Welcome to the first in person episode of Lunch with Shelley in 2025! We’re at the chic and celebratory Café Milano with my super fun and super fundraiser guest Lisa Spies. Lisa is the President and Founder of The LS Group, a political and non-profit fundraising and development firm. She has years of experience raising high national dollars and PAC contributions for campaigns and organizations and directs multi-million-dollar national fundraising efforts, including major donor events, PAC events and conferences of all sizes.

During the last election cycle Lisa served as the Director of Donor Coalitions for the Trump 47 Campaign and led efforts with Jewish Leadership, Women, Veterans and Farmers & Ranchers. Lisa’s other current clients include Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman John James.

Come join us with Cleavon and our new intern Diego as we talk about how Lisa came to DC and became the prolific fundraiser that she is, the state of fundraising and who does it best, how she met Charlie, shopping, food and lots more rambling hilarity that makes this lunch a can’t miss!

Check us out at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcasts and in the meantime Peace, Love and Lunch!

Welcome to the latest 2025 episode of lunch with Shelley with today’s very special and award winning guest Mike Curtin, Jr. Mike is the Chief Executive Officer of DC Central Kitchen (DCCK), which is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation.

Mike has led DCCK through the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and significant periods of organizational growth and expansion. His focus on ‘good business’ solutions that create meaningful careers for their culinary graduates is both fascinating and innovative, so join us at the very delicious L’Ardente restaurant for incredible pasta, bowlfuls of relentless optimism and creativity, and hefty side dishes of community, inspiration, joy and a love of food.

Check out this episode at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcast, and in the meantime, Peace, Love and Lunch!

Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Lunch with Shelley with today’s very special guest Wendy Rabin! Wendy is a fashion industry veteran and a passionate wardrobe stylist who helps clients curate a signature personal style so that getting dressed every day is a pleasure!

Wendy knows what she’s talking about! She is the Founder, Buyer and Creative Director of the WRABYN Boutique – a very chic store in Annapolis, in addition to previously owning the critically acclaimed Sitting Pretty boutique, and serving in several other capacities in the fashion industry. Wendy is an empowered woman who cares about empowering other women through fashion!

Cuddle up with us over the perfect French onion soup, mussels and grilled salmon salads at the cozy and delicious Et Voila restaurant and join in our fun as we discuss holiday fashion, the latest runway shows, the power that your wardrobe can have in every aspect of your life, and outfit ideas for Claude and Abby!

Check us out at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcasts and in the meantime Peace, Love and Lunch!

Welcome to the latest episode of Lunch with Shelley with our two special guests Harley Adsit and Sarah Geary! Harley and Sarah are the terrific hosts of their own podcast called Crime in Congress, which is a crime show that examines the shockingly true crimes and scandals of America’s elected officials throughout history. This is such a cool idea and a really interesting program, and Claude and I now consider ourselves crimestituents – which is their nickname for their listeners.

Join me, Claude and our wonderful intern Abby at the always cozy and yummy Martins Tavern on a grey and spooky day for a great conversation about all things crime, including crimes that each of us have experienced, the downlow on their Chandra Levy episode in particular, and why in fact people are so drawn to crime programs at all! You’ll walk away appreciating both life and death, with a smile on your face!

Check us out at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcast, and in the meantime Peace, Love and Lunch!

Welcome to the latest episode of Lunch with Shelley with special guest Jim Geraghty. Jim is a National Review Senior Correspondent, and writes the “Morning Jolt” newsletter, as well as for National Review’s magazine and web site. He is aptly considered one of today’s must-read journalists.

He is the author of "Heavy Lifting" with Cam Edwards, the satirical novel "The Weed Agency" (a Washington Post bestseller), the nonfiction study of the 9/11 attacks on American elections entitled "Voting to Kill", and an ongoing series of thriller novels.

AND he is a professional podcaster! He appears weekly on "The Editors," National Review’s podcast discussing current events with Rich Lowry, Charles Cooke and Michael Brendan Dougherty. He co-hosts "The Three Martini Lunch" podcast with Greg Corombos of Radio America, which is a fast-paced weekday podcast examining all the day’s headlines, and he co-hosted a syndicated pop culture podcast with Mickey White called “The Jim and Mickey Show”.

Grab a seat at our booth for a proper drink, a fabulous meal, and a wide-ranging conversation that includes international politics, domestic politics, 9/11, covid, Bob Costas, hilarious impressions and of course where Jim’s favorite lunch spot might be!

Check us out at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcast and in the meantime Peace, Love and Lunch!

Shelley gets you ready for another season of great food and wonderful conversion at the best restaurants in Washington DC. It's Lunch with Shelley!

Hello and Welcome to the latest episode of Lunch with Shelley with today’s special guest Daniel Lippman. Daniel is a very well-known reporter for Politico, covering the White House and Washington. In this position, he is in the know about all the headline-grabbing events shaping our nation’s political landscape, which is especially helpful to his audience as we’re all trying to wade through and make sense of this very dramatic time in American history. Daniel is widely respected as an investigative researcher and journalist, and he is a sought-after voice sharing key insights on the country’s top stories as well as the inner workings of DC’s political scene. While he shares his insights daily with political insiders and the nation in general – grab a seat at our table while he shares his professional and personal insights directly with us!

Join us for pasta, tuna tartare and a deliciously interesting conversation at Café Milano that covers Daniel’s start in journalism, trust in the media, our upcoming election, favorite foods, movies, family history and so much more!

Check us out at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcast and in the meantime Peace, Love and Lunch!

Welcome to the latest episode of Lunch with Shelley with today’s special guest and my good friend Tevi Troy. Tevi is the Director of the Presidential Leadership Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center, he’s a best-selling presidential historian, a former White House aide and Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, and a member of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense since 2016. His latest book is titled “The Power and the Money – the Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry” and it is a fascinating read that I highly recommend!

Join us Char Bar, DC’s best kosher restaurant, for an always interesting and fun conversation with Tevi that includes a deeper dive into his newest book, how Tevi met his wife, truly interesting facts surrounding Covid and the Biodefense Commission, thoughts on the first anniversary of October 7th, Israel and America, the Jewish high holy days, and decades of friendship.

Grab a Reuben sandwich or the chicken stir fry and check us out at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcast, and in the meantime Peace, Love and Lunch!