agreed with him that [Songer's] death sentence violated the Constitution of the United States," said Patrick spokesman Richard Chacon in a statement. Patrick's campaign also pointed out that Healey's running mate, Reed Hillman, lobbied a parole board on behalf of friend James W. Mitchell, who was accused of assaulting a police officer. Patrick also criticized Healey's campaign for leaking details of the 1993 rape of Patrick's sister by her husband. The Healey's campaign denied any involvement in the leak, and in turn accused Patrick of initiating a "smear campaign" over the issue. After Lieutenant Governor In the spring of 2007, Healey was a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics and was a visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership for the following fall. In 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed Healey to the executive committee of the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan (PPP). The partnership aims to promote a democratic rule of law in Afghanistan by providing scholarships, training, and other educational resources to Afghan legal professionals. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reappointed Healey in 2009. Healey chaired the PPP's Afghan Women Lawyers' Training Conference held in California and Washington, D.C., and in 2010, she led the Afghan Defense Lawyer Training Program in Boston and Washington, D.C. Healey currently serves as president of the board of the Friends of the PPP, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that assists the PPP in achieving its goals in carrying out its work with Afghan judges and lawyers, as well as fundraising. In 2009, Healey partnered with Ambassador Swanee Hunt to co-chair the Political Parity project. This nonpartisan initiative works to increase the number of women in high-level state and national political offices, through programs including the Media Accountability Project and the Women's Appointment Project. Political Parity has stated that its goal is to "double the number of women at the highest levels of U.S. government by 2022." To achieve this goal, Political Parity performs research for candidates, facilitates networking opportunities, assists in fundraising, and encourages female candidates to pursue office and coordinate and strategize with one another. The project is completely nonpartisan; Political Parity does not endorse, fund, or train potential candidates. On August 28, 2009, The Boston Globe reported that Healey was considering running in the special election for the US Senate seat formerly held by Edward M. Kennedy. On September 6, 2009,