Council Chair Jonathan Mason and Executive Director Fiona Cooper were pleased to host a gathering in Auckland yesterday to hear from the 2025 NZUS Council Congressional Programme participants following their return from Washington DC.
Interns Lauren Matthews and Matteo Zhang (University of Canterbury), Sophie Newton and Ben Shea (University of Auckland), and Ruby Ganes (Victoria University of Wellington) shared reflections on their experiences working in the United States Congress from November 2025 to January 2026 and the insights they gained into the US political system and policy making environment. They stressed the value of strengthening people to people connections between NZ and the USA, especially during times of global uncertainty and geopolitical risk.
Since its creation in 2012 by the former NZ Ambassador Rt Hon Mike Moore following the Christchurch earthquakes, the internship programme has supported 45 New Zealand university students to undertake internships in the US Congress.
The gathering also brought together several internship alumni, who talked about how their congressional experience benefited their personal and career development. Alumni attendees included Rachael Evans (inaugural 2012 intern), Karishma Patel and Nasif Azam (2017), Gray Ryburn, Rā Neilsford-Jones, Emily Speirs and Helen Lam (2023), and Ben Christy, Jennifer Wratt and Silas Zhang (2024). It was a joyous reunion for all participants, and the Council is proud of all that our interns have gone on to achieve.
Guests included representatives from partner organisations and supporters of the programme including the University of Auckland, the American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand, the Asia New Zealand Foundation, Air New Zealand, Fonterra, Indevin and CaloCurb. Former US Ambassador to Rwanda Erica Barks-Ruggles and former US State Department official Taylor Ruggles were also in attendance.
Learn more about the Council’s internship programme here.