Women in Policy Alliance: Coffee & Conversation

Join the Progressive Policy Institute’s Women in Policy Alliance on Tuesday, June 2, for our monthly coffee and networking, happening on Capitol Hill!

This month's event will feature a fireside chat with PPI’s Claire Ainsley and Anushka Asthana of Channel 4 News to discuss their careers, PPI’s Project on Center-Left Renewal, and the global center-left.

Claire Ainsley is Director of the Project on Center-Left Renewal, at the Progressive Policy Institute. Prior to joining PPI, she was Executive Director of Policy to Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition and the U.K. Labour Party 2020-22, one of the first women to hold the role of Labour's policy director. She joined Keir Starmer's team from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a UK think tank working to solve UK poverty, where she was Executive Director. Before this, she worked for a UK trade union and government agency. In May 2018, she authored The New Working Class: How to Win Hearts, Minds and Votes. She is based in the North of England, where she lives with her husband and children.

Anushka Asthana joined Channel 4 News in June 2025 as US Editor. She previously worked at ITV News, where she had been Deputy Political Editor since 2021 and co-presented Peston since 2018. Prior to joining ITV, Anushka was joint Political Editor of The Guardian, having worked for Sky, The Times, and The Observer. In 2024, her book, Taken As Red, was published as one of the first accounts of Labour's dramatic election win, with the updated paperback published in June 2025 on Labour’s first year in government.

Come mingle with colleagues and peers while enjoying coffee and pastries. Whether you are curious about new research, looking for partners for collaboration, preparing for career advancement, or simply looking to support other women in their careers, this coffee series is a wonderful opportunity to build relationships while cultivating the next generation of women in policy.

This event is free to attend and open to all. If you have any questions, please email Alyssa Brown-Ruiz at [email protected].

The Women in Policy Alliance was designed to foster growth and facilitate connection among women working in policy across Washington, D.C. The Women in Policy Alliance hosts formal and informal events throughout the year to foster growth and connection among women working in policy.

Join the and for our monthly Coffee & Conversation events.

This event is designed to comply with House and Senate ethics rules.

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