WUFPAC is a nonpartisan political action committee that supports women forty years of age and under running for state and federal public office, at the time of endorsement. WUFPAC’s mission is twofold:
- To help elect more young women to elected office so that young women have an equal voice in shaping public policy.
- To build the seniority of women in Congress by electing women at a young age.
WUFPAC was started in January 1999 by a group of young women, representing diverse political and geographic backgrounds, gathered together in Washington, DC to discuss the role of young women in politics. Recognizing that political capital is built by political tenure and frustrated by the low percentage of women currently holding political office, they created WUFPAC to support the efforts of young women running for Congress and statewide offices. WUFPAC was incorporated as a Washington, DC non-profit corporation in January 1999 and filed its statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission soon thereafter. The first WUFPAC executive board was assembled in the early months of 1999. WUFPAC has been active in political cycles since 2002.
If you would like to be endorsed by WUFPAC, please complete our WUFPAC Endorsement Application
WUFPAC Board of Directors
Katie Vlietstra – President
Ms. Vlietstra serves as President of the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC) and is responsible for all operational and fundraising aspects of the organization. In the 2010 cycle, WUFPAC donated over $20,000 to federal congressional candidates in efforts to secure three new congressional seats held by women forty and under.
Professionally, Ms. Vlietstra has served in numerous government and public affairs positions in Washington, D.C. Currently she serves as the Director of Government Affairs for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). Responsible for NASE’s federal and state government affairs portfolio.
Previously, Ms. Vlietstra worked for an HR association as a public policy analyst monitoring a wide range of issues including: executive compensation, corporate governance, discrimination, family medical leave act, paid leave, retirement, and the fair labor standards act. Prior to that, she served in the Office of Governor Rick Perry’s Texas Office of State and Federal Relations as federal liaison. In this role, she was responsible for monitoring legislation and federal action in the areas of disaster recovery, housing, telecommunications, labor, NASA, and criminal justice grants, and advising the State of Texas and legislator on the anticipated impact on the Texas community.
As a former advisor to Triadvocates LLC, Ms. Vlietstra led liaison efforts with trade associations, patient organizations and consumer groups. In addition, she worked with clients to develop targeted communications plans in order to effectively deliver their specific message to key stakeholders, elected officials, off and on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Vlietstra has worked on several local and national races, most recently on Governor Rick Perry’s Presidential campaign. Other campaign activities include RNC Victory ‘08 team in Iowa in support of Senator McCain’s presidential campaign, Jim Ogsbury for Congress, and GOTV efforts in ‘06 and ‘04.
In recent years, Ms. Vlietstra has become a sought after speaker on issues pertaining to both policy and politics. Her expertise on the legislative process, coupled with her political campaign experience provides a unique perspective to the happenings of Washington, D.C.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Chapman University and a Master’s degree from George Mason University.
Ms. Vlietstra serves as a board member for Women in Government Relations, member of The Political Parity Project, Treasurer for the State Society of Arizona, and corporate director for the Phi Sigma Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Liz Berry – Director
Ms. Berry previously worked as Legislative Director for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). She served as an advisor to the Congresswoman on the Foreign Affairs Committee as well as domestic policy matters such as appropriations, immigration, business, agriculture, labor and women’s issues.
Before working on Capitol Hill, Ms. Berry consulted Democratic campaigns, specializing in persuasion mail, message development and integrated communications for political, labor and corporate clients at Mack/Crounse Group and Stones’ Phones.
Ms. Berry serves on the Board of Directors of the State Society of Arizona and is an Advisory Board Member of Running Start, WUFPAC’s sister organization that encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in politics. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Ms. Berry graduated from American University with a B.A. in Communications, Law, Economics and Government.
Anne Fabry – Director
Ms. Fabry is a Director, Government Law and Strategies with Brown Rudnick LLP, advising and representing clients in a variety of industries before the federal government. Over the past nine years she has served as a member of WUFPAC’s Steering Committee and Board of Directors. Prior to joining Brown Rudnick, she was Director of Legislative and Corporate Affairs for The Michael Lewan Company which specialized in developing and executing public policy strategies for domestic and international corporations. Her past work experience includes the Democratic Leadership Council and Progressive Policy Institute, the office of Senator Joseph I. Lieberman as well as the Democratic National Committee and multiple campaigns. Ms. Fabry is an active supporter of the moderate, pro-business New Democrat Coalition and Blue Dogs. She is also past-president of the Women’s Congressional Golf Association, an Executive Committee Board Member for Running Start, a founding member of Frontline Fund and an active member of Women in Government Relations, Fair Fund, and Majority Under Forty.
Ms. Fabry is a graduate from Mount Vernon College with a dual concentration in International Relations and Urban and Comparative Societies, where she received the Outstanding Sophomore Award and participated in their Honors program. She is a native of the Washington, DC area and currently resides in Rockville, Maryland with her husband.
Jessica Grounds – Chairman of the Board
Jessica Grounds is the Executive Director of Running Start, a non-profit that she helped to found which is dedicated to educating girls and young women about politics and the importance of running for elected office. Previous to working full-time with Running Start, she was the President of Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC) and currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for WUFPAC. At the end of 2009, Jessica left her position as Vice President of Stones’ Phones, a Democratic campaign strategy firm, where she consulted Democratic candidates and organizations throughout the country. Jessica’s expertise is developing campaign and message strategy for women candidates. In her various roles she has helped the campaigns of hundreds of women seeking elected office. At the end of 2009 she launched Solid Grounds Strategy, a consulting firm devoted to assisting female candidates who have never run for office before.
Before consulting candidates, Jessica worked on multiple campaigns including California Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, Congresswoman Lois Capps, and Congressional candidate Francine Busby. In 2007 & 2008, she was the Training Lead for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign for the Iowa Caucuses.
Jessica holds a graduate degree in Women, Policy and Political Leadership from the Women & Politics Institute at American University. She has published research on gender differences in leadership style within Congress and has completed research on new trends in campaign messaging for women candidates. Jessica is a contributing author for Sage Publications 2008 edition of Campaigns, Elections & Electoral Behavior. She has lectured on campaign communications at Johns Hopkins and American Universities, Yale Law School and has done candidate and political trainings for Women’s Campaign Forum, the Women & Politics Institute, National Association of Women Business Owners, PLEN, Women’s Congressional Staff Association, Human Rights Campaign, Women’s Information Network, National Democratic Institute and the State Department. In 2009, Jessica was named a Rising Star in Politics magazine. In 2010, she was the winner of Women’s Information Network’s (WIN) political and campaign work award at their annual Young Women of Achievement Awards. Jessica grew up in San Diego, California, and graduated from Pepperdine University. She has lived in Washington, DC, since 2003.
Heather King- Director
Ms. King is an attorney at the Washington, DC office of the law firm Boies, Schiller and Flexner LLP. She focuses on complex litigation and government relations, currently representing the Bank of New York Mellon in a lawsuit filed by the Russian Federal Customs Service for $22.5 billion.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. King served for five years as Special Assistant and Policy Advisor to United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton where she worked on foreign policy including international women’s issues and human trafficking, among other responsibilities. She was a member of Senator Clinton’s campaign staff in 2000 and 2006, co-founded and ran Young Lawyers for Hillary during the 2008 presidential race, and was a member of the 2008 Hillary Clinton for President Finance Committee.
Ms. King is also an Advisory Board Member of Running Start, WUFPAC’s sister organization that encourages high school girls to be involved in politics. In addition, she is on the Executive Board of Directors of FAIR Fund, an international organization that works to engage youth, especially young women, in civil society in the areas of anti-human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, and the development of youth capacity-building programs. She graduated from the University of Evansville and received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Tiffany Moore- Director
Tiffany M. Moore is sole owner of Moore Consulting, a government relations and social media consulting firm. Moore Consulting combines Ms. Moore’s nearly 15 years of government service and government relations experience with her passion for technology and social media to provide clients with a variety of consulting services.
Ms. Moore’s experience as a congressional staff member, senior staff member at a federal agency and Washington representative of a multinational food company, gives her insight into the motivations and interests involved on all sides of complex legislative issues.
As a Senior Legislative Advisor at Venable LLP, Ms. Moore focused her practice on providing government relations and legislative counseling to clients involved in food and beverage, product safety and trade issues. As an Assistant United States Trade Representative, Ms. Moore was responsible for improving the public’s understanding of U.S. trade policies through education and strategic communications initiatives. She also managed the Trade Advisory Committee system made up of more than 700 advisors broadly representative of the industries and interests that make up the U.S. economy.
As Director of Government Relations for a multinational food company, Ms. Moore revitalized the company’s Washington operations, managed the company’s political action committee and forged strong bipartisan relationships with influential members of the Administration and Congress. Ms. Moore also demonstrated an ability to build support for the government relations program across the company’s divisions and geographically diverse offices.
During her more than six years on Capitol Hill, Ms. Moore held nearly every position on the staff of the Honorable Fred Upton (R-MI). By the time she left the Hill, Ms. Moore had built a strong reputation on both sides of the aisle as a staffer who produced results on defense, homeland security, trade, education and budget issues.
Ms. Moore earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Western Michigan University and her master’s degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Ms. Moore is professionally affiliated with the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the Trade Policy Forum, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group and Women in International Trade. She is also a member of the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure Advisory Committee.
Piper Stege Nelson – Director
Ms. Nelson is the Senior Development Manager at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), dedicated to raising private funds for the organization. Previously on NDI’s Women’s Political Participation Team, Ms. Nelson focused on building the capacity of women in politics at the local level and on developing international networks of women, she works with NDI staff and partners to ensure that women are involved in politics in other countries. Before joining NDI in 2006, she worked as a program manager with the Newly Independent States program in the Office of International Affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During this time, Ms. Nelson created and implemented a program to integrate gender concerns (i.e., how issues and programs affect women and men differently) into every project’s plan and evaluation. Prior to joining the federal government, Ms. Nelson worked on a number of state campaigns and served as legislative director for Texas State Representative Jessica Farrar. She also received a Fulbright grant and spent a year in Ecuador studying the situation of women working on rose plantations around Cayambe.
Ms. Nelson earned her undergraduate degree in Spanish and Women’s Studies from Carleton College in Minnesota and her Master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. A native of Austin, Texas, she currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband Drew, her daughter Molly Magnolia and her dog, Lua.
Susannah Shakow – Senior Adviser & Co-Founder of WUFPAC
Ms. Shakow is the former President and co-founder of Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC). She is an attorney, formerly practicing legislative law as an associate with Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand. She graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina in 1990, and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1998. Previous work experience includes serving as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Wyche Fowler (D-GA), working in both the policy and communications offices in the White House on President Clinton’s Health Care Initiative.
Ms. Shakow is now the Co-Founder and President of Running Start, WUFPAC’s sister organization. Running Start is an educational non-profit aimed at encouraging young girls and women to become involved in politics. Ms. Shakow is a native of Washington, DC, and has ten-year-old twin sons.
WUFPAC Advisory Committee
Heather Barmore- New Media Advisor
Stefanie Conahan – Fundraising Advisor
Amy Gershkoff – Consultants Advisor
Pete Hackeman, Channel Consulting – Virginia Advisor
Jenny Kim – Legal Advisor
Cynthia Lewis – Arizona Advisor
Atima Omara-Alwala – Virginia Advisor
Jen Sarver – Texas Advisor
Sabrina Schulman- New York Advisor
Jen Stolp – Online Fundraising Advisor
John Vlietstra – Strategic Planning Advisor
