NEW Leadership™

The National Education for Women's (NEW) Leadership Pennsylvania is an intensive, six-day, leadership and public policy institute designed to educate and empower young women for future political participation and leadership. The program addresses the under–representation of women in the political arena by focusing on the role of women in politics and policy making in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Each year approximately 35 students from colleges and universities across Pennsylvania are selected to attend. NEW Leadership Pennsylvania™ is a part of a national network of NEW Leadership programs developed by the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University.

Decorative icon of a hand hovering a button that says APPLY

Apply Today!

Application Deadline: March 28, 2025

The NEW Leadership™ summer institute is an intensive, non-partisan, six-day residential program that will take place May 18 - 23, 2025 at the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University.

Stay Connected

Are you an alumni of the NEW Leadership Pennsylvania™ program? Sign up for our Alumni Newsletter to receive news from the NEW Leadership Pennsylvania™ alumni network.

2025 Practitioner-in-Residence

Pamela M. Iovino

Former State Senator

Pamela M. Iovino was nominated to serve as a member of the State Civil Service Commission by former Governor Tom Wolf on October 14, 2022 and confirmed by the Pennsylvania State Senate on October 26, 2022. As the Commission's statutorily required veteran member, she also serves as veteran advocate. Commissioner Iovino was sworn into office on December 22, 2022.

Commissioner Iovino previously served as Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs and Executive Deputy Secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of State. In her role as Executive Deputy Secretary, she managed and supervised the agency's day-to-day administrative and programmatic operations, and agency strategic policy development and implementation.

Prior to her service at the Department of State, Commissioner Iovino served as an Adjunct Professor at Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Director of Veterans' Services for Allegheny County; and was elected in a special election and served as a Pennsylvania State Senator representing the 37th State Senatorial District, serving Allegheny (part) and Washington (part) Counties.

Commissioner Iovino dedicated her professional life to public service representing the interests of veterans at the federal and local levels. She is a military service veteran and obtained the rank of Captain in the United States (U.S.) Navy before retiring in 2003 after 23 years of service. She subsequently was nominated by former President George W. Bush, unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and served as Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. In this role, she served as chief legislative advocate for the nation's 25 million veterans.

Commissioner Iovino holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Gettysburg College and a Master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. She is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh and served as a Board Member of the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania and Adagio Health. She has also served as a member of the Governor's Pennsylvania Commission for Women, the Special Education Funding Commission, the Council of Arts, the Emergency Management Council, and the 911 Advisory Board.

2025 Women in Public Leadership Keynote

Diana Irey-Vaughan

Former Washington County Commissioner

Diana Irey Vaughan is the President & CEO of City Mission. Diana became the President/CEO of City Mission on March 1, 2024, after serving as Washington County Commissioner for nearly 30 years. As a Commissioner, Irey Vaughan was known for her leadership in economic development, human services, and humanitarian efforts. During her tenure, she supervised over 1500 Washington County employees within twenty-eight departments and a budget of $253,000,000. Diana also provided oversight to a 275 -bed nursing facility and the Washington County Jail. Diana attended West Virginia Business College, Fairmont State, and California University. She has served on numerous Boards and received countless awards including the Washington County Athena Award, the American Legion Medal of Honor, and the Spirit of Southpointe Award. In 2023 the Athena Young Professional Leadership Award was renamed to the Diana Irey Vaughan Young Professional Award. Driven by her Christian faith, Diana has been a devoted supporter of City Mission for many years and personally raised over $180,0000 for the mission since 2016 through her long-distance charity runs. Upon accepting this new role, Irey Vaughan stated that she was “humbled and honored to be chosen for the role that will provide care for neighbors in need and transform lives.”

Past Practitioners-in-Residence

Thank You

A special thank you to our sponsors, who make this program possible.

Judy Papernick ‘79