Meet Our Team

Kimberly Begg is president of the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women. An attorney with more than 25 years of experience strengthening conservative causes, her long history with the Luce Center began in the 1990s when she was a student at Rutgers University. In 1997, she attended the Luce Center’s College Women’s Luncheon in Washington, DC and hosted a Luce campus lecture the following year.

She has been a regular speaker for the Luce Center since the 2000s and has served on the Center’s board of advisors and board of directors. She is the author of Unbreakable: Saints Who Inspired Saints to Moral Courage (TAN Books) and co-author with Mike Ortner of Catholic School Playbook (Word on Fire). She has served as vice president and general counsel of Young America’s Foundation and director of programs and general counsel of the Ortner Family Foundation. She helped found Young America’s Foundation’s Be Not Afraid seminar (originally, the Standing Up for Faith and Freedom seminar), an annual program for students at Catholic schools, in 2015.

From 2021 to 2024, she served as founding editor of Catholic School Playbook, a website documenting the best practices of thriving Catholic schools. She serves on the board of directors of Young America’s Foundation, the board of overseers of the Dominican House of Studies, and the DC board of regents of Thomas Aquinas College.

She lives in Herndon, Virginia, with her husband, Ian, and their five children.

Cindy Rushing is proud to call Virginia home. She enjoyed being a military wife during her husband’s career as a naval officer. They are parents to three sons and a daughter. Their daughter had the pleasure of being an intern at the Luce Center while she was in college. Cindy knows from personal experience the positive influence that the Luce Center has on educating, preparing and mentoring our young women with conservative principles, leadership skills and success.

Cindy has been a frequent attendee at Luce Center’s Conservative Women’s Network luncheons long before joining the Center’s staff in 2013. These luncheons are a great outreach to women in the Washington, DC metro area interested in hearing from leading conservative women on important subjects, policies and current affairs. She believes strongly in the Center’s programs to educate women of all ages.

When she’s not traveling, Cindy enjoys book clubs, cooking, her faith, playing bridge, growing orchids, cheering for her favorite teams, and especially, being a grandmother.

Catherine joined the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women in February of 2025 as the assistant to the president. She was introduced to the Center and its mission while attending the Luce Center Nashville Student Summit in 2024. Catherine is excited to support and help develop young women into successful conservative leaders.

Catherine graduated from the Honors College at Belmont Abbey College with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics, and economics, along with minors in great books and philosophy. During her time at Belmont Abbey, Catherine also enjoyed being the captain of the women’s basketball team and an active member of The Politics Club.

Coming from a large family, Catherine embraces traditional and conservative values, particularly highlighting the critical role of women and the family in today’s society. In her free time, Catherine loves being with her family and friends, traveling, sports, outdoor adventures, and cooking.

Rachel discovered her passion for inspiring and leading young women to reach their full potential when she was captain of the girls’ cross country team at her alma mater, Franciscan University of Steubenville. She graduated with a degree in communication arts (with a multimedia concentration) and a minor in theology, an education that she is thrilled to put to good use at the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women.

Deeply committed to school choice, family values, and pro-life causes, Rachel honed her skills in video production and photography as a media intern at a Catholic summer camp nestled in the Rocky Mountains. She also gained valuable experience managing social media. Rachel thoroughly enjoyed connecting with her fellow staff, the campers, and getting to know their families, bonds she cherishes and continues to foster. In her free time, Rachel enjoys hiking, running, reading, painting, and playing piano. A frequent volunteer with her parish’s youth ministry program, she also loves to watch sunsets and, best of all, hang out with family and friends.

Lauren Husmann joined the Clare Boothe Luce Center as the Program Assistant in September of 2023. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development with minors in Spanish and Psychology from Virginia Tech, where she was a leader in a student ministry and community service.

Lauren completed a successful internship in event coordination at Virginia Tech’s school of construction and implemented a schoolwide reading program as an intern in an elementary school. During her time in public schools, she developed a passion for conservative values like school choice and the importance of free speech. Lauren is especially enthusiastic about encouraging young women to stand up for family values.

Lauren enjoys running, the outdoors, learning about Christian apologetics, and spending time with her friends and family.

Nica Marin joined the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women in 2024 and serves as the events and marketing officer. She was born and raised in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and later moved to Texas with her parents and two siblings in 2017.

At the University of Houston, Nica pursued a degree in Global Hospitality Leadership. Her academic pursuits are complemented by an active involvement in her campus community. She served as Deputy Director of Public Relations in the Student Government Association, managing social media and coordinating events such as voter registration drives and candidate forums. In 2023, she co-founded the Cambodian Student Association to create a supportive community for Khmer students, organizing gatherings and celebrating traditional Khmer holidays. She also interned at the Blaffer Art Museum, where she gained practical skills in planning and marketing art exhibitions, opening receptions, artist talks, and galas. These experiences brought her great aspiration and joy, solidifying her passion for a career in event planning and marketing.

Outside of work, Nica has turned her love for charm jewelry into a small business, occasionally participating in farmers markets in the DC area. In her free time, she enjoys exploring coffee shops, cat cafes, and art museums.

Caitlin joined the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women in March 2021 as the Administrative Officer. She enjoys road trips with her husband, decorating, and being involved with her church. She lives with her husband and family in northern Virginia.

Sandra Scarlatoiu joined the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women in April of 2024. She previously interned at Luce in the summer of 2020, creating subtitled short videos of lectures for social media use and researching environmental political thought. She also interned at the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) to assist in social media management, and The Heritage Foundation’s Digital Productions Department, where she recorded and produced over 100 podcasts and videos.

Sandra graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a double major in Dance and Political Science. She was the president of MHC College Republicans, and organized events mainly focused on freedom of speech, often collaborating with local Braver Angels chapters. She loves the outdoors and in her free time, likes to teach dance and occasionally visit the range with her father.

Virginia is set to graduate from Virginia Tech in the spring of 2026 with a degree in Animal Science and a minor in Digital Marketing Strategy. She interned with the Luce Center in the summer of 2025, where she contributed to social media, photography, and multimedia projects. Her time with the Center sparked a deeper understanding of what it means to be a confident, conservative woman grounded in strong values—an experience that continues to inspire her.

She has a strong background in multimedia and marketing, having served on the media team at Annunciation Heights Catholic Camp, where she also worked as a counselor. While there, she gained hands-on experience in photography and social media and especially loved the opportunity to grow in her Catholic faith. At Virginia Tech, she was a member of PRISM, a student organization focused on marketing and communications, where she helped create photo and video content for the university’s undergraduate admissions account. She now does freelance photography, including weddings and other personal shoots.

Outside of work, Virginia enjoys spending time outdoors—especially hiking, hammocking, and paddleboarding—spending time with her dogs and horses, water coloring, reading, and sharing time with family and friends.