WASHINGTON, D.C. — Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) announced today its spring 2022 class of fellows:
“IWF is excited to work together with these excellent new fellows,” said Hadley Heath Manning, IWF policy director. “We will be able to execute our mission – to champion policies that make women better off – more effectively than ever by elevating the voices of these women, who are experts in various fields. They bring a depth of experience in areas such as veterans’ issues, foreign policy, media, law, tax policy, environmental policy, government spending, health policy and more.”
Learn more about these women below:
Rebecca Burgess is editor and acting director of the Classics in Strategy and Diplomacy project and a 2021 National Security Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. She’s an Advisory Board Member of Combined Arms and of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation/Monticello, and a participant in the NEH Educating for American Democracy: A Roadmap for Excellence in History and Civics Education project. Additionally, she is a member of the George W. Bush Institute’s Veterans in Higher Education Task Force and a member of the Reader Review Board of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps Journal. Rebecca researches the political and social institutions of democratic governance, including civics and national security, civil-military relations and the military life cycle, veterans and politics, and the political theory of empire, through her work as founder and principal of The CivMil Project.
Aleksandra Gadzala Tirziu is a globally recognized advisor on a range of geopolitical issues with a unique focus on authoritarian systems and commercial growth. Her expertise in foreign policy and business strategy has facilitated extensive counsel to international corporations and government entities worldwide. Aleksandra founded the geopolitical risk and public affairs consultancy, Magpie Advisory, to bring her depth of advisory services to business and policy leaders. She is a Senior Nonresident Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center and the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Aleksandra is also Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Zurich, a contributing editor at The New York Sun, and an author.
Jennifer George, who is joining Independent Women’s Law Center as a legal fellow, spent the past 30 years as an attorney, business owner/consultant and trusted advisor, most recently employed as a Managing Counsel with the Office of University Counsel for the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. In 2012, Jennifer ran for the Colorado State House of Representatives in one of that election cycle’s most targeted state races. She is also an alumna of the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Previously, Jennifer served as an appointee of former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on the Colorado 4th Judicial District Nominating Commission.
Mandy Gunasekara is joining IWF as a Visiting Fellow for a second time, after her first fellowship was interrupted by an appointment at the Environmental Protection Agency, where she served as Chief of Staff during the Trump Administration. Mandy is a veteran Republican climate and energy strategist, communicator, and environmental attorney who has a well-earned reputation for delivering results. In 2020, she became a Principal at Section VII Strategies, a boutique energy, environmental, and tax policy consulting firm. Prior to her latest EPA post, she founded and ran the Energy 45 Fund, a Jackson, Mississippi-based non-profit dedicated to informing the public about the energy, environmental and economic gains made under the Trump administration.
Heather Hunter has been managing Washington, D.C.’s popular morning-drive show on 105.9 FM / AM 630 since she joined WMAL in 2010. Heather is a veteran radio, television, and film producer. She has produced three top-ten nationally syndicated radio programs and has been working in media for 23 years. She has worked as a television booker and producer for Fox News Channel and has produced numerous documentary films. Heather spearheaded an initiative to require American flags in every public classroom in Florida. The Freedom Flag Act was signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush in May 2004. In addition to producing, she is a contributing writer for The Daily Caller and LifeZette.
Madeleine Kearns is a staff writer at National Review and a contributor to The Spectator. She has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, Standpoint Magazine, UnHerd, The Scotsman, The Catholic Herald, Verily, and Heterodox Academy. She has appeared on the BBC, Fox News, and the Ben Shapiro Show. She has a first-class bachelor’s degree in English from the University of St Andrews, a postgraduate diploma in education from the University of Glasgow, and a master’s degree in journalism from New York University. She writes and performs music.
Kimberly Pinter is a tax policy expert who most recently served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs. Before this, she worked in the Office of Senator Ted Cruz as Legislative Counsel for Tax and Economic Policy, staffing the senator during enactment of historic tax reform, preparing him for debates, and staffing the member on other issues such as financial reform, NAFTA renegotiations, and other economic issues. Kimberly also previously worked as tax counsel in other Senate and Congressional offices, as a consultant, and as a lobbyist.
Lindsey Stroud is Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance’s (TPA) Consumer Center, which provides data and analysis to inform and assist policymakers when addressing consumer products. She has testified before state and international lawmakers, led coalition efforts, authored state analyses and hosts a monthly webinar featuring international guests. Before joining TPA, Stroud was a state government relations manager at The Heartland Institute. Prior to Heartland, Stroud worked as a staffer for state lawmakers in Minnesota and Virginia.
Kristin Tate writes a weekly column for The Hill Newspaper, focused on federal spending, and is the author of three books: The Liberal Invasion of Red State America, How Do I Tax Thee? and Government Gone Wild. She also provides communication strategy to political campaigns and has worked on statewide races in Texas. Kristin was formerly a Robert Novak Fellow at the Fund for American Studies; her fellowship research project examined the size and scope of the federal workforce. In 2021, she was named a Leader of Tomorrow by the St. Gallen Symposium in Switzerland, one of the world’s leading initiatives for dialogue between political and business leaders. Red Alert Politics and Newsmax Magazine each named Kristin one of the 30 most influential right-of-center leaders under the age of 30 in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Mary Vought is the President and Founder of Vought Strategies, a Washington D.C.-based PR firm. She is also the Executive Director of the Senate Conservatives Fund. Before that, she worked in the U.S. Senate for Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) as his communications director and then senior advisor. She also worked in the U.S. House for five years for several Members of Congress, including working at the House Republican Conference for then Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN). Mary is a contributor to The New York Post, The Federalist, The Washington Examiner, and The Hill. She proudly serves as a Presidential Appointee on the National Council of Disability, where she is the only female council member and advocates for those in the disability community, including her youngest daughter, who has cystic fibrosis.
Kaylee McGhee White is a commentary writer for The Washington Examiner focusing on religion, politics, and culture. She regularly appears on Fox News as a commentator and her work has appeared in RealClear Politics, The Weekly Standard, The Detroit News, The Orange County Register, and more. She graduated from Hillsdale College with a degree in politics and journalism.
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Independent Women’s Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended, but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.