The Policy Circle's first Move the Needle Virtual Event of 2023, The Failures and Future of the U.S. Foster Care System, will take place March 2nd, 2023 at 12:00 PM CT. Register today to secure your spot!
Stacy Blakeley brings 25 years of professional experience to her role as Executive Director of The Policy Circle. Her career commenced at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. as a staffer for the House Majority Leader Dick Armey. She transitioned from planning events for political leaders and diplomats to event marketing for corporations including Dean Foods, BMW, ATT and Exxon. In 2004, Stacy pursued her life-long dream to become an attorney and graduated from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. As a commercial litigator, Stacy’s practice focused on federal class action, construction and corporate disputes. In 2013, Stacy launched KSG, an event and consulting firm that served international ministries, national nonprofits and corporations. As President of KSG, Stacy and her team built and executed communications and event strategies to fundraise, launch products and build brand awareness. As a nonprofit consultant, Stacy has helped numerous nonprofits raise millions of dollars. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Wezmore, Marketing & Communications Task Force for Girls, Inc., C-Level Advisory Board for 4word, and the Legacy Council for Fair Park. Stacy and her husband Jeff Blakeley have two teen daughters, 2 adult stepchildren and 5 grandchildren.
Kristy serves as the Director of Engagement and Expansion, overseeing The Policy Circle’s growing and diverse Membership and engagement programs, and expansion initiatives. Kristy has devoted her career to making an impact through her work in the non-profit sector, bringing more than 20 years of experience focused in organizational building, along with creation and implementation of programs, membership and engagement strategies. Her previous work has been focused in healthcare advocacy, where she successfully built a national organization from the ground-up as a founding staff member and spent 17 years helping to build a thriving and successful non-profit patient organization. Throughout her impressive tenure, Kristy was able to be an active part in key facets to non-profit development with specialized skills in community building, volunteer engagement and management, program creation and member mobilization.
Kristy is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a degree in Organizational Communication. She is a proud Floridian where she lives in Tampa with her husband, Erik, a renowned rocket and space photographer, and her middle-school daughter whose immense love for animals has grown their family to include 2 dogs, a rabbit, three chickens and a horse. She enjoys being part of her daughter’s activities and school, where she currently serves on the PTA Board, in addition to taking long RV road trip adventures with her family.
Nicole Cline has spent over a decade working in the public policy space. Currently, she is responsible for The Policy Circle’s national recruitment efforts and strategic growth initiatives. In leading The Policy Circle’s expansion, Nicole plays a leading role in engaging with investors, collaborators and aligned networks to recruit aspiring civic leaders to participate in leadership programming and to become active members of The Policy Circle community.
The Policy Circle empowers women to take ownership of solutions in their communities by providing pathways to become active citizens who are knowledgeable about the impact of public policy.
Prior to joining The Policy Circle, Nicole was Public Affairs Manager at the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the state’s largest business association. She worked with Connecticut’s leading companies to influence the legislative process, frequently employing grassroots and grasstops strategies to achieve legislative and regulatory goals. She is most proud of spearheading the organization’s key contact program, “Adopt a Legislator.”
Nicole has also worked on over a dozen federal, state and local political races as a campaign manager, fundraiser and writer.
She earned her B.A. in communications and political science from the University of Connecticut. She is also a graduate of the The Campaign School at Yale University and is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network.
Nicole is also an accomplished food publisher. Her food photography and recipes have been featured on the websites of Time, Inc., Country Living, Women’s Day, The Huffington Post and Buzzfeed. Her recipes and photos can be found at seasonlycreations.com
Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Savannah Lane found her passion for the intersection of political engagement and the empowerment of women in local, national and international communities from a young age as Virginia’s inaugural ANNPower fellow and national service grant winner. Following her experiences at the University of Virginia, Savannah honed her understanding of local political impacts on the global stage working for a Senate reelection campaign and political consulting firm in areas surrounding digital media, social media, outreach, event planning, and fundraising.
Through Savannah’s extensive service and advocacy work, she won the title of Miss Virginia 2015 in the Miss America Organization and worked in media realms with Dick Clark Productions, national nonprofits, Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, the American Heart Association and more. Through this role, Savannah won the talent and the Quality of Life award designations for her service and commitment to the community.
Savannah moved to Washington, D.C. when she was one of eight women selected from across the country to serve as a Star Fellow within the U.S. House of Representatives through Running Start. Savannah honed her communication and strategy skills, digital media tools, and policy understanding in the legislative body. From her time on the Hill, Savannah transitioned to the think tank world where she directed a think tank in foreign policy issues ranging from the NATO 2030, transatlantic relations, the U.S.-Turkey bilateral relationship, and the Middle East. Whether serving as a media commentator on international news outlets, leading strategic communications, or directing international programming, Savannah has focused on connecting bigger picture policies and issue areas to local audiences and communities. Savannah has advocated for women globally and participated in training in conflict resolution in Morocco, a diplomacy exchange in Dubai, and served as one of 25 international young professionals to take part in the Aspen Institute’s NextGen Leadership Network.
Savannah is excited to join the Policy Circle team to further promote the role of women in underrepresented spaces, equip women to drive grassroots change, and utilize the art of storytelling to catalyze connection.
Kim currently serves as National Committeewoman for the great state of Kansas and is the President and owner of Bird Dog Recruitment and Consulting LLC. Kim’s firm focuses primarily on placement of senior talent at the highest levels of state and federal government along with management development. Prior to opening her firm, Kim was the Executive Director of Leadership Development at a national think, the Foundation for Government Accountability, where she created and launched the organization’s Talent Bank Project. Kim has spent 20 years in the grassroots movement starting as a young mom fighting pornography in her public library. She has served in a myriad of roles in the republican party starting as a precinct committeewoman and most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff for Kansas Governor Sam Brownback’s administration. During Brownback’s tenure, she also served as his Director of Appointments for Boards and Commissions and the Director of Personnel for then Governor- Elect Brownback’s transition team. Upon graduation from the University of Kansas with a degree in Human Biology, Kim’s early career began in the healthcare industry working for TAP Pharmaceuticals. She also worked part-time in the radio business and was afforded the opportunity to create and host a local radio talk show program known as “News You Need to Know” on KMAJ 1440 AM.
Kim’s work on the national level has led her to be recognized by the national conservative Independent Women’s Forum(IWF) in their Champion Women’s Series and as a featured speaker for the Policy Circle’s 2018 Circle Leadership Summit in Chicago. She is also a mentor and coach for women in politics for Michigan’s Republican Women’s League of our Own.
Currently, Kim serves as, a Director for Kansas Delta Dental, a board member for the Eisenhower in Public Service Series, a board member for Cair Paravel Latin School, a volunteer for Topeka Civic Theatre and as an advisor for an anti-sex trafficking task force Freedom Now-USA and JAG-K. Kim and her husband of 25 years, Dr.Tim, reside in Topeka. Kim and Tim have a newly married daughter and son-in-law, Hannah and Garry, a daughter who is in her 2nd year at Liberty University in VA and her15 year old son, Jude.
Olivia’s responsibilities as the Donor Relations Manager include donor acknowledgement and communications, event support, and foundation engagement. Prior to joining The Policy Circle, she spent nearly eight years in advancement at a private university. She brings experience in donor stewardship and events, capital campaigns, and development marketing and communications to her role.
Olivia graduated from the University of Arkansas with a B.S. in Agricultural Communications. She and her husband, Ryan, live in Northwest Arkansas. She enjoys being outdoors and spends her free time hiking with her dogs, horseback riding and working in the yard. Olivia recently served on the building committee for the renovation of the 100-year-old sanctuary owned by her church and chaired the communications committee for the $1 million capital campaign.
Maddi currently serves as the Events Manager at The Policy Circle. She is responsible for the management, production and execution of all live and virtual events. Prior to joining The Policy Circle team, Maddi was Event and Development Coordinator for Katy Sky Group in Dallas, Texas. She worked with a number of corporate and non-profit organizations to organize and execute event logistics, communications and fundraising efforts. She now brings her love of events and communications to The Policy Circle team.
Maddi is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She lives in Dallas, Texas, where she spends as much time as possible outdoors, with friends, family and her dogs, and exploring new places.
Dusty serves as the Digital Marketing Manager at The Policy Circle, where she is responsible for marketing and advertising initiatives, digital content, public relations, and media. Prior to joining the team, she came from an advertising agency background, where she managed social media, digital marketing, creative direction, and photography for a diverse set of clients in the travel, restaurant, healthcare, and beauty industry. She now brings her passion for combining creativity with strategy to The Policy Circle.
Dusty is a graduate of Texas Christian University, where she earned two Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing and Finance, while being on the TCU Showgirls dance team. She’s a Northern California native turned proud Texan, and currently lives in Dallas, TX. She enjoys cooking, being outdoors, and getting back to the California slopes during ski season as often as she can.
Beth McQueen brings years of experience in education, administration, leadership and outreach. After receiving her BA in Early Childhood Education from Clemson University, Beth began her career as a teacher and developed the prekindergarten program in her county, a first in the state of Florida. She later spent a semester studying literature and writing in Australia through a Michigan State University education abroad program. She then received an MEd in Educational Leadership from University of North Florida. Her passion for people and culture soon brought her to the nonprofit sector where she served as an outreach director for a multicampus, megachurch. Beth has experience developing partnerships, training volunteer teams and traveling globally to provide support and encouragement to missionaries and agency representatives. Beth is an avid reader, loves to travel and enjoys hiking and exploring her surroundings wherever she may be.
Meagon currently serves as Executive Assistant at The Policy Circle, where she is responsible for providing a broad range of executive support. This includes travel and calendar management, as well as relationship management on behalf of the Executive Director. Meagon brings over ten years of experience in administration, with several of those years spent supporting high level executives. She began her career in the healthcare field and moved on into HigherEd. After being in HigherEd for several years, she came to the realization that educating and empowering women was her passion. She graduated from The University of North Texas Dallas with a degree in Political Science and is currently enrolled in a Master’s Program for Public Leadership.
Meagon was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She has two young children, Dahlia (8) and Vicente (5). When she isn’t running around to dance class or baseball practice, she enjoys working out, trying new restaurants, and traveling to new places when she can.
Marjorie Eastman brings more than a decade of military service to The Policy Circle team as its Leadership Outreach Fellow. In this role, Marjorie is leading The Policy Circle’s military outreach effort to expand its signature CLER program to members of the veterans, active duty and military spouse communities. Marjorie enlisted after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, where her 10 years of military service includes two combat deployments, one in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the other in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. She is a Mustang – a military nickname for a prior enlisted soldier who becomes an officer. She received the rare honor of a direct commission after her first deployment. As an intelligence officer and commander, she led more than one hundred soldiers in Afghanistan during the rough surge years in the successful completion of their mission. She was ranked the #1 Military Intelligence Company Commander in Eastern Afghanistan, awarded the Bronze Star, and received the Combat Action Badge.
Marjorie faced her toughest battle at home when her 6-month-old son was diagnosed with infant cancer – which he beat! That crucible led her to become a national independent award-winning author of The Frontline Generation: How We Served Post 9/11 and is now recognized across the country for her advocacy work supporting the military family.
Her professional path includes perspective and experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She is a former U.S. Senate candidate, inspired to serve again after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. She has her masters degree in International Security from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and her MBA from Vanderbilt University. Marjorie is also a military spouse and supported her husband’s distinguished military career in special operations and his 17 combat tours. She lives in Cary with her husband, Charles, their beloved son, Henk, and two shelter rescue dogs.
Schermisia currently serves as the Video and Virtual Events Production Manager at The Policy Circle. She is responsible for supporting all virtual events and video content. Dynamic in scope, Schermisia brings with her over 14 years of experience in the education, start up, and non-profit sectors through the production of events, content creation management, and innovation.
Schermisia is a graduate of The University of Colorado – Boulder, born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Proud military brat and high achiever, she found herself planted in the great state of Texas where she currently resides with her two beautiful children in Dallas, Texas.
