Dear all,
This week has been a busy one - wedged between one daughter's graduation from college, another daughter's graduation from high school, and my own 30th college reunion! I have had a flurry of terrific meetings and conversations with many of you and I am feeling hopeful.

Next week Representation2020, Common Cause, and The Center for Responsive Politics will release a preliminary report on PAC support for women candidates - it will be interesting to compare these results with those presented in SheShouldRun's terrific report on 2010 PAC spending -Vote With Your Purse. Stay tuned for more details on the findings, the trends in giving, and our game plan for reform that will involve working with PACs (and donors) to set targets for money given to women candidates.

Gender equity in Canadian politics was front and center again this week - Reva Seth writesin Huffington Post Politics Canada about her plan to create an index of women's political leadership to monitor progress toward parity there.

Harley Dennettwritesin The Mandarin about the growing interest in quotas in Australia to advance women's leadership there.

I will be traveling with my two graduates for the next two weeks in Iceland and Ireland -where I plan to meet with gender parity enthusiasts! I hope you all will share news with the group in my absence. I will be sorry to miss the White House Summit on Women - I hope it's a terrific gathering!

Here's to a summer of collaboration and progress!

Cynthia

P.S. My sister-in-law Marina Richie shared thislinkto what looks like an amazing exhibit on the history of women in Montana politics.