2024 Statewide Leadership Summit

Winning with Women Panel

Fri., 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm

Top GOP women leaders will speak to their own successes on the campaign trail, along with the persuasive messages that connect with female voters reluctant to trust the Republican Party.

Panelists

Michele Matsikoudis

Michele Matsikoudis currently serves as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 21st Legislative District, which includes portions of Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union Counties. In the Assembly, Michele is a leading voice on issues ranging from affordability, to accessibility, to K-12 education. She serves as a member of four different Committees: Education; Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture; Higher Education; and the Joint Committee on Public Schools.

A mother of three and former PTA President, Michele recognizes the importance of parental involvement in education, and values the critical role our teachers play in helping students grow into the very best version of themselves. To ensure that New Jersey’s schools can maintain their high-quality level of education, Michele continues to advocate for cutting unnecessary red tape and bolstering education programs to address our state’s teacher shortage.

Michele has been a trailblazer throughout her professional career, often finding herself as one of the only woman in the room while she worked for some of the most prominent financial institutions in the country. Now, as an assemblywoman and former councilwoman, Michele actively works to support and inspire the next generation of women leaders at the state and local levels.

Holly Schepisi

Holly Schepisi served as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 2012 until March 25, 2021, when she was sworn in as a member of the New Jersey State Senate. Senator Schepisi represents the 39th Legislative District, which includes twenty-eight municipalities located in Bergen County. She serves as a member of the Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee and the Community and Urban Affairs Committee and has been selected as the Republican Conference Leader.

In June 2022, Ms. Schepisi joined the law firm of O’Toole Scrivo LLC as a Partner. Experienced in public issues, Ms. Schepisi currently serves as counsel to the Park Ridge Board of Public Utilities and previously served as the public defender for the Borough of Oakland and the township attorney for River Vale. She is an executive committee board member of the Bergen Community College Foundation, a board member for the Adler Aphasia Center, the previous President of the Fordham Law Alumni Association, New Jersey Chapter, and serves as an advisory board member of Provident Bank.

Ms. Schepisi earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Politics and Psychology in 1993 from Catholic University of America and a law degree from Fordham University Law School in 1997. She currently resides in River Vale with her husband, Paul, and her two children.

Claire Swift

Assemblywoman Claire Swift was initially sworn in in January 2022 and again in January 2024 as her second term in the NJ State Assembly. Claire currently serves on the Labor and State and Local Government Committees. In her prior term, she served on the Labor, Law and Public Safety and the Human Services Committee. Claire’s legislative focus encompasses crucial areas such as law and public safety, helping working families, student loan protection, helping small businesses and skilled labor.

In 2022, Claire was awarded the Woman of the Year award by the New Jersey State Republican Committee. In 2023, Claire was awarded the Lincoln award by the Atlantic County Federation for Republican Woman Committee.

Claire resides in Margate with her husband, John, and their three children, Jack (13), Anthony (11), and Claire (11). Remarkably, she lives on the same street where she grew up, surrounded by the memories of her childhood and the support of her late father, a single parent who raised Claire and her seven siblings.

Amanda Woloshen Glass

Amanda Woloshen Glass is a government affairs specialist and senior political strategist with an expertise in the areas of public affairs, government relations, communications, messaging, and campaign management. Her proven record of success in campaign management and successfully building issue-oriented and diverse grassroots coalitions stems from her ability to keep an eye on the big picture while using surgical precision to focus on the elements needed to win.

Amanda’s passion for politics began volunteering on a Presidential campaign as a teenager and she is proud to have successfully managed her first congressional campaign by the age of 23.

She and her husband David reside in New Jersey where they were both born and raised.