Capitol Hill - Blog Posts

I'm Just A Bill: NCCWSL Day Two

"Stand up if you agree and stay seated if you disagree. Then we will pass microphones so you can share your side". NCCWSL has been challenging girls to speak up during this "Find Your Voice" session since 1991. A typical first group activity does not include discussing you view point on polarized topics in front of 500 some women. The packed ballroom was asked; Will a women become President within your lifetime, is College a confidence booster, and does society accept how you identify. None of these were leadership questions but questions some conference goers navigate on a daily bases. Attendees shared stories about their success going to college as a first generation student, being energized to learn by being involved in student government and taking a tally of how many students would like to run for President. I shared that women that are studying in degrees other than political science can run for President too.

Slowly we rolled to Capitol Hill following the view point sharing session. Led by a Representative from Connecticut we admired statues given to the Capitol Hill from each state, retired meeting rooms and historic paintings. Later we attended a panel featuring five women who have served as Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill; Margaux Matter, Kristin Nicholson, Betsy Hawkins, Rhonda Foxx, and Jenifer DeCasper. A Chief of Staff works for a representative to manage, communicate the representatives views, schedule, manage budgets and gate keeps what/ who is the representative's top priority. Here is some of the advice the Chiefs of Staff shared with us...

*There needs to be more women at Capitol Hill in order to accurately represent constituent population.

*Once you have crawled through the pipeline, which is clogged, work harder than everyone else.

*The most important thing you have is your integrity and reputation.

*Make your own luck by being observant, seizing opportunities and going above and beyond.

*If you want to run for office start thinking about money sources ASAP. Emily's list is a great funding resource. Find an experienced fundraiser who knows what resources to pull from.

*Put yourself where women are not. Ask for the tax, budget and defense portfolios to work on.

Following the stint at the Capitol we were graced by the presence and persistence of five amazing women: Cleopatra Campbell (long time defense attorney), Danielle Feinberg (Disney Pixar light animator), Roise Rios (43rd Treasurer of the United States, her signature is on all of the paper money), Amanda Nguyen (got Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights passed), and Crystal Valentine (one of the top 10 poets in the world). One of my favorite messages include "become memorable by not doing what everyone else is doing" following a story by Danielle about how she was the only 8th grader who took apart a lawn mower, put it back together and successfully use it to mow. 

Looking Forward to Leadership Conference NCCWSL

Following Memorial Day I will be traveling to DC for NCCWSL, National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, by AAUW (American Association of University Women). AAUW Duluth chapter has given me the awesome opportunity to meet students from around America, represent my engineering discipline and refine my leadership skills.

While Co-Oping at NASA I learned what categories of leadership they look for when hiring branch chiefs, flight directors and even center directors. NASA looks for individuals that can Lead Change, Lead People, are Results Driven, have Business Acumen, can Build Teams and have Discipline Competency. Our center director, Ellen Ochoa, has all of these leadership skills. A leader in a lower position may not have to have business acumen or have weaknesses in two of these categories. With leadership skills identified I have chosen what workshops I should attend...

I Get Knocked Down, but I Get Up Again: Persevering through Life’s Challenges

The Human Side of Collaboration

Be Better: Enhanced Speaking Skills for Women

...including keynote speakers and a trip downtown to learn about advocacy, politics, and policy making from a panel of women who work for senators and representatives on Capitol Hill. I am avoiding sessions that could be replaced by a TEDTalk and sessions presented by business folks that may be there simply to pitch their company - these are all disappointments I have experienced in past conferences.

I am half surprised and half not surprised about how politically charged some of these workshops and lectures are (NCCWSL is hosted in our nation's capitol after all and AAUW uses policy to advance equality). Many leaders in industry do not interface with politics on a daily basis so I hope there is enough relevant content that will truly challenge my understanding of leadership. I want brutal honesty on how I can improve and tools that I can use in industry. I will attend with an open mind.

When I visited the White House in 2013 for a tech related Champions of Change event I advocated for project based learning in schools - reducing standardize testing and implementing measurable projects mirroring challenges in "the real world". During this excursion my primary message will about continuing and growing Earth observation missions. For a final spring semester I wrote about how crucial Earth observation missions are to our environment, safety and economy. I will be sure to post an abridged version here soon. While Earth observation is my primary message I will be sure to also talk about the importance of the "A" in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), how trade schools are critical to American jobs and manufacturing and last project based learning again.

I will be live blogging during the conference so subscribe via email to get the latest blog posts and follow me on Twitter @KirsiCootie!

Attending a DC leadership conference in May! 

I will meet US college student leaders, participate in workshops & visit Capitol Hill. One of activity reads, "[Learn about]... advocacy, politics, and policy making from a panel of women who work for senators and representatives on Capitol Hill". Summer of 2013 I attended President Obama's Champions of Change White House event with NCWIT Aspirations in Computing sharing the importance of "project based learning" in schools. I talked with policy makers, company leaders and educators about how project based learning could be implemented and assessed. Additionally, I met Minnesota Senator Al Franken who since has visited FIRST robotics teams in my hometown & supported STEAM heavily. Again I want to have a focused message to share during my DC mission. I may keep the project based learning theme or pick a new one. I would love to hear your thoughts about what message I should share! Who knows who I'll run into!

I am so thankful AAUW Duluth MN awarded me with a scholarship making it possible to attend the AAUW's National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. Here is the agenda of the conference: https://www.nccwsl.org/about/agenda/

Watch for live blogging! Pictures are from my 2013 White House experience.