Women’s Congressional Policy Institute names President
Good Insight is pleased that our client, the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute (WCPI), announced Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat as the organization’s next President. Currently serving as Interim President, Lockwood-Shabat was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors for the permanent role following an extensive national search led by Washington, DC-based firm, Good Insight.
WCPI sponsors programming focused on key bipartisan women’s issues for women Members of Congress and congressional staff, a congressional fellowship program, policy briefings on Capitol Hill, and other signature events.
Lockwood-Shabat has a long leadership record advancing women’s issues. From 1997 to 2006, she was WCPI’s Policy Director, where she expanded the organization’s coverage of congressional issues impacting women and families, authored an extensive report on women;s health, and founded the organization’s Take Our Daughters to Work Day on Capitol Hill. She spent over a decade in leadership roles at the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, including as President from 2015 to 2021.
“WCPI’s experience building bridges across the aisle has never been more vital,” said Mary-Lacey Reuther, WCPI Board Chair. “Now, as we approach our 30th anniversary, Jennifer’s legacy with WCPI and laser focus on women’s leadership will continue to strengthen bipartisan women policymakers and demonstrate the possibilities for collaboration in Congress.”
“Having started my career at WCPI, I am immensely proud of this full-circle moment,” said Lockwood-Shabat. “WCPI plays a critically important role in supporting bipartisan approaches to advancing women as leaders and change-makers in public policy.”
Lockwood-Shabat follows Cindy Hall, WCPI’s President from 1999 to 2025, who retired in January. WCPI will celebrate its 30th anniversary at a Congressional Gala Reception on April 9, where it will also welcome the new leaders of the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus and new women Members.
About Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat
Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat brings more than 25 years of leadership in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. She previously served as the President and CEO of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, a community-supported foundation dedicated to investing in women and girls of color in the Washington, DC region, where she worked for 13 years.
Most recently in her own consultancy, she has partnered with CEOs, boards, and organizations to facilitate and implement change while embedding equity in their organizational cultures, policies, and practices. In her early-career role as WCPI’s Policy Director, Lockwood-Shabat directed the organization’s policy research and analysis and worked extensively with the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus.
Lockwood-Shabat was named a Community Champion by Capital One and the Washington Mystics and a “Women Who Mean Business” and a “Power 100 Honoree” by the Washington Business Journal.
Lockwood-Shabat holds a master’s degree in international policy studies with a concentration in women in development from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire.
About the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute
The Women’s Congressional Policy Institute (WCPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization that brings together a community of bipartisan women policymakers and trusted partners to advance issues of importance to women, develop the next generation of women leaders, and foster a more effective and representative democracy. Learn more at www.wcpinst.org.