by Jenna Hageman
On Friday, June 10th, a roomful of female interns gathered in the Capitol Hill Club for the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women’s annual Intern Summit. CBL hosts the event as part of our outreach to teach young ladies how to be confident leaders in the conservative movement.
The first speaker, Amber Athey, the Washington editor for Spectator USA, spoke with personal experience about being canceled by the woke mob. Athey showed that even though she is young, that hasn’t stopped her from feeling the heat from the Left. The first of her two biggest pieces of advice for the next generation was to lean on a community that will have their back, remind them of who they are, and love them. The second piece of advice was to stand up, fight back, and never apologize because “You don’t owe anyone an apology for being conservative.”
CBL board member and previous President of Regnery Publishing, Marji Ross, gave a talk on “The Four Keys to Being a Great Leader (And the Secret Advantage Every Conservative Has).” She pointed out, “The left thinks leadership is about power. Conservatives know leadership is about service.” Ms. Ross gave advice on how to lead an organization, be a good boss for people, and be forward thinking.
Star Parker followed with a speech about Progressives and race. She explained that the Left does not care about race issues but rather about power, and that arrogance is the true issue at the root of race problems and Progressivism. Parker also highlighted that negative changes in family structure contribute to the degradation of the nation. Her suggestion to the young ladies was to have public conversations about this through town halls and debates. She also urged conservatives to demand the repeal of programs like social security in order to force individuals to have personal responsibility.
The fourth speaker was Carrie Severino, who gave an engaging lecture about Originalism in the Supreme Court. Carrie is the president of the Judicial Crisis Network and co-author, with Mollie Hemingway, of Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Court. She commended the new Supreme Court for being less activist and for adhering to the Constitution. Mrs. Severino was optimistic that if we keep nominating and confirming Originalist justices, the Supreme Court will fulfill its Constitutional duties rather than continue to legislate from the bench.
Founder and president of District Media Group, Beverly Hallberg, was the final speaker at the Summit. She gave crucial advice to the interns about careers in Washington, D.C. Beverly spoke about jobs, fashion, and communication. She told the crowd not to change jobs frequently, because it will make them look flighty to future employers. “Dress fashionably but modestly,” was her advice for style, and she suggested looking to women like Dana Perino as a guide. Finally, she emphasized the importance of good communication. During the Q&A portion, she put her advice into action by helping a young lady speak louder and gather her thoughts to better her communication skills.
The afternoon ended with the annual Woman of the Year dinner, but before that many interns gathered to debrief with others about their favorite parts of the Summit. The girls were impressed with the speakers, and the consensus was that the summit was valuable and fun. CBL’s 2022 Intern Summit was successful in giving young female interns a forum to learn from strong women conservative leaders.
