard from Colleen Hroncich, Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute, in a session titled, “Are We Done with the Department of Education? The Future of American Education Policy.”

Attendees had the chance 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.

Check back for details on our Fall 2025 Capitol Hill Intern Summit.

Meet the Speakers

Brianna Howard, Ambassador and Influencer Manager at Independent Women’s Forum

Brianna is the Ambassador and Influencer Manager at Independent Women’s Forum.

Prior to joining Independent Women, Brianna was the Director of Digital Media for the House Budget Committee Republicans. She previously had the honor of serving in the Trump Administration as a special assistant to U.S. Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia. Prior to her time working on Capitol Hill and at the Labor Department, Brianna worked in digital communications at Heritage Action for America.

Brianna is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, where she served as student body president, and holds her M.A. from American University’s School of Public Affairs. During her time in the nation’s capital, she served as the D.C. Federation of College Republicans Chairwoman.

A proud Pennsylvanian, she currently resides in her hometown, where her free time is spent on DIY projects.

Colleen Hroncich, Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute

Colleen Hroncich is a policy analyst with Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom.

A mother of four—whose children have experienced public, private, cyber, and home education—Colleen was well‐versed in school choice long before she began working to advance it. After 17 years as a stay‐at‐home mom, Colleen re‐entered the policy world through the Koch Fellow Program in 2017. She spent nearly four years as a senior fellow and senior policy analyst with the Commonwealth Foundation working for educational freedom in her native Pennsylvania. She was also a visiting fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum.

Colleen’s commentaries have been published a variety of publications, including The Hill, The Washington Examiner, Education Post, The Daily Signal, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She has testified before the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee and appeared on several radio and television shows.

Colleen has a degree in economics from the University of Maryland. Following college, she interned at the American Enterprise Institute and then joined the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in Pittsburgh as a research associate.

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.