Girl Crush: Meet City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, recently featured in Boston Magazine

Ayanna Pressley, the first African American women to serve on the Boston City Council is making a name for herself inside of Massachusetts and outside of it too. She was recently profiled in Boston Magazine, as part of its 2011 Bostonian of the Year series, about her new initiative to advocate and support girls who have been sexual assaulted. By telling her personal experience dealing with sexual assault at a March city council meeting, Pressley hopes to spark a state and even nationwide dialogue on the topic.

Re-elected for a second term in November, Pressley is the only woman on the council and earned the most votes out of all the incumbents even after many pundits and pollsters predicted she would lose. Ayanna Pressley is definitely one to watch!

Ayanna Pressley at the Boston City Council swearing-in ceremony; Top photo by Mitch Weiss

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Allyson Schwartz urge agreement on payroll tax extension

Tom Williams

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), along with Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa) and members of the House democratic caucus held a news conference yesterday in the Capitol Visitor Center to urge an agreement in the payroll tax break extension. Before the holiday break, Congress only authorized the extension to end of February. The payroll tax break provides a tax cut for 160 million workers and saves each family about $1,000 a year. 

Photo of the Day: Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton visits the departure ceremony for troops deploying to Afghanistan

Chris Maddaloni

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) was spotted at a departure ceremony for the 273rd Military Police Co. and 121st Criminal Investigation Div. at the District of Columbia Army National Guard Armory yesterday. The units are deploying to Afghanistan to support a Special Forces base and a DOD criminal task force. 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand talks slimming down in the latest Self Magazine

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is in the new Self Magazine talking about how she lost 40 pounds over a year span. 

After having her last soon in 2009, Sen. Gillibrand realized that she had a good portion of her baby weight. With help from her husband and her family, she started running for an hour each morning and playing tennis and squash. She even started playing for the Congressional women's softball team and kept a food journal. While she notes that it sometimes hard to find the balance between eating healthy and managing a busy career, she has managed to keep the weight off since 2010. 

To read more about Kirsten's weekly workout schedule or  what eats in a typical day, head over to Self Magazine. 

Spotted: Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright at the funeral for the Czech President

Getty

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her predecessor Madeleine Albright, and Pres. Bill Clinton were spotted at the state funeral of former Czech President Vaclav Havel at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic last week. 

Spotted: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde

Getty

Don't you love women in power? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde participated in the Women In Public Service event at the Department of State last week. At the event, Secretary Clinton announced that the State Department will work with the Seven Sisters Colleges to identify and educate a new generation of women committed to public service, create an infrastructure of support and mentoring, and help enable more women to enter public service and political leadership.