March 22, 2023

On Wednesday, March 22, Transatlantic Forum members met for dinner at the cozy bistro Dirty French in lower Manhattan. To commemorate Women’s History Month, the Foundation had the honor of welcoming leading national Democratic political consultant Tracy Sefl as our distinguished guest speaker for the evening.

Tracy focused on the national landscape for women’s issues, such as shifting policies surrounding childcare and women’s reproductive rights, as well as the emerging political impact of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, nine months on. She shared interesting points from her wide-ranging experiences in the political campaign sphere, and touched on the complexities of the relationship between public opinion, media and policymaking across the country.

Following the discussion, Forum members had a lively conversation on trends around women running for U.S. electoral office, the 2024 presidential election in particular, strides being made by women in leadership, and the contrasts and parallels of how gender informs political parties and elections in France and the US.

About Tracy Sefl

Tracy Sefl brings significant expertise advising full-scale communications operations, developing messages and shaping media coverage to raise visibility, launching initiatives, and affecting public opinion. Her work as a media specialist has garnered national awards and recognition, including from The New York Times. Tracy has broken barriers in political advocacy—crafting national communications strategy as senior advisor for the first grassroots super PAC Ready for Hillary, and leading the first modern digital corporate reputation campaign Walmart Watch. In addition to aiding presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign, she has advised the Democratic National Committee, served in multiple presidential campaign “war rooms,” and has been sought as a counselor and media advisor for gubernatorial and statewide campaigns. As a U.S.-based strategist, she also assisted a successful presidential reelection in East Africa. Tracy has appeared as a Democratic strategist on all major news networks and before audiences like South by Southwest Interactive, Washington Post Live, Harvard University Institute of Politics, British Embassy Washington, the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, and Chicago Ideas Week. She was selected to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Programme D’Invitation des Personnalités D’Avenir. She has been profiled by Chicago magazine, appears regularly as a guest on SiriusXM POTUS, and authored opinion pieces in such leading national outlets as The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.

Tracy serves on the Board of Directors of RAINN, which operates the national sexual assault hotline, and The People’s Music School, a Chicago non-profit offering free music education to underserved children. She previously served on the Policy Advisory Board of the Moore Center at Johns Hopkins University.

About the Transatlantic Forum

The Transatlantic Forum is an invitation-only membership group comprised of a network of professionals of all backgrounds and serves to advance crucial dialogue and collaboration between France and the US. The Forum meets every four to six weeks (from September through July) at a seated dinner or cocktail event (locations will vary), with a guest speaker presentation followed by a Q&A session.

If you are interested in learning more about the Transatlantic Forum or membership application process, please contact Cindy Klarwasser at cklarwasser@frenchamerican.org.