Law Grads Share Insights from Work in Politics, AI, Entrepreneurship and More at 2026 Georgetown Women’s Forum

More than 200 speakers and guests gathered to celebrate women graduates and strengthen the alumni community at this year’s pan-campus forum, which was held on the Capitol Campus and nearby Royal Sonesta hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. The three-day convening featured panel discussions and interactive workshops on topics ranging from financial wellness and business leadership strategies to AI policy and insights from Capitol Hill.

First held in 2018, the university-wide forum is sponsored by the Georgetown University Alumni Association and is hosted alternately with the biennial Georgetown Law Women’s Forum, which was created in the 1990s to acknowledge the contributions of and address the challenges faced by women in the legal field.

“For more than a decade, [this] initiative has been driven by a singular, powerful mission: to connect alumni together, to connect them back to the university and to cultivate the next generation of leaders,” said Georgetown University Alumni Association Executive Director Julia Farr, C’88, in her remarks at the March 19 welcome reception. “If you look around the room, you’re seeing the strength of this mission in action.”

An unexpected path to onscreen success

Ashley Hollis (left), L’24, and Sarah Mucha (right), F’17, kicked off Women’s Forum with a conversation held at the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Capitol View Convening Space.

Farr’s remarks were followed by a conversation between Sarah Mucha, F’17, and law alumna Ashley Hollis, L’24, who discussed her high-profile win on the 27th season of the reality competition show Big Brother last year.

Hollis, who worked in the AI practice group at A&O Shearman before joining the hit CBS show, explained that the decision to hide her legal background from her castmates was central to her winning strategy. “People underestimate her. People think they can control her,” she said of her onscreen persona.“I knew that that was how I would have more success in the game.”

Having successfully concealed her professional identity until a dramatic final reveal late in the show, Hollis credited her time at Georgetown Law — including serving as the president of GEMALaw, the student group for those interested in sports and entertainment law — with helping her cultivate the skills needed to navigate both the Big Brother house and a new career path in content creation.

“Law school really teaches you about people skills,” she said. “You become exposed to people from a variety of different backgrounds, a variety of passions, a variety of different paths they want to go on.”

Lessons from leadership on Capitol Hill

McCourt School of Public Policy Dean Carole Roan Gresenz (far left) moderated a discussion among alumni chiefs of staff. L-R: Amy Friedman, C’97, G’98; Angeline Jabbar, L’95; and Jenny Gorski, C’01.

Angeline Jabbar, L’95, similarly reflected on her career trajectory and offered guidance to the next generation of graduates during the “Insights from Capitol Hill: Discussion with Alumni Chiefs of Staff” panel discussion on March 20.

Jabbar, who has served as chief of staff to Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (D-VI) since 2019, was joined by Amy Friedman, C’97, G’98, chief of staff to U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Jenny Gorski, C’01, chief of staff to U.S. Representative Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) for a conversation about their work on Capitol Hill, including the importance of bipartisan collaboration, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and how to prioritize career development while leading a fast-moving legislative office.

“It’s very important to learn how to pivot, because you might have one plan in mind for that day, and it totally changes depending on any crisis or fire that may come up,” said Jabbar, who also fondly recalled walking to the Law Center campus each evening from the U.S. Department of Labor, where she worked while earning her J.D. through Georgetown Law’s evening program.

Her advice for those hoping to work on Capitol Hill or just starting out in the field? “Sometimes leadership can be lonely,” she said, underscoring that supporting a member of Congress can mean making unpopular — but necessary — decisions. “But,” she added, “you’re not alone.”