Welcome to Washington – How to Break Into DC

Each year, thousands of interns and young professionals come to Washington hoping to make a name for themselves and land their dream job. How can you stand out from the competition? How can you grow your skill set and become better connected?

Join America’s Future Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, and the Leadership Institute for the Spring 2019 “Welcome to Washington” panel and reception. Don’t miss this opportunity to network with peers and learn from DC insiders who will offer advice on navigating the job market in Washington and discuss their paths to professional success. Stick around afterward for a reception to network with young professionals from across the city as well as established DC-ers.

Already established in your career? Make sure to share with your interns, and join us to mingle and give advice to those who are just starting!

 

Meet our DC-insiders:

Leah Whetstone
Leah Whetstone serves as the Community Growth Manager for America’s Future. She has been involved with the AF-DC Chapter since 2016. Outside of AF, she runs a wardrobe consulting company that aims to develop individuals’ personal style. Prior to joining AF, she worked in partner relations at the Charles Koch Institute. Leah has also worked in marketing at a food development start-up, coordinating marketing initiatives with brands such as KitchenAid and Nordstrom and graduated from Hillsdale College. She enjoys travel, workout classes, and helping others see the beauty of their unique style.

 

Caroline Hollis
Caroline Hollis is a senior associate on the Talent Development Team at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she has worked since 2016. She specializes in talent acquisition for AEI’s communications, outreach and business departments, in addition to benefits management and employee relations for current employees. Caroline is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she studied in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She formerly interned in AEI’s development department; in Parliament in London for the Rt. Hn. Grant Shapps,  MP; and in DC’s National Museum for Women in the Arts.

Hannah Weeks
Hannah is the Regional Field Coordinator for Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi at the Leadership Institute. While always being incredibly passionate about protecting freedom and defending liberty, she did not begin her life as an activist until her freshman year of college when she started a Turning Point USA chapter at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She started attending TPUSA activism conferences and training. In April of 2016, she attended her first YLS and completed as a top grad and was offered an internship position in the Campus Leadership Programs department of the Leadership Institute for the fall of 2016. In her role as Regional Field Coordinator, she has identified more than 10,000 conservative students on campuses all throughout the deep south and continues to work with partner organizations to further the conservative movement through activism.

Moderator: Tyler Castle
Tyler Castle is the director of Academic Programs at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he has worked for over five years. In his current role, he oversees AEI’s outreach to undergraduate students, which includes an on-campus student program reaching over 100 campuses, a series of intensive summer seminars in Washington, and several other initiatives. He is a graduate of Westmont College (political science), a former John Jay Institute fellow, and a former intern for Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and AEI’s Values & Capitalism program. He writes on issues of society, faith, and politics, and he is the former co-captain of the championship-winning AEI softball team.