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"    Photo: Getty Images   Surrounded by renderings of great American figures at Washington, D.C.&amp;#039;s National Portrait Gallery yesterday, guests including the capital&amp;#039;s leaders and Hollywood stars were uncharacteristically quiet as Rosario Dawson and Kerry Washington took the stage at the Women in Washington brunch ELLE hosted alongside Google and the Center for American Progress. The longtime friends are both philanthropists\u2014Dawson co-founded Voto Latino, an organization that encourages minorities to exercise their right to vote, and Washington is on the board of V-Day, a global movement that brings awareness to violence against women and girls. At the brunch, they discussed their personal experiences with powerful women.   Dawson thanked her mother, who &amp;quot;broke the glass ceiling&amp;quot; so that her daughter could pursue her dreams. And Washington added, &amp;quot;Doing what we do for a living doesn&amp;#039;t mean we lose our voice.&amp;quot;  For the celebration, the third floor of the historical gallery was transformed into an interactive party space complete with customizable Android accessories, live performances from YouTube sensations, and outside-the-box breakfast foods\u2014baked Alaska brownies on a stick, sweet potato fries, and a make-your-own waffle station. Also in attendance to commemorate the 20 new female senators and 78 congresswomen elected into office this year was HBO Girls star Allison Williams, who clutched a Sharpie while trying to finish the challenging Google crossword puzzles printed on the tables. (Sample clue: &amp;quot;Carolyn B. Shelton, the first woman to act in this capacity.&amp;quot;) &amp;quot;No cheating!&amp;quot; she chided when someone tried to reference an iPhone for the answer. Between bite-sized breakfast sandwiches and smoked salmon blinis, Williams kicked off her patent Jimmy Choos. &amp;quot;I do this all the time,&amp;quot; she told us with a laugh. &amp;quot;But I never used to at bat-mitzvahs. I&amp;#039;d warn my friends, &amp;#039;That&amp;#039;s dangerous! All of the adults are drunk!&amp;#039;&amp;quot;  Nearby, Sophia Bush Instagrammed shots of Michael Weisman and Nellie Veitenheimer from The Glee Project season two performing on a stage made to look like the YouTube interface. &amp;quot;Young people are passionate,&amp;quot; the One Tree Hill alum said. &amp;quot;We want to be heard. We know that we&amp;#039;re smart and we know that we&amp;#039;re capable. Young women are the ones that should have voices going forward.&amp;quot;  Mingling alongside D.C. heavyweights\u2014White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Congresswomen Tammy Duckworth and Debbie Wasserman Schultz\u2014were Private Practice&amp;#039;s Kate Walsh, Modern Family&amp;#039;s Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and actress Taraji P. Henson. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s important that he be here,&amp;quot; said Henson, gesturing to her teenage son, Marcel Henson. &amp;quot;He may not know it, but this is the future.&amp;quot;   Kate Walsh, Robbie Myers, and Allison Williams; Photo: Getty Images  Writer and private detective, Shelly Reuben, and President of Center for American Progress, Neera Tanden; Photo: Getty Images  Vice President for public policy at Google, Susan Molinari and Congresswoman for Hawaii&amp;#039;s second congressional district, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Photo: Getty Images "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/news/a22661/women-in-washington/?src=rss>