Laboratories of Democracy: Policy Solutions in Local Government

Day One of the 2025 Democracy Solutions Summit will feature local elected officials, advocates, and leaders from across the country to highlight this often overlooked level of government along with the solutions that are working to increase women's representation in politics and strengthen our democracy. 

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OPENING REMARKS

Rina Shah

Rina Shah is a voice for a new generation of political leaders. As a center-right woman of color and daughter of African and Indian immigrants, she has earned high acclaim for her sharp analysis and ability to carve a refreshing path between partisan extremes. A principled defender of democratic values and fierce advocate for systems reform, Rina is a frequent guest on the world’s top media networks for her commentary on a wide range of issues, and her editorials have been published in outlets ranging from The L.A. Times to The Washington Post. Rina has been a spokeswoman and top advisor for two U.S. presidential campaigns, senior aide to two Republican members of Congress, sought-after political strategist, accomplished businesswoman, and, most importantly, a wife and mother of three young daughters. She is known in Washington, DC as a coalition-builder who has elevated the role of women in government and politics, advanced pragmatic policy solutions, and ruffled more than a few old feathers. Rina believes that preserving the values that made America the most prosperous and powerful democracy in history does not mean running away from progress; she embraces a better future for all. Her favorite way to unwind is taking a jog at sunset to the Lincoln Memorial.

FIRESIDE CHAT - ELECTION ADMINISTRATION AND DEMOCRACY

Amber McReynolds

Amber McReynolds is an author, innovator, speaker, transformative thought-leader, executive, and civic enthusiast. In 2021, Amber was appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate to serve as a Governor for the United States Postal Service Board of Governors and in December 2024, Amber was elected by her fellow Governors to be Chairwoman of the Board.

Amber is an experienced election professional who is nationally recognized for her work to design pro-voter policies, voter-centric processes, and implement technical innovations that improve the voting experience for all.

Amber is the co-author of the book When Women Vote and has championed nonpartisan and innovative reforms to strengthen and secure the voting process for all.

Cait Conley

Cait Conley is a proven leader of public and private organizations responsible for solving hard national security challenges. Conley has over two decades of extensive global special operations, counterterrorism and homeland security leadership experience.

Prior to joining Hidden Level as their Chief Growth Officer, Conley most recently served as the Senior Advisor to the Director of CISA (the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as part of the Department of Homeland Security). In that role she provided direct counsel to the Director on operational and strategic priorities, and served as CISA’s Senior Executive overseeing the agency’s multidomain election security mission supporting state and local election offices in all 50 states and territories and the private sector vendor community. For the 2024 election cycle, Conley oversaw CISA’s delivery of thousands of physical and cybersecurity services and trainings supporting tens of thousands of critical infrastructure stakeholders to include onsite and remote assessments, penetration testing, incident response assistance, and tabletop exercises to rehearse incident response and communications plans and processes.

Conley is also a decorated combat veteran with six overseas deployments, and over a decade of service in the Special Operations community. Prior to joining CISA, Conley served as the Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council where she led policy efforts to counter threats from Middle East state and non-state actors and domestic emerging threats. Conley also previously served as the Executive Director of the bipartisan Defending Digital Democracy Project, based out of Harvard University’s Belfer Center. As Executive Director, she led the development and implementation of strategies, tools and recommendations for election administrators, election infrastructure providers, campaign organizations and leaders involved in democratic processes to better defend against cybersecurity threats.

During her military career, Conley served in a range of tactical and operational leadership positions to include special operations team leader and troop commander, as well as the Operations Officer (J3) for both regional and global counter-terrorism and counter-state task forces.

Conley is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Public Policy Degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Conley is also a proud General Wayne A. Downing Scholar and Tillman scholar.

FIRESIDE CHAT - PRIORITIZING CHILDCARE & PAID LEAVE: THE PATH TO A MORE INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY

Liuba Grechen Shirley

Liuba is the Founder and CEO of Vote Mama, an interconnected trio of organizations dedicated to electing mothers, transforming the political system, and advancing family-friendly policies. These organizations include Vote Mama PAC, the nation’s first Political Action Committee focused on electing Democratic moms across the ballot; Vote Mama Foundation, the leading source of research and analysis on the political participation of mothers in the United States; and Vote Mama Lobby, which collaborates with elected officials from both parties to support policies that benefit families and children. These organizations aim to elect mothers, transform the political system, dismantle barriers for mothers running for office, normalize candidacies of mothers with young children, and promote family-friendly legislation.

Liuba's career highlights include her historic congressional campaign for New York’s 2nd District, where she achieved the highest vote share of any Democrat against the incumbent in 25 years and raised over $2 million without corporate PAC money. She made history as the first woman to receive federal approval to spend campaign funds on childcare. Liuba has been recognized as one of Long Island’s 100 Most Powerful People and featured in major media outlets like CNN, The Today Show, and TIME Magazine. Her academic background includes an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA in Politics and Russian from NYU. Liuba resides on Long Island with her husband and three children.

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of MomsRising, a nonprofit advocacy group with over a million members across the nation working to improve economic security, stop discrimination, and build a nation where everyone can thrive. She is a frequent public speaker, radio host, and an award-winning author of several books. She has advised lawmakers at the highest levels and been published and featured in hundreds of news outlets, including: Politico, USA Today, TIME, The Guardian, CNN, MSNBC, Newsweek, New York Times, and Washington Post.

Dawn Huckelbridge

Dawn Huckelbridge is the Founding Director of Paid Leave for All and Paid Leave for All Action, the national campaign of organizations leading the fight for paid family and medical leave for all working people in the United States. She has held leadership positions at Supermajority, American Bridge, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, People For the American Way, and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. She graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a master’s degree in gender and social policy and studied political science and communications at Northwestern University. She loves good food, good government, and raising her son in Capitol Hill.

U.S. Representative Jennifer McClellan

Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan is the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress. In the 119th Congress, she sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She also serves as a leadership member in the Congressional Black Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition and chairs the Reproductive Freedom Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force. Prior to her election to Congress, she served in the Virginia General Assembly from 2006 to 2023.

FIRESIDE CHAT - BREAKING BARRIERS WITH ELECTORAL REFORM

Cynthia Richie Terrell

Cynthia Richie Terrell is the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen and an outspoken advocate for institutional reforms to advance women’s representation and leadership in the United States. Terrell and her husband Rob Richie helped to found FairVote - a nonpartisan champion of electoral reforms that give voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a more representative democracy. Terrell has worked on projects related to women's representation, democracy, and voting system reform in the United States and has worked to help parliamentarians around the globe meet UN goals for women’s representation and leadership.

Terrell has worked on political campaigns, as campaign manager and field director for candidates for the U.S. presidency, U.S. House and U.S. Senate, for governor and for state and city-wide initiative efforts, including a state equal rights amendment.

In 2024 Terrell was named one of Washington, DC's top policy expert and received a Generational Impact Award for her work on voting system reform. Terrell is a member of the Citizen University's Civic Collaboratory and was named a Brewer Fellow along with a cohort of leaders in the democracy reform movement. Terrell has a chapter on women and the presidency in the 2020 volume The Best Candidate: Presidential Nomination in Polarized Times.

Terrell writes a weekly column on women’s representation for Ms Magazine and has been published in numerous print journals including: the Washington Post, The New York Times, The Hill, Refinery29, The Nation, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, The American Prospect, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Baltimore Sun, and The Christian Science Monitor. She has appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal; and has participated in numerous radio shows, podcasts & panel discussions on the topics of electoral reform and systems strategies to advance women’s representation and leadership.

Terrell is an avid knitter & gardener, has three children, and is active in local politics and in the Quaker community. She graduated with a B.A. in political science from Swarthmore College in 1986.

Meredith Sumpter

Meredith Sumpter is an executive leader of innovative organizations and movements that drive value for people. As President and CEO of FairVote, Meredith is working to advance a more representative and functional democracy that delivers for every American. FairVote is a nonpartisan organization that researches and advances ranked choice voting (RCV) and proportional RCV. RCV gives voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference when they vote. RCV is the election reform that produces a majority winning candidate, resulting in more competitive elections, greater voter say and choice in who represents them, better representation, and more focus on the issues and getting things done with successful candidates building broad support among voters.

Previously, Meredith was President & CEO of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, a global community of CEOs creating market value through sustainable and inclusive business practices. She has held an advisory position at New America and Harvard University, where she convened public sector leaders with national research experts to advance democratic resilience through innovative reforms. Formerly, Meredith oversaw the Research & Strategy platform at Eurasia Group, a global geopolitical advisory firm, where she advised industry leaders and investors on market impacts of political risk, economic and social disruption. Meredith has worked in the US Senate and as a US diplomat and government official in Beijing, where she advised two US ambassadors. Originally from Alaska and now residing in Virginia, Meredith enjoys a rich life parenting four children with her husband Ryan.

Eileen Reavey

Eileen Reavey is Executive Director of Rank The Vote, leveraging over a decade of experience in grassroots organizing, coalition building, and strategic planning. During her tenure as the National Grassroots Director for National Popular Vote from 2018 to 2023, Eileen played a pivotal role in shaping national strategy and spearheaded advocacy campaigns across 15 states to elect the President by popular vote. She has dedicated her career to driving meaningful change in the political and social landscape and has advised nonprofits as well as local, state, and federal campaigns through her firm, Reavey Consulting.

Eileen has been actively engaged with Ranked Choice Voting advocacy since 2019 and currently sits on the board of directors of Oregon Ranked Choice Voting Advocates. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science & Public Policy from York College of Pennsylvania and an M.S.L. in Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. In the last decade she has lived in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Oregon and currently calls California home.

PANEL - THE POWER OF BIPARTISANSHIP

Susannah Wellford

Over the last two decades, Susannah Wellford founded two organizations designed to raise the political voice of young women in America.

In spring 2007, Susannah founded Running Start to inspire young women and girls to pursue political leadership. Running Start furthers the work begun by the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC), which Susannah cofounded in 1999 and led for five years.

Susannah is a globally recognized expert on women in politics, and she speaks frequently about the importance of inspiring more young women to enter politics. In addition to speaking and training at law schools, universities, nonprofits and private companies in the US, she has lectured in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Israel, Belgium, Ukraine, Algeria, England, Germany and Russia.  She served as an opinion contributor at US News and World Report on gender and politics, and she is the coauthor of a chapter in “Feminist Pedagogy, Practice and Activism: Improving Lives for Girls and Women.” She has won multiple awards for her work, including the ExCelHonors Youth Advocate Award in 2019, and the John W. Kuykendall Award for Community Service from Davidson College in 2020. Susannah recently participated in the Joint Civilian Orientation Course (JCOC), the oldest and most prestigious public liaison program in the United States Department of Defense. In the spring of 2020, Susannah began teaching Women and Political Leadership at American University.

After receiving her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1998, Susannah worked for several years at Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand, lobbying for state and local governments, foreign governments, corporate entities and trade associations before Congress and the Executive Branch.

Prior to law school, Susannah worked for Hillary Clinton’s Health Care Task Force in the Clinton White House. As a member of the Health Care War Room staff, she planned and executed grass-roots health care events for the President and First Lady and coordinated speaking events for Congressional Members and White House staff on health care reform issues. She is also a former Legislative Assistant for Senator Wyche Fowler from Georgia and a proud 1990 graduate of Davidson College. Susannah lives in Washington, DC and Brooklyn, New York. She is the proud mother of twins, Beatrice and James.

U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and nonprofit leader. She is serving her fourth consecutive term representing the people of Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. Houlahan is the first female veteran named as Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Military Personnel Subcommittee and is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Besty Wright Hawkings

Over 25 years, Betsy Wright Hawkings served as chief of staff to four Republican House members who represented majority-Democratic districts. Her longest service was for Rep. Christopher Shays, helping to develop coalitions to pass cross-partisan legislation like the Congressional Accountability Act, the 9-11 Commission and legislation to implement its recommendations. The founding Managing Director of Democracy Fund’s Governance Program, she now heads Article 1 Advisors, providing support to entrepreneurial organizations seeking to foster dialogue across the ideological spectrum; promote more effective congressional systems, processes and procedures; develop innovative programs to deepen leadership development for members of Congress and staff; and reduce incentives for hyper-partisanship and gridlock in government.

Jennifer Pierotti Lim

Jennifer Pierotti Lim is the Co-founder of Republican Women for Progress and was previously the Founder of Republican Women for Hillary. After RWFH gained national attention in the summer of 2016, Jennifer was invited to speak on the closing night of the Democratic National Convention where she addressed a television audience of close to 33 million people. Before this, Jennifer was the Director of Health Policy in the Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits Division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She also served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Business and Entrepreneurship under Olympia Snowe and worked in Altria’s legislative affairs office. A 2010 graduate of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, Jennifer is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Junior League of Washington. She lives in Bethesda, MD, with her husband Tim, children Penny, Timmy, and Vivienne, and rescue dog Pamela.

CLOSING REMARKS

Winny Chen

Winny Chen is the Associate Director for the Governance program at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people.

Prior to Democracy Fund, she worked at Monitor Deloitte, where she advised federal agencies and social sector organizations on enterprise strategy, strategic planning, performance measurement, and communications. She also served on the Crimes Against Humanity Program at Human Rights First and worked as a policy analyst on the National Security and International Policy team at the Center for American Progress.

Winny holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree from Georgetown University.

Expert Discussion 1: Election Administration and Democracy

Time: 3:10 - 3:30pm ET

For the third and final day of the Summit, we will kick things off with a fireside conversation with two experts in election administration. We will be joined by Amber McReynolds and Cait Conley to discuss their insights from working with election administrators across the country along with the solutions we need to ensure elections remain secure for all voters. 

Expert Discussion 2: Prioritizing Childcare & Paid Leave: The Path to a More Inclusive Democracy

Time: 3:30 - 4:00pm ET

Next, we move right into a fireside chat centered around the solutions to ensure that our democracy is better representative of the people. Liuba Grechen Shirley, Founder & CEO of Vote Mama. will sit down with US Representative Jennifer McClellan, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Co-founder & Executive Director of MomsRising, and Dawn Huckelbridge, Founding Director of Paid Leave for All to share how we can invest in the care economy to support those serving in elected office, especially in Congress.

Expert Discussion #3: Breaking Barriers with Electoral Reform

Time: 4:00-4:25pm ET

Voting systems that empower voters, such as RCV and proportional representation, can lead to better outcomes for everyone, from reducing political polarization to promoting fairer representation. Our third session of the day will feature a discussion with Meredith Sumpter, President & CEO of FairVote and Eileen Reavey, Executive Director of Rank The Vote on electoral reform efforts in Congress and beyond.

Expert Discussion #4: The Power of Bipartisanship

Time: 4:25-4:50pm ET

In unprecedented times like these, legislating collaboratively is more important than ever. To bring the Summit to a close, we will hear from women across the political spectrum on how elected officials can and must work across the aisle. We will be joined by US Representative Chrissy Houlahan, Betsy Wright Hawkings, Managing Partner, Article 1 Advisors, LLC, and Jennifer Pierotti Lim, Co-founder of Republican Women for Progress.

OPENING REMARKS

Maggie Toulouse Oliver

Maggie Toulouse Oliver has called New Mexico home since the age of 3 and is New Mexico’s 26th Secretary of State. She has served the people of New Mexico in this role since first being elected in 2016.

She was first appointed to public office in 2007 when she became County Clerk in New Mexico’s largest county, Bernalillo County. Elected to her first full term in 2008, Secretary Toulouse Oliver served 2 1/2 terms as County Clerk until she was elected as Secretary of State in 2016. Overseeing elections in the state’s largest county gave Secretary Toulouse Oliver detailed, on-the-ground expertise in election administration that has helped to guide her current work overseeing elections statewide.

Secretary Toulouse Oliver has been involved in politics and public policy for over two decades and has made public service the focus of her career. Her work has focused on increasing voter access, running efficient, secure, and fair elections, and bringing more transparency and increased ethical standards to government.

FIRESIDE CHAT - PRESERVING DEMOCRACY: STATE VOTING RIGHTS ACTS

Rebecca Mears

Rebecca Mears is the director of Democracy in the Structural Reform and Governance department at American Progress.

Prior to joining American Progress, Mears was a political law attorney at Elias Law Group and Perkins Coie, where she specialized in campaign finance, voting rights, and election law at the federal, state, and local level. In this role, Mears provided counsel to members of Congress, multimillion-dollar political committees, and nonprofit organizations. Mears also co-authored an amicus brief that was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 165 universities and colleges in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Mears earned her law degree from Stanford Law School, her master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, and her bachelor’s degree in political science and public policy from Brown University, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Candice Battiste

Candice Battiste is a D.C. based Campaign Strategist and Senior Political Participation Organizer at the Legal Defense Fund, where she led efforts to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act of Connecticut, the strongest voter protection law in the U.S. She continues to champion voting rights, leading the state voting rights work for LDF in the South. Previously, she served as the North Louisiana Organizer for the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, advocating for racial, health, and economic equity.

Candice is also the Founder and Principal of Evangeline Management Group, a consulting and management company, where she has led impactful campaigns, including Louisiana's unanimous jury reform, Shreveport, LA's historic guaranteed income initiative, and working tirelessly to bridge the digital divide. A dedicated advocate, she has worked with the United Nations Association, ACLU of Louisiana, Black Voters Matter, and multiple national and local civic organizations.

She holds a B.A. from Louisiana State University and a J.D. from Southern University Law Center. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and was recognized as one of Louisiana’s 40 Under 40 for her leadership in public policy and community service.

Erica Peresman

Erica Peresman is a Senior Advisor at Promote the Vote. She is an attorney, voting rights advocate, and elections expert who has worked on advancing ballot access and fighting voter suppression in Michigan for more than two decades. Erica was part of the leadership team for Proposal 3 of 2018, a ballot proposal that significantly expanded voting rights in Michigan. From 2019 through 2022, Erica served as the first permanent Voter Protection Director of the Michigan Democratic Party, a position that enabled her to advocate statewide for the robust implementation of Proposal 3 and educate voters about their new rights. Under Erica’s leadership, the MDP’s voter protection program expanded to encompass defending democracy on multiple fronts, year round every year. Erica also helped draft the constitutional language for Proposal 2 of 2022, which further expanded ballot access for Michigan voters. Before focusing on voting rights, Erica practiced business law at Pettit & Martin in San Francisco and at Pepper Hamilton in Detroit, where she was a partner. Erica earned a bachelor’s degree in Humanities from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Stanford Law School.

PANEL - REMOVING BARRIERS TO STATE LEGISLATIVE OFFICE WITH RANKED CHOICE VOTING

Jeanne Massey

Jeanne Massey is a Ranked Choice Voting and electoral reform powerhouse. She is recognized as a visionary leader who combines deep knowledge and pragmatic strategy to advance Ranked Choice Voting at the local, state and national level.

Jeanne engages diverse and cross-sector leaders in her work, including multi-partisan groups, voting rights advocates, electoral reformers and the business community. Her track record includes winning campaigns in Minneapolis, St. Paul and St. Louis Park, Bloomington, and Minnetonka, Minnesota—all of which have helped create statewide momentum around Ranked Choice Voting.

As the Executive Director of FairVote Minnesota, Jeanne is a frequent media resource on electoral reform. She also provides inspiration and strategy counsel to advocates from across the country.

She has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and community planning and organizing. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica, Jeanne holds an M.A. in regional & community planning and a B.A. in business & Spanish.

Michelle Sparck

Michelle (Macuar) Sparck is the director of Get Out the Native Vote (GOTNV), a statewide nonpartisan voter education program under the Cook Inlet Tribal Council based in Anchorage, Alaska. Sparck, a member of the Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak who grew up in Bethel, and went on to become an experienced legislative aid in Washington, D.C., and Juneau.

Brianna Gomez McGowan

Brianna is a Co-Director for Delicious Democracy, DC's Creative Advocacy Lab and formerly Women Who Code DC. She is a developer, poet, data scientist, modern dancer, and an advocate for equitable transformations to DC's power systems starting with passing ranked choice voting and laying the ground for Black independent political power.

She is passionate about intersecting worlds, developing community-owned AI, centering delicious food, and building a future DC State. She is a steering committee member of Yes on 83 and DC for Democracy, and a co-founder of ReDelicious DC, a food co-op based at the Edgewood Community Farm in Ward 5.

Katie Fahey

Katie Fahey founded and led Voters Not Politicians, a grassroots, nonpartisan campaign that ran a successful effort to end gerrymandering in Michigan by amending the state constitution in 2018 with 61% of the vote. Her unlikely journey began with a simple Facebook post asking if anyone wanted to help take on gerrymandering in her state, which unexpectedly sparked a powerful citizen-led movement.

Currently Katie is Executive Director of The People, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization empowering everyday Americans from all political backgrounds to actively participate in creating a more responsive and accountable government.

Katie is passionate about spreading her deeply held belief that positive, long-lasting political change not only can, but often must, come directly from the people.

Michelle Whittaker

Michelle Whittaker is a messaging and political strategist with over 15 years of experience in communications, advocacy outreach, and grassroots mobilization. She is the principal at MCW Creative, a boutique strategic consulting firm for nonprofits and political campaigns. She is the statewide coordinator for Ranked Choice Voting Maryland, a grassroots coalition working to adopt RCV for local and statewide elections. Her expertise is in strategy development, storytelling, constituency engagement, organizing, and media outreach. Michelle is a seasoned campaign manager and financial administrator, running successful fundraising, outreach, and election programs for local races in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

Her past leadership roles include serving as the Director of Communications at FairVote, the Director of Communications for the Democracy Initiative, and the Communications and New Media Director for the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society. She has facilitated numerous workshops on campaign strategy, web development, social media strategy, messaging, and electoral reform along with contributing to academic and advocacy-related publications.

She organizes the revolution from her home office in Kensington with her 7-year-old, London, and husband, Doogie.

Christina Henderson

Christina Henderson is an At-Large member of the Council of the District of Columbia. Christina’s career has been guided by the principle that one’s zip code should not determine your opportunity for success, and she is excited to work each and every day to make this principle a reality for all DC residents.

As a trusted political advisor, Christina has counseled United States Senators, DC Council members, and state and local education officials on an array of domestic policy issues which deeply impacts families and children. Prior to serving as a member of the DC Council, Christina served as a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) handling education, workforce, postal and census issues for both the leadership and personal office.

From 2012 to 2017, Christina served residents of DC in various capacities in DC government. Christina was the deputy chief of staff for former DC Councilmember David Grosso and directed the Council’s Committee on Education, which has budget and performance oversight for all matters related to DC’s public education system and libraries. At the Council, Christina crafted and helped advance over 40 pieces of legislation on an array of issues including student discipline, DCPS facilities, reproductive health, medical marijuana, and beverage sales at breweries, distilleries, and wineries. She was known for a common sense approach to policy, a collaborative working style, and centering equity in her work. Prior to the Council, Christina worked for DC Public Schools, supporting the district’s efforts to improve teacher and school leader quality and effectiveness.

FIRESIDE CHAT - MODERNIZING STATE LEGISLATURES: CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR CHILDCARE, SECURITY, AND LEGISLATIVE PAY

Celinda Lake

Celinda Lake was one of two main pollsters for the Biden campaign, is the only Democratic pollster to play a major role in defeating two incumbent presidents, and is a prominent pollster and political strategist for progressives. Celinda serves as President of Lake Research Partners. Lake’s polling and strategic advice led candidates such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Jon Tester, Senator Debbie Stabenow, former Governor Bob Wise and many others to groundbreaking wins. She worked on behalf of the largest independent expenditure to take back the House in 2006 and has been a key player in campaigns launched by progressive groups. Celinda focuses on women's concerns and women candidates. She works with innovative messaging projects that help redefine language on the economy, inequality, big money in politics, climate change, public schools, criminal justice reform, and has worked on the Race Class Narrative project. She coauthored a book "A Question of Respect" with Ed Goeas.

Sarah Hague

Sarah is the Chief Program Officer at Vote Mama, overseeing the organization's advocacy and research initiatives to build the political power of moms. Before joining Vote Mama, Sarah was the local Chief of Staff to the Chair of the House Oversight Committee - one of the nation’s youngest at the time. She lives in CT with the dog she found on the sidewalks of NYC, Ruth Barker Ginsburg.

Layla Zaidane

Layla Zaidane, President and CEO of Future Caucus, is building a healthier and more curious political culture by activating more than 1,900 Gen Z and millennial elected officials across the nation — and across the political spectrum. Before Future Caucus, Zaidane launched initiatives at Generation Progress, including the “It’s On Us” campaign against campus sexual assault and the “Higher Ed, Not Debt” coalition to make higher education accessible and affordable. Zaidane’s work has been featured in Forbes, Teen Vogue, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR, showcasing her ability to amplify young voices. A Fellow of the Civil Society Fellowship and Aspen Global Leadership Network, Zaidane continues the work of dissolving political divides and providing platforms for young leaders to turn potential into action.

Marvelous Maeze

Marvelous Maeze is a Research Manager at RepresentWomen. She graduated from Columbia University with a master of arts in human rights. She is also a proud alumna of New York University’s College of Arts and Science, where she earned a bachelor of arts in political science. She is chair emerita of Human Rights First's Emerging Leaders Advisory Board, and has previously interned at the United Nations and the Council on Foreign Relations. At RepresentWomen, Marvelous leads our Black Women in Politics research. She authored this first instalment in the brief entitled 'Breaking Barriers for Black Women Candidates,' and is currently working on the follow-up examining online violence, harassment, and intimidation. Marvelous is passionate about democracy protection, equitable policies, and women’s rights. Her research focuses on examining viable reforms to advance gender and racial parity in U.S. politics.

CLOSING REMARKS

Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams is a political leader, business owner and New York Times bestselling author. A tax attorney by training, Abrams served eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as Minority Leader, and became the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia in 2018 and 2022. Over the course of her career, she has launched multiple organizations devoted to democracy protection, voter engagement, tackling social issues, and building a more equitable future in the South. Committed to the pursuit of equity, she works to break barriers for young people, people of color and the marginalized through her work in the public, nonprofit and corporate sectors.

She currently serves as the Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics at Howard University and is a senior counsel to Rewiring America. Abrams is also the CEO of Sage Works Productions, Inc., an entertainment production company.

Abrams sits on both nonprofit and corporate boards, and she is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has received degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and Yale Law School.

Opening Remarks

Secretary of State of New Mexico Maggie Toulouse Oliver will kick off Day Two with opening remarks on the importance of women's leadership at the state level.

Expert Discussion 1: Preserving Democracy: State Voting Rights Acts

Time: 3:10 - 3:35pm ET

For our first session of Day Two, we will be joined by Rebecca Mears, Director of Democracy, Center for American Progress, Candice Battiste, Campaign Strategist, Senior Community Organizer at Legal Defense Fund, and Erica Peresman, Senior Advisor at Promote the Vote for a fireside conversation on the need for State Voting Rights Acts as an effective solution to protect voters in every state. 

Expert Discussion 2: Removing Barriers to State Legislative Office with Ranked Choice Voting

Time: 3:35 - 4:15pm ET

As momentum continues to build for ranked choice voting at the local level, state-wide campaigns are happening simultaneously. Our second expert discussion of Day Two will be a panel discussion moderated by Jeanne Massey, Executive Director of FairVote Minnesota, and will feature Michelle Sparck, Director of Get Out the Native Vote, Brianna McGowan, Make All Votes Count DC, Katie Fahey, Executive Director of The People, and Michelle Whittaker, President of the RepresentWomen Board. These experts will speak to the strategies and learnings from state=level efforts to advocate for ranked choice voting in their respective states.

Expert Discussion #3: Modernizing State Legislatures: Campaign Funds for Childcare, Security, and Legislative Pay

Time: 4:15-4:50pm ET

For the final session of the day, we will have a fireside discussion led by Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, with Sarah Hague, Chief Program Officer at Vote Mama, Layla Zaidane, President & CEO of Future Caucus and Marvelous Maeze, U.S. Research Manager at RepresentWomen. Our experts will discuss the transformative solutions to remove barriers women, women of color, mothers, and young people face when running and serving in state legislatures.

Closing Remarks

We will wrap up Day Two with closing remarks from Stacey Abrams, political leader, business owner and New York Times bestselling author, on the value of women in elected office at the state level and the need for policy solutions to increase women's representation.

OPENING REMARKS

Erin Vilardi

Erin Vilardi is the Founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead, the nonprofit on a mission to create a truly reflective democracy with women and gender-expansive people holding at least 51% of U.S. legislative seats. Vote Run Lead has reached more than 55,000 women across America — nearly 60% of them women of color and 20% from rural areas — as part of its mission to increase women’s representation in government, specifically in targeted state legislatures.

Erin is an expert speaker on democracy and leadership development. With over two decades of experience in women’s leadership, social change, and cross-sector impact, she has a proven record of creating positive results for women in the public and private sectors and with partners from Fortune 100 companies, global girls’ initiatives, and the U.S. Department of State. She also serves on advisory boards for the Brennan Center for Justice and RepresentWomen. She was part of the inaugural cohort of the Keseb Democracy Entrepreneurship Fellows.

Erin has appeared at the Skoll World Forum over multiple years and on the mainstage at the Personal Democracy Forum. She has been interviewed on CNN, CSPAN, BBC, Fox News, NY1 and many local news outlets. Her writing has appeared in The Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire, New York Magazine and more. She is the co-author of the Athena Core10©, an innovative set of leadership competencies for 21st century women leaders. She is an Executive Producer of “Ann Richards’ Texas,” a documentary about the pioneering governor.

Erin lives in the historic Harlem neighborhood of New York City with her husband and children.

FIRESIDE CHAT - LOCAL OFFICE: A PIVOTAL PATHWAY TO POWER

Liana Cassar

Liana Cassar is the Interim Executive Director of Family Values @ Work, a national network of state and local coalitions focused on paid time to care for all, where she also launched and guides a network and leadership development initiative for women and nonbinary equity and justice focused legislators.

Liana is serving in her first term as Town Councilor in Barrington, RI, where served two terms in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 2019 through 2022. While in the legislature she served on the Health and Human Services and Small Business Committees and championed paid leave legislation, policies to address chronic homelessness, reproductive justice and public health and care economy solutions.

Prior to serving in elected office, her career spanned different sectors of the healthcare industry, mainly in Boston, MA and Providence, RI. Liana has led programs serving various communities - children, veterans and women - including leading programs at Women and Infants Hospital and Planned Parenthood of RI. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Boston University and an MBA from Simmons College.

Victoria Pelletier 

Victoria Pelletier is a Programs & Partnerships Manager at RepresentWomen, and is based in Portland, Maine. She recently finished her term serving as a Portland City Councilor, and is the second Black woman in her city’s history that has been elected to this seat. She specializes in racial equity, community engagement and advocacy, and pushes for intersectionality in all levels of government. Prior to joining RepresentWomen, Victoria worked at Portland Empowered, amplifying the voices of racial and ethnic minorities as they influenced policy change within Portland Public Schools.

Victoria also worked as a racial equity project manger for a local government agency, where she collaborated with over 30 Maine cities and towns and helped to foster social change within their municipalities. Victoria is passionate about dismantling structures of oppression and leading her community towards authentic policy change. When she’s not working on RepresentWomen partnerships, you can find her listening to Renaissance and pursuing all aspects of Black joy.

Tamaya Dennard

Expert Discussion 1: Local Office: A Pivotal Pathway to Power

Time: 3:10-3:35pm ET

The decisions being made by elected officials at the local level have the power to impact our day-to-day lives. Local office is also a critical entry point for women getting involved in politics. Our first session of Day One will be a fireside chat with Liana Cassar, Interim Executive Director of Family Values @ Work, along with RepresentWomen's very own Programs and Partnerships Managers Victoria Pelletier and Tamaya Dennard on the realities and importance of women serving at the local office, drawing from their own experiences as city council members of their respective cities. 

Panel: From Portland to Portland - Women Winning with Ranked Choice Voting

Time: 3:35-4:15pm ET

In ranked choice voting elections, women win. Our second session for Day One will feature women elected with ranked choice voting (RCV) from cities across the country. Marcela Miranda-Caballero, Executive Director of Cal RCV, will sit down with Amelia Powers Gardner, Utah County Commissioner (Utah State), Johanna Bencomo, City of Las Cruces (NM) Mayor Pro Tem,
April Fournier, At-Large City Councilor Portland Maine, and Candace Avalos, Portland City Councilor for District 1, to discuss their experiences and benefits of running for office with a ranked choice voting system.

Expert Discussion 2: From New York City to Alaska: Building the Movement From the Ground Up

Time: 4:15-4:55pm ET

After hearing directly from women elected with ranked choice voting, we will wrap up the day with another expert discussion on the effective ways to build the democracy reform movement, using New York City and Alaska as models. Ebonie Simpson, Executive Director of The New Majority NYC, will be joined by Grace Ramsey, Co-Executive Director of Democracy Rising and Juli Lucky, Executive Director of Alaskans for Better Elections to highlight key lessons learned from their engagement and education in local communities to successfully implement and defend ranked choice voting.

Author: Katie Usalis

Katie Usalis serves as RepresentWomen's partnerships director. In this role, Katie focuses on developing and overseeing program strategies that activate and equip changemakers to advance structural solutions to the representation crisis in U.S. politics. 

It’s becoming increasingly apparent that what we are doing here – in politics, in leadership, and in governance – is no longer working. There are at least ten major, violent conflicts happening in the world at this very moment. Democracy is legitimately under threat in countries that we’ve all assumed would never go back to authoritarianism or dictatorships. Anger, indifference, and dehumanization are sinking deeper and deeper into the skin of our own nation, and folks are out here choosing between life-saving medical care and keeping their jobs. But I promise, I come with a message of hope. 

Women around the world are standing up to challenge the status quo and demand a new way of governing, and it’s not about us marching around shouting, “This isn’t fair.” Women, in all their wisdom, know that the United States needs a system that actually allows the best and brightest to rise to the top of political decision-making positions and right this ship. It just so happens that we also believe many of the best and brightest are women. 🙂

I’d like to tell you about one powerful way that this is becoming a reality. Let’s rewind back to 2021.

Jennifer M. Piscopo is Professor of Gender and Politics at Royal Holloway University of London. She is a leading expert on gender and politics, especially women’s political representation, in Latin America, the United States, and the globe. She has published in over 30 peer-reviewed journals, including The American Political Science Revie ,The American Journal of Political Science, Social Politics, Comparative Political Studies, The Latin American Research Review, Latin American Politics and Society, and Politics, Groups, and Identities. She consults regularly for international organizations and national governments, including UN Women and United Cities and Local Government. Her public writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and Ms. Magazine, among other outlets. Fluent in English and Spanish, she comments on U.S. politics, Latin American politics, and gender and politics for media outlets across the globe.

Vandinika Shukla is a gender policy specialist, technology policy expert, and educator. She has spent the last decade designing national gender policies and advocacy campaigns at UN Women, building public interest technology products and partnerships at MIT Media Lab, and founding organizations to amplify unheard stories for stronger democracies. Most recently, she led the launch of the Practicing Democracy Project at Harvard Kennedy School – a research, teaching and practice center on leadership, storytelling, and movement building– with world renowned community organizer Marshall Ganz.

For her work she has been recognized as a young leader by the G20, All Tech Is Human, and the European Commission. Vandinika serves on the Board of Directors for Fora Network for Change, Partners In Democracy, and Chairs the Board of RepresentWomen.

She is a reporting fellow at Tech Policy Press and currently works at Microsoft’s Democracy Forward Initiative on strengthening democratic processes and preserving access to trusted journalism to help build a healthier information ecosystem.

Keynote Speech

Namatai Kwekweza

Executive Director of WELEAD Trust

Namatai Kwekweza serves as the Executive Director of WELEAD Trust, an organization that she founded at age 18 in 2017, which focuses on youth leadership development and advocacy. Through the work done at WELEAD Trust, youth have built strong alliances around human rights, feminist solidarity practices, constitutionalism, participation in governance and leader development.

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Panel: Power Like You’ve Never Seen - Ways Women are Crafting a New & Improved Way of Governing

Victoria Pelletier

RepresentWomen's National Partnerships Manager

Victoria Pelletier is the National Partnerships Manager at RepresentWomen, and is based in Portland, Maine. She is currently serving her first term as a Portland City Councilor, and is the second Black woman in her city’s history that has been elected to this seat.

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Yordanos Eyoel

Founder & CEO of Keseb

Yordanos Eyoel is an Ethiopian-American democracy entrepreneur who is the Founder and CEO of Keseb. Keseb is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization building an ecosystem for cross-country learning, collaboration, and innovation to advance inclusive and resilient democracies.

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Marjan H. Ehsassi

Executive Director of the Federation for Innovation in Democracy (North America)

Marjan H. Ehsassi is the Executive Director of the Federation for Innovation in Democracy North America. She is also a Future of Democracy Fellow (non-resident) at the Berggruen Institute and a Senior Innovations Fellow at the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA at OSU).

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Jennifer Nadel

Co-founder and Director of Compassion in Politics

Jennifer Nadel is an author, activist and award-winning journalist with an unwavering commitment to both compassion and women’s rights. As the co-director of the UK-based think tank Compassion in Politics, Jennifer works to help foster more empathetic and compassionate politics across the political spectrum, working with over 100 MPs.

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Expert Discussion: Non-electoral Solutions - Addressing Violence Against Women and Mental Well-Being in Politics 

Sandra Pepera

Director For Gender, Women And Democracy, National Democratic Institute

Sandra Pepera is a career diplomat and international development professional. Before joining NDI as its Director for Gender, Women and Democracy in 2014, she spent thirteen years as a Senior Officer at the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), including leading programs in the Caribbean, Rwanda-Burundi and Sudan. Prior to joining DFID, Sandra spent time in British domestic politics; lecturing in political science and international relations at the University of Ghana; and as a political analyst in the Political Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

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Senator Cynthia López Castro

Mexican Senator and President of IPU's Women's Caucus

Bio coming soon!

Natalia Herbst

Director for Latin America Strategy and Development at the Apolitical Foundation

Natalia is an Obama Scholar '19 who has over 10 years of experience in government at the local and national levels. In 2023 she was a member of President Obama’s Inclusive Economies Working Group.

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Expert Discussion: Electoral Solutions - Gender Quotas in Latin America & Australia’s Single Transferable Voting System

Vandinika Shukla

RepresentWomen Board Chair & Gender Policy Specialist

Vandinika Shukla is a gender policy specialist, technology policy expert, and educator. She has spent the last decade designing national gender policies and advocacy campaigns at UN Women, building public interest technology products and partnerships at MIT Media Lab, and founding organizations to amplify unheard stories for stronger democracies.

[Read More]

Jennifer Piscopo

Professor of Gender and Politics at Royal Holloway University of London

Jennifer M. Piscopo is Professor of Gender and Politics at Royal Holloway University of London. She is a leading expert on gender and politics, especially women’s political representation, in Latin America, the United States, and the globe.

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Kate Chaney MP

Member of Parliament in Australia's House of Representatives

Kate Chaney is Western Australia’s first female Independent Federal Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives.

Bio coming soon!

Natalia is an Obama Scholar ‘19 who has over 10 years of experience in government at the local and national level. In 2023 she was a member of President Obama’s Inclusive Economies Working Group. She currently is Director of Latin America Strategy and Development at Apolitical Foundation, where she works on supporting female candidates running for office, and PMO at Publica Lab, where she works with founders of private companies building narratives about businesses’ impact on communities’ development. In her appointment as National Director for Community Organizations at the National Youth Institute, her work focused on developing youth-centered public policy impacting +1.5 million youth across the country. This was done by focusing on shifting paradigms around government engagement with youth. She holds a BA in international studies (UTDT), an MA in development studies (IDS-Sussex), and is an Obama Scholar-Columbia University. She is a JICA, Fulbright, and Aspen Ideas Fellow alumni.

Michelle Milford Morse (M3) is Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy. Previously Michelle was a member of the global health policy and advocacy team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Michelle was a national spokesperson and public affairs director for the LIVESTRONG Foundation. She also served as press secretary and communications director for U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett. As a global development consultant Michelle has worked with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Sesame Workshop, the UBS Optimus Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, mothers2mothers, amFAR, ICRW, and the University of Texas. Michelle earned a Master of International Affairs and a Master of Public Health at Columbia University, and pursued her graduate research at the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Kalisizo, Uganda. She is a proud graduate of the University of Texas. (Hook 'em!) Michelle lives in Austin, Texas, where she is the chair of the board of the Ann Richards School Foundation.

Jennifer Nadel is an author, activist and award-winning journalist with an unwavering commitment to both compassion and women’s rights. As the co-director of the UK-based think tank Compassion in Politics, Jennifer works to help foster more empathetic and compassionate politics across the political spectrum, working with over 100 MPs. Jennifer is also the Director of Compassionate Politics at Stanford University’s Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and in 2022 helped set up the Global Compassion Coalition, which works across borders to foster inclusive and compassionate politics on a global scale.

Jennifer's collaboration with Gillian Anderson on the Sunday Times bestseller, WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere, offers a profound roadmap for both personal growth and societal change, drawing from psychology, politics, and spirituality. Her latest work, co-edited with Matt Hawkins, How Compassion can Transform our Politics, Economy, and Society, has been celebrated as a visionary guide to creating a more compassionate world. Her most recent book is How Compassion can Transform our Politics, Economy and Society, a collection of essays from leading academics and thinkers on the impact compassion could have on our world.

Jennifer is both a qualified barrister and an award-winning journalist, having worked with the BBC, Channel Four News and ITN, having her voice resonate on a global scale. Jennifer has spoken internationally about compassion, activism and the transformative power of women’s leadership, speaking to organisations such as the UN, Google, Apple and Bloomberg, and offering workshops that inspire change.

American-born and London-based, Jennifer Nadel stands as a beacon of hope and change, advocating for a world where compassion drives political and social action. Her work not only challenges the status quo but also lays down a path for a future where women's voices and compassionate leadership are at the heart of global transformation.

Marjan H. Ehsassi is the Executive Director of the Federation for Innovation in Democracy North America. She is also a Future of Democracy Fellow (non-resident) at the Berggruen Institute and a Senior Innovations Fellow at the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA at OSU). She is a skilled advocate, strategic policy advisor, and movement builder. She is a fierce believer in the integrity of citizens’ voices: the potential of citizen engagement, inclusiveness, and impactful government-led deliberative innovations to promote democratic renewal.

A lawyer, Marjan has worked to enhance space for civil society in some of the most complex environments, including Cuba, Iran, and North Korea. She completed her Doctorate in International Affairs (DIA) at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) with a concentration on democratic innovations, deliberative democracy and citizens’ assemblies.

She has been a researcher on several citizens’ assemblies in France, Belgium, Canada, and the US, and recently served as one of four guarantors of the French Citizens’ Convention on the End of Life and on the Oversight Committee of the G1000 We Need to Talk Citizens’ Panels. She sits on several boards, including Healthy Democracy, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), IPEC (AFSC’s International Programs Executive Council), the Meridian Council, and is an active member of Democracy R&D and the OECD’s Innovative Citizen Participation Network.

Marjan is working on her first book, Activated Citizenship, about the transformative potential of Citizens’ Assemblies (to be published in the summer of 2024).

Yordanos Eyoel is an Ethiopian-American democracy entrepreneur who is the Founder and CEO of Keseb. Keseb is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization building an ecosystem for cross-country learning, collaboration, and innovation to advance inclusive and resilient democracies. For launching Keseb in 2022, Yordanos was recognized with the “Extraordinary Leader Transforming a Field” award by Unorthodox Philanthropy. Previously, Yordanos was a Managing Partner at New Profit, where she was the first person in the organization’s 22-year history to grow from Portfolio Analyst to Managing Partner.

Yordanos is a Civil Society Fellow of the ADL & the Aspen Institute and a former Visiting Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. In 2017, Yordanos co-founded and served as the International Spokesperson of the Sister March Network that mobilized over 4 million people for the 2017 Women’s March. Yordanos serves as the Board Chair of PushBlack, the largest nonprofit media organization for Black Americans. Yordanos’ work and writing has been featured in TED, Fast Company, Stanford Social Innovation Review, NPR, and We the Possibility by Harvard Business Review, among others.

Yordanos holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School.

Victoria Pelletier is the National Partnerships Manager at RepresentWomen, and is based in Portland, Maine. She is currently serving her first term as a Portland City Councilor, and is the second Black woman in her city’s history that has been elected to this seat. She specializes in racial equity, community engagement and advocacy, and pushes for intersectionality in all levels of government. Prior to joining RepresentWomen, Victoria worked at Portland Empowered, amplifying the voices of racial and ethnic minorities as they influenced policy change within Portland Public Schools.

Victoria also worked as a racial equity project manger for a local government agency, where she collaborated with over 30 Maine cities and towns and helped to foster social change within their municipalities. Victoria is passionate about dismantling structures of oppression and leading her community towards authentic policy change. When she’s not working on RepresentWomen partnerships, you can find her listening to Renaissance and pursuing all aspects of Black joy.

Candice Kerestan is a political consultant focused on making American elections work better for voters both at home and abroad. In preparation for the 2024 presidential cycle, Candice has worked with numerous Democratic state parties on issues such as primary election design, logistics, and inclusivity, with a specific focus on ranked choice voting as a means to this end.

A Pennsylvania native, Ms. Kerestan has spent the past decade in Germany. There, she completed her Master's Degree in Political Science from the University of Bonn and served as State Party Chair of Democrats Abroad, the U.S. Democratic Party's state party for U.S. citizens abroad, in the 2022 midterm cycle.

Shifting the Paradigms of Power – A Global Movement

Now more than ever, people around the world are challenging the status quo and demanding a new way of governing that doesn't involve binary choices, zero-sum thinking, and aggressive competition. In celebration of International Women's Day, the third and final day of the Democracy Solutions Summit is focused on women's leadership around the world. We will hear from international women politicians, advocates, and thought leaders who are doing the work and having an impact. We will hear about both electoral and non-electoral strategies that have proven to level the playing field for women to run and serve. We will also hear from women leaders about real-life initiatives that are shifting the paradigms of power and crafting new and improved ways of governing. What a great opportunity to learn from our global neighbors and think through how we might adapt these strategies for the US context. 

Register now