About Us
The Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN) is the only national organization whose sole focus is preparing college women for leadership in the public policy arena.
Each year, PLEN brings women students from colleges and universities across the country to Washington, D.C. for a weekend, week, or an entire summer to experience first-hand how public policy is shaped and implemented at the national level.
Students meet with and learn from women leaders making and influencing public policy at the highest levels in the Congress, courts, federal agencies, corporate sector, policy research and advocacy organizations and the news media.
PLEN’s programs include: Women & Science/Technology Policy; Women & Congress; Women & Public Policy; Women & International Policy; Women, Law & Public Policy and a Public Policy Summer Internship Program.
Through exposing college women to role models and skill trainings before they enter the workforce, PLEN seeks to increase the number of women in top leadership positions influencing all aspects of the public policy process.
Founded in 1978, PLEN has served thousands of college women, of which more than one-third are women of color or from other populations historically under-represented in public policy leadership.
We are proud to be affiliated with:
