College to Congress helps low-income, high-achieving students obtain congressional internships and pays all costs associated with placement and service. ¹

Background

College to Congress was founded in 2016 by Audrey Henson, a former Congressional intern to Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate. Henson worked as the organization’s CEO from 2016 until 2021. ^{2 3}

Henson established the organization to “widen the circle of young people from low income families who are on track for good jobs in Congress” with the objective of making Congress more representative and more responsive to the public’s needs. ⁴

Henson ran for office as a Republican candidate in 2022. ⁵ After announcing her candidacy, she briefly continued as CEO but was fired in 2021. The board did not indicate a reason for her termination. ⁶

She was succeeded by Dennis Ross, a board member and former Republican member of Congress. ⁷ He worked as interim CEO, resigning in 2021 in order to pursue a Congressional run ^{8 9} from which he withdrew prior to the primary election. ¹⁰

Henson filed a lawsuit in federal court in December 2022 alleging that she was terminated due to her political beliefs and seeking damages and reinstatement as CEO. Her filing charges that the board considered “her conservative Republican beliefs posed a threat to the financial and reputational stability” of the organization. College to Congress denied wrongdoing and described Henson’s complaint as “without merit.” ¹¹

The Vogel Group, a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm, was retained by College to Congress from June 2019 through June 2022 to lobby Congress on “issues relating to appropriations, education, and employment opportunities for congressional interns.” ¹²

Activities

College to Congress recruits, trains, and subsidizes high achieving “diverse, rural, and disadvantaged” college students interested in becoming congressional interns. All recruits have received Pell Grants, a federally administered grant program for low income students. ¹³

Students are trained online for free. College to Congress assists those who successfully complete the training with placement in the offices of 80 members of Congress from both chambers and both parties. It provides mentoring and additional professional development training during the internships. All living and placement expenses are covered by College to Congress. Upon completion of their internships, the students receive help in finding full-time jobs in Washington, D.C. ¹⁴

Funding

Much of College to Congress’s financial support is drawn from foundations and corporations. ¹⁵ The left-of-center William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Democracy Fund have provided both general operating and program grants. Other foundation supporters include the Marian B. and Jacob K. Javits Foundation, Inc., the Nasiri Foundation, and the Horwitz Family Fund. Corporate supporters have included Allstate, UPS, AT&T, and Toyota. ¹⁶

People

Kayann Schoeneman chairs the organization’s board. ¹⁷ Ms. Schoeneman is president of Curley Company, a Washington, D.C., women-owned strategic communications firm. ¹⁸ College to Congress’ Honorary House Co-chairs are Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and William Timmons (R-SC). Its Honorary Senate Co-chairs are Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Tim Scott (R-SC). ¹⁹

1. “College to Congress.” Guidestar. Accessed January 10, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/proflie/81-3555525
2. “Audrey Henson: Founder and CEO of College to Congress.” Pink Granite Foundation. March, 18, 2021. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://pinkgranite.org/2021/03/18/audreyhenson/
3. “Annual Report.” College to Congress. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.collegetocongress.org/history
4. Brownstein, Ronald. “Real Reform Comes from Civic Stamina.” The Atlantic. July 16, 2020. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/2020-renewal-award-winners-profiles/614125/
5. “Audrey Henson.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 13, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Audrey_Henson
6. Fitzgerald, Sandy. “Nonprofit Founder Says She Was Fired for Being a Conservative.” Newsmax. December 12, 2022. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/audrey-henson-fired-nonprofit/2022/12/12/id/1100103/
7. “Congressman Dennis Ross Joining College to Congress as Interim CEO.” College to Congress. July 25, 2021. Accessed January 15, 2022. https://www.collegetocongress.org/press-release/congressman-dennis-ross-joining-college-to-congress-as-interim-ceo
8. Fitzgerald, Sandy. “Nonprofit Founder Says She Was Fired for Being a Conservative.” Newsmax. December 12, 2022. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/audrey-henson-fired-nonprofit/2022/12/12/id/1100103/
9. Moyer, Justin Wm. “Nonprofit founder says she was fired for being a conservative Republican.” Washington Post. December 12, 2022. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/12/audrey-henson-interns-capitol-hill/
10. “Dennis Ross.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 10, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Dennis_Ross
11. ^[1] Moyer, Justin Wm. “Nonprofit founder says she was fired for being a conservative Republican.” Washington Post. December 12, 2022. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/12/audrey-henson-interns-capitol-hill/
12. United States Senate. Lobbying Disclosure. Registrations & Quarterly Activity. Accessed January 13, 2022. https://lda.senate.gov/filings/public/filing/search/?registrant=&registrant_country=&registrant_ppb_country=&client=college+to+congress&client_state=&client_country=&client_ppb_country=&lobbyist=&lobbyist_covered_position=&lobbyist_conviction_disclosure=&lobbyist_conviction_date_range_from=&lobbyist_conviction_date_range_to=&report_period=&report_year=&report_dt_posted_from=&report_dt_posted_to=&report_amount_reported_min=&report_amount_reported_max=&report_filing_uuid=&report_house_doc_id=&report_issue_area_description=&affiliated_organization=&affiliated_organization_country=&foreign_entity=&foreign_entity_country=&foreign_entity_ppb_country=&foreign_entity_ownership_percentage_min=&foreign_entity_ownership_percentage_max=&search=search
13. “Annual Report.” College to Congress. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.collegetocongress.org/history
14. “College to Congress.” Guidestar. Accessed January 10, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/proflie/81-3555525
15. “Annual Report.” College to Congress. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.collegetocongress.org/history
16. “Annual Report.” College to Congress. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.collegetocongress.org/history
17. “Leadership.” College to Congress. Accessed January 10, 2022. https://www.collegetocongress.org/leadership
18. “KayAnn Schoeneman Becomes President of Curley Company, Will Partner with Founder to Lead.” CommPRO. 2023. Accessed January 13, 2023. https://www.commpro.biz/kayann-schoeneman-becomes-president-of-curley-company-will-partner-with-founder-to-lead-agency/
19. “Leadership.” College to Congress. Accessed January 10, 2022. https://www.collegetocongress.org/leadership