by intern Sakura Buker
Photo credit: Sakura Buker
The rolling grounds of the Congressional Country Club served as a perfect and picturesque venue to bring the diplomatic gatekeepers of DC together to talk shop, reminisce and celebrate 10 years of the Institute for Education’s Social Secretaries Lunch.
Founded in 1991 by Coach Kathy Kemper, the Institute for Education assembles high power change makers from across the political, academic, technological and business spectrum to foster collaboration and facilitate positive connection between these spheres. The Social Secretaries Lunch sprung from this ethos — bringing skilled connectors together. And what better place to do that? As Coach explained, The Congressional Country Club started as a bipartisan space for balanced collaboration and recreation: “In 1922, two Illinois congressmen went to the Department of Interior and told the secretary that nothing in Washington is working. There is no collaboration, there’s no trust, there’s just a lot of vitriol. We need a place where members of Congress and the administration can come and recreate with their families.” He thought it was a great idea and the rest is history. Now, like the congressmen of then and now, the movers and shakers of DC could meet, convene and share ideas.
As Deputy Director of IFE, Elise Ravenscroft noted: “IFE is able to bring together people for important and timely conversations that strengthen.”
Awardees
In recent years, IFE has expanded to focus on promoting technological innovation, partnering with the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering to offer a comprehensive coding education to underrepresented youth. Gwenda DeMoor of the Embassy of Belgium quipped about Coach’s dedication to fostering technological development — “This lady came to our event wearing Google glasses!”
Still, technology, AI most prominently, cannot replicate the atmosphere that in-person connection creates. Gwenda elaborated, “This is something that is beyond the power of artificial intelligence. It’s very important to be able to get together in person face-to-face because usually we don’t get a chance to do that and to network, to mingle and to get to know each other a little bit beyond our roles. And I don’t think ChatGPT or any other artificial intelligence team can replace that. So let’s toast to many more events like this.”
Guests sipped Sea Breezes, poured with quite a heavy hand and chatted over salad and salmon. Representatives from the embassies of Japan, Belgium, Iceland, to name just a few, gathered to celebrate the work of IFE. The Lunch’s 10th anniversary, though, was the main grounds for celebration and the frequent attendees were awarded for their dynamic and consistent participation throughout the years. Awardees, who were presented with a certificate of appreciation and a medal included: Tamara Büchel-Brunhart of the Embassy of Liechtenstein, Kiyomi Buker of the Embassy of Japan, Elisabeth Herndler of the Embassy of Luxembourg, Gwenda DeMoor of the Embassy of Belgium, Ásdís Hreinsdóttír of the Embassy of Iceland, and Grace Ramdat of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The celebration concluded with cupcakes and light chatter, with a resounding agreement to ten more years of the IFE Social Secretaries Lunch.
Slider photo: Courtesy of IFE
