WUFPAC :: Bringing Young Women to Politics

President - Jessica Grounds
Ms. Grounds is currently the Senior Strategist with Stones' Phones, a Democratic consulting firm based in Washington, DC. She consults candidates at all levels of office, as well as progressive causes, and focuses much of her attention working with women candidates. Ms. Grounds is currently a graduate student with the Women & Politics Institute at American University. She graduated from Pepperdine University in 2003 where she was President of Young Democrats and worked with multiple women's campaigns at the local and federal level.

Vice President and General Counsel - Coke Morgan Stewart, Esq.
Ms. Stewart is the founder of C.M. Stewart Consulting. She launched her consulting practice to assist law firms in recruiting and retaining exceptional attorneys and to solve the seemingly intractable problem of increasing attorney productivity while improving job satisfaction. Ms. Stewart conducts interactive workshops on time management, marketing, and other professional development issues at some of the nation's most prominent law firms. Her clients include DLA Piper, Greenberg Traurig, Skadden Arps, Miles & Stockbridge, Goodwin Proctor, Akin Gump, White & Case, and others.

Ms. Stewart brings many years of experience practicing law to her consulting services. She began private practice as a litigation associate at Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand, now part of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary. In 2001, she moved to Howrey Simon Arnold & White with the head of Verner’s litigation group. Ms. Stewart is a leader in the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, where she works with the Professionalism and Ethics Subcommittee and the Raise the Bar Task Force, charged with drafting recommendations to improve the practice of law in large law firms. She holds a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was Executive Editor of the Virginia Tax Review and Editor in Chief of the Virginia Law Weekly. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable James T. Turner of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Ms. Stewart lives with her husband and son in the Washington, D.C. area.

Executive Board Officers

Executive Circle Chair - Alyse Nelson Bloom
Ms. Bloom is the Co-Founder and Vice President of the Vital Voices Global Partnership (VVGP), a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, dedicated to supporting women's leadership in building strong economies, strengthening political systems, and sustaining peace worldwide. She has been involved in international youth issues from both a grassroots and inter-governmental perspective for the past several years. Through her work at the State Department and as an advisor with the Government in Action Program, she has worked to develop a substantive dialogue between youth and policy-makers. Alyse is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Bloom received her B.S. in Communications, Politics, and Law from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and is currently completing the Global Master of Arts Program, an executive graduate program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Events Coordinator - Anne Fabry
Ms. Fabry is a Government Relations Specialist with Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP, representing clients in a variety of industries before the federal government. 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 a 1988 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 currently President of the Women’s Congressional Golf Association and a member of the Woman’s National Democratic Club, Women in Government Relations, and Women in Housing and Finance. She is a native of the Washington, DC area and currently resides in Rockville, Maryland with her husband.

Ms. O'Malley is a native Washingtonian who has always been interested in politics. She currently works in health care policy at the American Hospital Association. Ms. O'Malley graduated from American University in 2004 with a degree in Public Communication and is currently working on an advanced degree at George Washington University. She has volunteered hundreds of hours on political campaigns, starting with a local Congressional race in 2002 through the 2004 Presidential campaign cycle. In her spare time she is also involved in Irish cultural organizations around Washington.

Ms. Prendergast is a government affairs representative for Sempra Energy, a San Diego-based energy services holding company, focusing on the company’s federal legislative and regulatory issues. Prior to joining Sempra, she was an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore and American University, and a policy analyst for the Maryland General Assembly. She earned her doctorate in Political Science from American University, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Clark Atlanta University, and a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Maryland at College Park. Danielle lives in Maryland with her husband Michael.

Outreach Coordinator - Kelly Keenan Trumpbour
Ms. Trumpbour is currently the Public Policy Chair for the National Association of Women Business Owner’s Baltimore Regional Chapter (NAWBO-BRC). In this position, she has lead NAWBO member visit days on Capitol Hill, lobbied state and national representatives, educated members about upcoming legislation, and hosted public policy dinners. She holds a JD from the University of Maryland School of Law and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. In 2001, she was awarded a fellowship to work for Community Law in Action, a group dedicated to helping inner city children understand the legislative process and advocate on behalf of their communities. She also had the opportunity to work with the Director of Legislative Affairs for Advocates for Children and Youth. During this time, she researched legislation, attended coalition meetings, and testified at Maryland General Assembly public hearings on behalf of special education students and children within the juvenile justice system. Her article, “Serving the Poor: The Need for Unification within Today’s Legal Services,” was published in 2002 by MARGINS, Maryland’s Law Journal on Race, Religion, Gender and Class. During law school, she interned on the U.S. Senate Committee for Energy and Natural Resources and worked as a research assistant on a study commissioned by the Kaiser Institute examining federal regulation of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs. Before moving to Maryland, Ms Trumpbour worked as an assistant inside the public affairs offices of former Michigan Governor John Engler and former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. She enjoys helping her mother run www.kellypatricia.com, an online business showcasing her mother’s handmade designs with a portion of profits supporting Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

Membership Director - Maureen Ward
Ms. Ward is a staff assistant with Alcalde & Fay, a government and public affairs consulting firm in Arlington , VA. She graduated cum laude from American University in 2004 and received a Professional Development Certificate in Women, Policy and Political Leadership from the Women & Politics Institute at AU in 2005. Ms. Ward also studied at the Institute of Public Administration in Dublin , Ireland while doing fieldwork for a female member of the Irish Dáil. She is a New Jersey native and volunteers her time for organizations promoting progressive causes and women’s political involvement.

Ms. Whelpton has over 15 years of experience in the areas of non-profit program management, leadership, volunteer development, communications, and advocacy. Her career and board commitments have been dedicated to youth-related causes. She is currently consulting to the Sheridan Group, a government relations firm which represents non-profit organizations. Prior to the Sheridan Group, Ms. Whelpton managed AYUSA International, a high school youth exchange program. AYUSA recruits 2,000 high school students from 80 countries each year and matches them with volunteer host families across America for a 10-month home stay. As AYUSA’s Executive Director, she developed and led a national coalition of youth exchange programs to secure U.S. Department of State funding for bridge-building post 9/11 exchange initiatives with the Middle East . Funding by the Cultural Bridges Act of 2002, this program brings 600 academic year students each year to the United States from predominately Muslim countries. Ms. Whelpton graduated from Williams College with a major in Political Science. She completed a M.Ed. from Boston University’s School of Education. She lives in Washington, DC with her partner, Adair, and two sons, Owen and Charlie. She is an enthusiastic parent and avid waters sports fan.

Communications Director - Amy R. Wolverton
Ms. Wolverton most recently was a communications law and policy consultant for the government relations department at Discovery Communications Inc. Prior to working at Discovery, Ms. Wolverton was FCC/Media Program Director and Associate Legal Counsel for The Campaign Legal Center, and an attorney and fellow for the Institute of Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center. She also spent three years as in-house counsel for Cox Communications, Inc. and four years at Alston & Bird, LLP. Ms. Wolverton is enjoying her third year as co-chair of the FCBA’s Online Practice Committee; she also served on the Charity Auction sub-committee and worked with the Relations with Other Bars Committee. Ms. Wolverton previously was a chapter board member for Women in Cable and Telecommunications. She earned her LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, and graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State University College of Law and with distinction from Indiana University.

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