Let me introduce you to PCRM's new director of public affairs, Elizabeth Kucinich. A longtime human rights advocate and animal-protection champion, Elizabeth brings a wealth of knowledge about campaign strategy and the legislative process to our dedicated team and is already working to open doors and help raise the profile of PCRM's efforts. Her experience navigating the public spotlight also allows her to contribute a fresh perspective to our media outreach, marketing, and fundraising strategies.

Mrs. Kucinich is actively lending her expertise to help promote PCRM's current legislative campaigns, including The Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act and The Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA).

A policy expert and global health supporter with a commitment to child development, Mrs. Kucinich is pushing for legislation that gives all children in the United States access to healthful school lunches. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., has just agreed to sponsor our bill to include vegetarian options and a dairy alternative beverage in school lunch programs. You'll hear more about that and other exciting campaign developments soon.

PCRM recently sponsored an exhibit on Capitol Hill to raise awareness for GAPA and recruit additional co-signers in support of the bill. Mrs. Kucinich's involvement helped garner media attention that strengthens our position. Read the Washington Post article for more information.

As a PCRM supporter, you are vitally important to our efforts. I am pleased at the way the organization is expanding and it's my pleasure to be able to share this news about our newest staff member with you.

Elizabeth Kucinich, pictured on Wednesday at the Rayburn Hpouse Office Building, is PCRM's new director of public affairs. (Marissa Newhall/The Washington Post)photo

The last time we saw Elizabeth Kucinich, the gorgeous redhead was on her husband's arm as he campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination. That didn't pan out, so Rep. Dennis Kucinich went back to Congress and she went back to her work as a monetary policy wonk.

Now she's back in the spotlight, this time as the new director of public affairs for the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Kucinich was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to drum up support for the Great Ape Protection Act, which would phase out invasive medical research on chimpanzees.

"For me, it's a moral issue, about practicing good science and moving with the times," she told our colleague Marissa Newhall. The longtime animal-rights advocate wants to end federal funding involving chimps -- which gets into the tricky business of, well, lobbying her husband and his colleagues.

So the couple met with ethics officials Wednesday morning. "We want to make sure everything we do is absolutely by the book, and it's a thick book," she said. Most of her work will be off the Hill, so she's not required to register as a lobbyist. But she'll make a few personal appeals in Washington -- not lobbying, mind you, but "educational awareness around a particular bill."

Even as a teenager in England, she played hooky to lobby for her favorite organizations. And she shared this: "I was quite a heavy child." Really? "Yes," said Kucinich. "I was quite picked on by children at school. Tall, overweight, ginger......"

How'd she lose the weight? Her whole family went vegan after her mother learned she had Crohn's disease, the inflammatory bowel condition, and managed it by cutting out meat and dairy products. And yes, we'll probably hear more about this -- childhood obesity and nutrition will be part of her work at PCRM.