Betsy Wright Hawkings graduated from Williams in 1986 with a double major in American Studies and Art History. She financed her Williams education by working on Wall Street on and off throughout college and afterward. In 1987, she moved to Washington and worked as a fundraiser until obtaining a job with her hometown Congressman, Christopher Shays, in 1988.
As Shays’ Chief of Staff for nearly two decades, Hawkings oversaw congressional activities in Washington and Connecticut including policy, media, outreach and strategic planning, as well as fundraising. She worked with constituents to help build the coalition that produced the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill; enact the Congressional Accountability Act, which applied the labor, civil rights and workplace safety laws Congress passes for the rest of the country to Congress itself; and spearhead the establishment of the 9/11 Commission as well as the enactment of many of its recommendations. She also helped Shays advocate against the use of torture and on behalf of women’s human rights around the world.
Following Shays’ departure from Congress in 2008, Betsy was appointed Managing Director of Government Relations for Amnesty International USA, overseeing AIUSA’s efforts to press the U.S. government to advance human rights globally in U.S. policy and legislation — especially the rights of women. In August 2009 she was named a member of AIUSA’s Executive Team and Deputy Executive Director for Advocacy Policy and Research.
Betsy returned to her family’s Ohio roots when she was appointed Chief of Staff to Congressman Michael R. Turner (Ohio-3) in March 2010. She oversees Rep. Turner’s congressional operations in both Ohio and Washington DC. As home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the district includes the largest single-site employer in the state of Ohio and one of the largest, most diverse and organizationally complex bases in the Air Force. Rep. Turner’s work as ranking member of the House Armed Forces Strategic Forces Subcommittee makes him a leading voice on our nation’s nuclear weapons, military intelligence, and military personnel policies. His work to prevent and protect victims of sexual assault in the military and to protect the child custody rights of deployed service members — mostly women — has been a particular focus for Betsy.
Betsy lives in Washington with her husband, who is managing editor ofCongressional Quarterly Magazine, and their two sons.
