Madam Policy

In a special post-State of the Union episode, hosts Dee Martin and Yasmin Nelson are once again joined by powerful force for constituents and voice for House Dems, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16). As the newly elected Co-Chair for the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, Congresswoman Escobar is guiding the messaging for policy priorities of the Democratic Caucus in the 118th Cong...

A 20-year veteran and leader in the energy finance space, Elena Robciuc spearheads Societe Generale's early-mover goals in financing decarbonization strategies, including carbon capture and sequestration, hydrogen, biofuels, and energy storage. As Managing Director and Houston Team Lead of Energy+ Group for one of the world's largest banks, Elena and her institution are working towards making a po...

Brand maven Madeline Fetterly's advice to her 24-year-old self? Don't worry about the path—just do the next interesting thing. Good advice from a woman who not only does the next interesting thing, but also she invents it. Before Madeline started Be the Brand, she worked at powerhouse international women's empowerment organization, Vital Voices.  Hear about Madeline's decision to leave beloved Vit...

When Kristi Rogers sees a problem, she feels compelled to find a solution. Kristi does it all: not only is she the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Principal to Principal, but also she is a leading risk management expert functioning at the intersection of geopolitical stability, corporate leadership, and crisis communications. This serial and successful start-up CEO has over 25-years of experien...

Episode Description: TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains a discussion on grooming and youth trafficking and exploitation. Listener discretion advised. Lerina Bright spent years in sports management with international sports federations in Europe, the Middle East, North America, and the Caribbean. From there, she began her journey into ending human trafficking in sport. She soon founded and beca...

"All who follow stand on the shoulders of giants," said FBIAA Executive Director and former FBI Special Agent Jean O'Connor. In this Madam Policy episode, hear from those giants: the FBI's first female FBI Agents Susan Malone and Joanne Misko.   Joanne and Susan share their stories about going to and through Quantico, working cases, and inspiring the next generation of women Agents. "We wanted to...

Dr. Xanthe Scharff, or Madam X according to her childhood nickname, has made it her goal to "bring people together and make space" for those not always at the front of the conversation. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Fuller Project, a global newsroom dedicated to reporting on women and publishing with leading outlets. Xanthe has also been recognized by the Leadership Center for Excellence as...

"Data does not mean we know the future; it just means we can quantify our uncertainty." Kristen Soltis Anderson, renowned pollster and author, wrote that in her ground-breaking book The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America .  Widely recognized for having her finger on the pulse of the electorate, some of Kristin's accolades include being one of Elle's "Most Compelling Women in Washin...

Renowned author and inspiring change-maker Nicole Lynn Lewis put herself through the College of William & Mary as a teen mother, starting as a freshman when her daughter was just three months old. Author of her memoir and NPR Best Book 2021 honoree, Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families , Nicole has been named a CNN Hero and won the...

"Do things that make you uncomfortable" is the advice that equity champion and tech industry leader Francesca McCrary would give to her 24-year-old self. On this week's episode, Director of Government Affairs for Dell Technologies, Francesca McCrary, joins hosts Dee Martin and Yasmin Nelson to discuss her successful career transitions, the importance of uplifting others, and what's next on the Del...

True equality lies in access to excellent education. That belief led entrepreneur and trailblazer Leelila Strogov to create her own education platform that helps students get into top colleges. On this week's episode of Madam Policy, hosts Dee Martin and Rebecca Brown sit down with Founder & CEO of AtomicMind, Leelila Strogov, to discuss the importance of celebrating children at every level, h...

What is "future proofing"? Hear from Tisha Schuller, an energy policy thought leader who is proactively helping companies navigate the rapidly shifting energy landscape. This week, Founder and CEO of Adamantine Energy and host of the Energy Thinks podcast, Tisha Schuller, breaks down her multifaceted approach to energy development, which faces an unprecedented set of challenges evolving at breakne...

Heather Kennedy never thought her career would look like 20+ years with the same company. Why did she stay? Because of The Home Depot's unwavering commitment to its customers, its associates, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Join us this week as hosts Dee Martin and Yasmin Nelson sit down with The Home Depot's Vice President of Government Relations, Heather Kennedy, while she breaks down her 2...

Kate Mangino, Ph. D., is a gender expert and newly-minted author of Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equality at Home. Kate has been a leader in the gender equity space for over 20 years and has worked in in women's empowerment, HIV prevention, and forced childhood marriage prevention. This week, Kate sits down with hosts Dee Martin and Caitlin Sickles to discuss the importance of couples sharing...

Sarah Maguire is a trailblazer who is committed to empowering others. As the global director of safeguarding for international development company DAI and the first person to hold such a role at any private development organization, Sarah is not only strengthening DAI's policies and practices around the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment, but she is also pavin...

If we took every woman who has ever served as governor in American history and put them on a DC metro car, they would not only all fit, but also would get their own seat. This is compared to the more than 2,300 men who have served as governor. Amanda Hunter is on the frontlines of the efforts to change this picture. She serves as the Executive Director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, where s...

From a young age, U.S. Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) dreamed of making a difference in people's lives. Now, as the first Hispanic Member of Congress from Washington state, she is living her dream. This fiercely independent advocate for her district, constituents, and the nation, sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee and co-founded the bipartisan Maternity Care Caucus, the fir...

As the world continues to prioritize a cleaner and more energy efficient future, large-scale clean energy projects have taken center stage. But who is behind the policy and implementation of these types of projects? Meet Cordi O'Hara, President of National Grid Ventures—the unregulated, innovation arm of National Grid—and the woman leading the charge for developing and operating large-scale clean...

The Airbnb of file storage. That's how Marta Belcher—who is the President and Chair of the Filecoin Foundation, the General Counsel at Protocol Labs, and Special Counsel at Electronic Frontier Foundation— describes Filecoin. As a leading voice in civil liberties and blockchain law, Marta is consistently working to find new and innovative ways to bring the blockchain and the next generation of the...

An early morning idea, four women pursing doctorate degrees, and an evening meeting in a D.C. bookstore … want to know how this sequence of events led to the creation of a program that has helped over 100 women of color earn higher education degrees? Tune in for the latest episode of the Madam Policy Podcast to hear from Dr. Shireen Lewis, Executive Director of EduSeed and Founder of EduSeed's Sis...

As Chief of Community and Government Relations at the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), Danielle Leach shapes policy every day by working to find a cure for brain tumors and advocating for patients. Having worked in the patient advocacy field for over 20 years, Danielle has a track record of success in patient outreach and education, fundraising, advancing legislative and regulatory policies, s...

Sara Guillermo is a woman on a mission to help young women and girls own their political power.  As the CEO of IGNITE National, Sara recruits, trains and inspires the next generation of women policy makers and shapers in America. Through IGNITE, young women find the tools and resources they need to step up and make change in their communities.  In a conversation led by hosts Dee Martin and Yasmin...

"Trust your gut. Work hard when you can. And do what you love." These are the words of Emmy-award winning journalist Jessica Schneider, who joined hosts Dee Martin and Caitlin Sickles on the latest episode of Madam Policy. As a justice correspondent for CNN, Jessica has mastered the art of incorporating the legal knowledge she gained while practicing law with her love for storytelling. Tune in as...

Kema Ogden is an innovative business owner, entrepreneur, and philanthropist taking the cannabis and health industry by storm. With the vision to create a holistic approach to health care, Kema became Nevada's first Black female dispensary owner in 2014 when she co-founded Global Harmony LLC, the parent company of Top Notch The Health Center. What drives Kema? The opportunity to serve and create a...

Two Michiganders and a Senator walk into a hydrogen production facility …want to know how that story ends? Tune into Madam Policy to hear from Yooper Katie Ellet, Air Liquide's President of Hydrogen Energy and Mobility, to hear about her recent tour of the company's new hydrogen production facility in Nevada with U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm (former Michigan Governor) and Senator Cat...