SEPTEMBER 2022

A LETTER FROM

OUR PRESIDENT

Greetings,

Over the past several months, I have reflected on my role in raising the voices of those most impacted by society's problems. Advocacy, while on the surface seems like a simple concept, is becoming more nuanced as we strive to equalize the power dynamics in society and question, “Who is advocating for whom? Why and how?”

There is an intentional movement towards “shared power,” where societal control is shared among those who traditionally have held power, status, titles, and education, and those within an organizational structure or society who have been marginalized. This shift includes centering the voices of those most impacted by the issues and ensuring they are at the table and have decision-making authority. 

This is easier said than done. What happens when those in power don’t want to give it up? What happens when people who are advocating for others are paternalistic in their actions, or still have unconscious bias and wield the power when and how they want? What happens when you look at yourself and realize you are guilty of not sharing power?

Those who are most impacted often want to be advocates for themselves, but systemic barriers prevent engagement. They may not attend meetings because they don't have reliable internet access, childcare, or time off of work. They may not feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their points of view with legislators or leaders due to centuries of deliberate trauma and subjugation.

For advocates, a persistent concern is whether those who traditionally have held power and are paid to advocate and organize are burdening those who are most impacted by asking them to advocate for themselves. We have always been taught to “stand up” for others. I would posit that sharing power, while often hard, is not a burden, and we don’t need to stand up or advocate FOR our community, we need to stand WITH our community. 

As leaders, our charge is to move society towards equity by using our roles to empower community members to advocate for themselves. The dynamics won’t change overnight, but as we lead by equalizing that power in every corner of society, in every conversation, in every organization, we will get there. That includes leading efforts to remove barriers to participation in the system, whether it be access to childcare, paid leave, stipends for their time and experience, or advocacy training. 

At NWPC-VA, we are constantly seeking to bring more voices to the table, not only to participate, but to lead, until one day it becomes our table. It’s not easy. It requires us continuously checking our own biases, moving outside of our comfort zones, and walking side by side with all women. BJ Lark, ‍Program Organizer, Roanoke Democracy Center, said it best at our NWPC-VA Annual Meeting Part 1, “Look around and see who is missing, and invite them to the table!”

As women in the movement, we won’t reach equity until we are all represented, and barriers to leadership and advocacy no longer exist… that is how women lead from the front, together. 

Onward,

Krysta Jones, 2021-2022 President

National Women’s Political Caucus-Virginia

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NWPC-VA

2023-24 BOARD OF DIRECTORS!

The ballots are in! Please welcome our new board members. Congratulations to them as well as to our returning board members. Their terms begin in January.

For members who missed our Sept. 13 meeting, we had an energizing gathering led by President Krysta Jones with reports from our VPs and Regional Representatives. Highlights included but were not limited to growing membership, advances in healthcare policies, a streamlined endorsements process, and an increased following on social media. You can catch up on the wonderful work that we’ve done together in the Quarterly Board Updates section.

During the second half of the meeting, panelists Dr. Brandy Faulkner (Gloria D. Smith Professor of Black Studies, Virginia Tech), Bernadette “BJ” Lark (Program Organizer at Roanoke Democracy Center), and Susan Wilburn (President, PFLAG Woodstock)led a discussion on issues in rural Virginia. Based on Virginia Dept. of Health stats, up 88% of the commonwealth can be considered rural. We explored how to better understand and navigate concerns in these areas. To watch this important discussion click here.

Information about the Annual Meeting, Part 2 on Nov. 29 will be sent to your email and posted in our social media accounts. Make sure to follow us!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWPCVA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NwpcV 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nwpc_va/ 

It’s time for our quarterly board updates. Because it’s September, we’ve also got the year-end reports from our annual meeting and information on our incoming board members. Interested in joining a committee? Check our Upcoming Events section for the dates and times of regular Zoom meetings.

Andrea Miller is Founding Board Member of the Center for Common Ground; Executive Director, People Demanding Action; Founding President, National Women’s Political Caucus of Virginia; and a member of the Democracy and Governance Working Group of the Virginia Green New Deal. Andrea is an IT and Political Director, a digital and elections strategist. She designs and administers digital phone banks and texting programs. From 2013 to 2015 she led the Progressive Round Table on Capitol Hill bringing together members of Congress, activists, and non-profit leaders. Her expertise is in voting rights, climate, and the Equal Rights Amendment. She has successfully advocated for legislation on both the federal and state level. In 2008, she was the Democratic nominee for the Virginia 4th Congressional District.

Hello, members! The Comms Team has had an interesting year, and we have some exciting goals for 2023 (Hint--it’s all about the youth!).  

Our social media following and engagement has steadily risen throughout 2022. We doubled our number of followers on Facebook, added almost 100 new followers on Twitter, and have seen a great increase in engagement on Instagram. Our Instagram post that garnered the most attention was from our session, What We Owe Black Mothers. In it, Del. Sally Hudson talks about the backward logic of having a surplus budget when we don’t have adequate healthcare for all mothers--not great! 

We also helped facilitate great partnerships with legislators in Richmond and other organizations while working to help pass the Unsolicited Lewds Bill; partnered with VREA to protect abortion rights; hosted informative sessions on topics that affect everyday Virginians, like maternal mortality rate; and tabled at events like the Women’s Summit, where we met potential partners on future legislation. During election seasons, we have been and will continue to share volunteer opportunities for our endorsed candidates. Our overall goals for next year are: to engage more young activists (Know any fabulous TikTokers?), to promote the mentorship program for endorsed candidates, and to keep membership informed of policy priorities and calls to action during General Assembly 2023. 

It is never a dull moment in Comms :) Come join us! Contact Jennifer here: va.nwpc.communications@gmail.com. 

This year the Events and Development Team has worked hard to cultivate relationships with sister organizations that share our mission to elevate women across the Commonwealth. We are proud to be official partners with Interfaith Virginia. Our work with Interfaith enables our members to work alongside an experienced team of individuals to address the black maternal health crisis in Virginia.  We are also proud to be a working member of the Virginia Reproductive Equality Alliance Coalition whose mission is to build power and secure reproductive health, rights, and justice. for all people in Virginia. The voices of many will ensure that reproductive freedoms are guaranteed in Virginia. 

If you are interested in either opportunity, please reach out to Jessica.Kujala@gmail.com or va.nwpc.development@gmail.com. Together we will make sure that every community is aware that NWPC-VA is working for the women and families in Virginia. 

The Endorsements Committee is getting ready for a busy year in 2023! We will have House of Delegates, State Senate, and local races on the ballot. We are working to make sure our endorsement application process is set to go live in March. 

On September 7, we had a productive meeting with the National Women’s Political Caucus Programs Director Kate McDonald to discuss their endorsement process, our state chapter’s role in the federal endorsement process, and to better understand how they work. This is important as we need to send letters of endorsement or reminders to ensure candidates get a full review. A big takeaway from this conversation is that Endorsements needs to have a strong and active line of communication throughout the year. Please join us at our monthly meetings: the second Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. on Zoom! Email Katherine with questions at va.nwpc.endorsements@gmail.com.

Greetings from the Finance Committee. I’m happy to report that we have an approximately $4500 balance in our account. Where do these funds and your dues go? Because we were out and about more these past months, we did spend some funds on tabling and merch. We were very successful at our Women’s Summit tables this summer, and sold out of everything we brought! Help us do more by shopping at our Merch Store, stocked with T-shirts, tote bags, and mugs. Questions? Contact Robbin at va.nwpc.finance@gmail.com. 

Hello members! Our table at the 2022 Women's Summit attracted a lot of attention. It was a great opportunity to tell Virginia women that the fight for equality still lives, and we at NWPC-VA are doing our part to elect more women and to bring important issues to the forefront across the commonwealth that directly affect all women!  We also are excited to announce that we will be featuring $77 membership through the end of the year (a savings of $22)! Now is the time to renew your membership and ask 5 friends to join.

Contact me at va.nwpc.membership@gmail.com if you’d like to join our dynamic team. You can also hop on our monthly zoom meetings- check the Upcoming Events for more info!

As we gear up for General Assembly 2023, the Policy Team is working on plans to help support the Implicit Bias Training Bill, which should come up for a vote during the upcoming session. As a reminder, here is  the House version, led by Delegates McQuinn, Head, and Rasoul; and the Senate version here, led by Senators Locke and Hashmi. You can also read The Virginia Interfaith Center For Public Policy’s Fact Sheet here. As with the Unsolicited Lewds Bill that was passed unanimously last year, we need members to help work on this bill, and to provide first person testimony as to why this training is desperately needed for Virginia mothers of color. We hosted an excellent panel on this topic earlier this year with grassroots organizations and legislators; you can watch What We Owe Black Mothers here.

We look forward to continuing our support of Birth in Color RVA and other grassroots organizations in their push for more equitable healthcare for every Virginian. Please join our Policy Committee Zoom meetings to get involved, the last Sunday of the month at 6:00 p.m. Please contact Tonja Roberts if you need more information: va.nwpc.policy@gmail.com 

Many thanks to Laurie Buchwald for her service as NWPC-VA’s first VP of Records! Laurie will no doubt continue to be involved in NWPC-VA, advocating for women candidates and keeping us abreast of issues in southwest Virginia.

We welcome our new VP of Records, Eileen Martelli, who will start her term in January. Eileen is a resident of Winchester. She has a Masters degree in social work, with 30+ years’ experience as a mental health counselor, a director of clinical services, and foster care and adoption worker. She has also volunteered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Literacy Volunteers of America, and Habitat for Humanity. She is a proud mother to 3 successful children and grandmother to 4 bright grandchildren. Thank you for choosing to serve, Eileen!

Thank you to Eileen Davis for representing the Central Region this past year! Central Region members, we’ll be meeting again in October. Check the Upcoming Events section for meeting information.

Now it’s our pleasure to welcome Gwen Sarsfield to the board, starting in January. Gwen is a VCU alum who is currently retired after over 40 years’ experience in the recruitment industry, both as a business owner as well as a Human Resource Recruiter for Verizon Wireless. Gwen also served as the executive director of a 5 county regional welfare to work program in the Richmond area. She is a Leadership Metro Richmond (LMR) graduate and was privileged to serve as its Program Director. Gwen has been happily married for the past 47 years to Damien Sarsfield; they have adult children and 1 granddaughter. Thank you for joining our board, Gwen!

Thank you to Karen Campblin for being our first regional representative for the Northern Region! We are excited to welcome Kendra Glover to the role in January.

Kendra is a longtime community leader who is passionate about advocating for justice. She has partnered alongside organizations including the NAACP and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. on various social action initiatives. She currently works for the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Buta Biberaj, the first woman elected to the position. Welcome, Kendra! 

Questions? Reach out to va.nwpc.northern@gmail.com.  

Hello, Northwest Region! We met on September 27 in Winchester and had a great discussion on discovering our hidden talents and putting them to work in NWPC-VA. We will next meet in early November in Woodstock (specifics TBD). After the November annual meeting, we will begin monthly Zoom meetings geared to members who are not involved in committees. Our region stretches from Frederick County to the north and Bath and Amherst County to the south and west. We’d love to have you join us. Bring a friend!

Questions for Holly? email her at va.nwpc.northwest@gmail.com

After creating the Southwest Region last quarter, we are happy to welcome Bernadette Lark as our inaugural representative, starting in January! BJ is Founder and Artistic Director of commUNITY ARTSreach. She currently serves as Program Organizer at Roanoke Democracy Center and youth educator at Jefferson Center Music Lab. Lark shares in works with ARTivism Virginia and is a proactive community activist and advocate for those often silenced. BJ previously served as Virginia Theomusicologist for the Poor People's Campaign. We are so glad to have BJ on the board!

NWPC-VA is excited to welcome our new regional representative from Tidewater, Pat Cawley! Pat is a resident of Norfolk and has been a 7-12 grade English teacher in the Chesapeake Public Schools for 26 years. She has made quite an impact professionally, including being named the 2019-2020 Chesapeake Public Schools Citywide Reading Teacher of the Year. She has also been very involved in her community, having volunteered with the Women's Political Caucus, the National Organization for Women, and the League of Women Voters. She’s hitting the ground running and starts with the October regional meeting. We are looking forward to Pat’s leadership in Tidewater!

NWPC-VA POLICY PRIORITIES UPDATES

In our July newsletter, we included a summary of the Virginia Community Policing Act of 2020. This month, Comms Team member Corina Ladd compiled this Community Policing Act (CPA) City by City follow-up. The data provided to the state police consists of stops from Virginia law enforcement agencies from July 1, 2020 to May 31, 2022.Black drivers are estimated to be 2.5 times more likely to be stopped than Non-Hispanic White drivers in our large cities, but there is considerable variation from city to city. 

For the 5 largest cities in Virginia, CPA data shows the following disproportionate stops.

Richmond, City

While 46% of the city’s population are Black residents, Black drivers made up 58% of all traffic stops since 2020. And, while Non-Hispanic White residents made up 41% of the population, they made up just 26% of the traffic stops. Hispanics make up 7% of the population and 7.5% of the traffic stops. (67% stopped were residents of Richmond City.)

Norfolk, City

Black residents make up 40% of the city’s population, and yet they accounted for 63% of the total stops since 2020. Non-Hispanic Whites make up 43%  of the city’s population, but they accounted for just 27.5%  of the stops. 5.5%  of the stops were of Hispanics who make up 8.4% of the city’s population. (63% stopped were residents of the city of Norfolk.)

Arlington County

Black residents make up 10% of Arlington’s population, but account for 33% of the traffic stops.  Non-Hispanic Whites make up 74%  of the population, but account for just 41% of the traffic stops.  Hispanics make up 16% of the population, and account for 17% of traffic stops.  (36% stopped were residents of the county and 31% were out of state.)

Chesapeake, City

Black residents are 30% of the population, but account for 54% of the traffic stops since 2020.  Non-Hispanic White residents make up 55.7% of the population, but account for just 39% of the traffic stops. Hispanic residents are 7.3% of the population and account for 4.5% of the stops.  (61% stopped were residents of Chesapeake).

Virginia Beach, City

Black residents are 19% of the city’s population, but account for 39.5% of the traffic stops since 2020. Non-Hispanic White residents make up 61%  of the city’s population, but account for just 50%  of the traffic stops. (64% stopped were residents of Virginia Beach.)

More data can be accessed at this portal. 

• New Education Model Policies Regarding Transgender Students

Earlier this month, the Youngkin administration released a new set of proposed model policies regarding the treatment of transgender students in public schools: “Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools.” The policies would require teachers, counselors, and administrators to refer to students only by their legal names and the pronouns used for the sex assigned to them at birth. This would prevent transgender individuals from using names, pronouns, and/or facilities which correspond to their gender identity, unless permitted to do so by a parent. School staff would also be required to obtain parental consent before offering any gender identity counseling to a student. Gov. Youngkin stated that the guidelines were created to increase parental involvement, which he claimed the previous administration had tried to discourage.

School divisions will have 30 days to review the proposal and adopt their own versions which incorporate the guidelines. Similarly, the public has the opportunity to voice their views at the online forum here; comments are open until October 26. For additional information, please see this story from WRIC. After the comment period the policy goes before the state Board of Education, where Youngkin’s appointees hold a majority.

• New Poll Reflects Public Support for Public Schools

A new poll from the University of Mary Washington shows public support for the commonwealth’s public schools in most regions of Virginia and a negative opinion of the governor’s role in shaping education policies. There were regional differences in the 1000-person survey, with participants in Northern Virginia having the most positive grades of their schools, while respondents in western Virginia gave their schools the lowest grades. Full details on the survey’s results can be found on the university’s website. 

• Youngkin Aims to Pull Virginia Out of RGGI
Based on the Wason Center’s 2022 State of the Commonwealth Survey, 67% of Virginians support remaining in RGGI, the multi-state program which controls carbon emissions and generates revenue, which has gone into energy efficiency programs assisting low-income residents and the flood mitigation fund. Since Virginia joined RGGI in Jan. 2021, it has generated upwards of $378 million for our state. However, Gov. Youngkin is in the process of pulling Virginia out of RGGI and has used Executive Order 9 (EO9) and his new appointees on the Air Board to propose a regulatory repeal that would circumvent legislation passed during the 2020 General Assembly. 

Gov. Youngkin has argued that the program drives up utility prices, despite the fact that Dominion Energy’s lobbyists have long been known for setting the utility’s rates. He has voiced his support for a bill to create a coastal flooding resiliency authority in place of RGGI-funded flood programs. During the August meeting of the Air Pollution Control Board, Acting Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Travis A. Voyles presented for the administration, noting “the current burden that RGGI is to the Virginia citizens” and the plan to repeal it by 2023. Outside, activists from the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, and Appalachian Voices, among others offered evidence to the contrary. At the beginning of September, the administration submitted a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action, a notification that a regulatory change is under consideration, to the Air Board. As a result, the online forum for public comments on Virginia’s status in RGGI opened on Sept. 26. You can add yours here.  

For more background on RGGI, see 13 News’ “4 things to know about Gov. Youngkin's plan to pull Virginia from RGGI” and this op-ed in The Virginian Pilot.

• Mountain Valley Pipeline Update

In the US Senate, August negotiations over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) put the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) back on the table for completion after months of delays and more than 300 environmental violations. This fracked natural gas project, championed by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, threatens the air and water supply, and endangered species in Virginia’s Southwest. As our panelists from the Sept. 13 rural issues discussion noted, this pipeline is a massive threat to that region. If completed, it will pour 26 coal plants’ worth of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Grassroots activists, especially those from Appalachian communities, have already made it clear they don’t want this fossil fuel project. West Virginians and allies camped out in Senate Majority Leader Schumer’s office when a provision exempting the MVP from normal permitting processes was tacked to budget resolution funding the government through December. Prior to the vote, Sen. Tim Kaine issued a statement against the provision and the process that would undermine the voices of Virginians. On Sept. 27, the MVP provision was stripped out of the resolution. At the moment, the MVP’s future is uncertain. Learn more here. Share your opinion with Sen. Kaine here.

by Laurie Buchwald, VP of Records and Southwest Region Member 

This month, Laurie Buchwald, our VP of Records, spoke at Radford University’s Center for Gender Studies series. The series includes talks aimed at educating and helping students better understand the historical, medical, and legal implications of the SCOTUS ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Below, Laurie shares the highlights of her talk.

As a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with more than 30 years in the field of Women’s Health / ObGyn, it was an honor for me to be asked to speak from the medical and health perspective. It was my goal to present scientific and data-driven information, and to explain the impact on women and their families. The following topics were addressed:

• Unintended pregnancies

• Statistics on who has abortions and at what gestational age

• Statistics on the medical impact of safe, legal abortions vs. unsafe abortions

• Current data on abortion bans state by state

• Impact of the ruling on women of color and on marginalized communities

• Prevention of unintended pregnancies

• Contraception and contraceptive deserts

Over 80 people were in attendance, most of them students, and the engagement level and questions asked were excellent. I was particularly pleased with the dialogue about contraception, because after all, how can a woman prevent an unintended pregnancy, if she does not have access to contraception?  

I frequently have women express their fear about contraception access, to the point that they are asking for tubal ligation early or to have their IUD removed and replaced earlier than necessary. Women are angry and fear loss of access because contraception manages menorrhagia (heavy flow), dysmenorrhea (painful cycles), endometriosis pain, PMS, premenstrual migraines. I gently remind women who express opposition to abortion access, that in order to prevent abortion, we must prevent unintended pregnancy. I also ask them to share their concerns with elected officials.

If you’d like to learn more about the content covered in the talk, follow this link and check out the graphics below. 

CALLS TO ACTION

Advocate to Safeguard Reproductive Health Data

Data brokers harvest location information from our phone apps, then sell access to the highest bidder, including the government. This is a way sheriffs and bounty hunters in anti-abortion states may try to identify and punish people seeking and providing abortion. Rep. Jacobs (D-CA) has authored the My Body, My Data Act to protect reproductive health data. Take action in support of this bill here.

Join the Sub-Committee Working to Put Abortion Access in Virginia’s Constitution

NWPC-VA recently joined the Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance (VREA). It is a coalition of 16 grassroots organizations dedicated to preserving and increasing access to full reproductive care around the commonwealth. 

One initiative the alliance is working on is developing a constitutional amendment (CA) at the state level to protect abortion access. There are legislators who want to see this happen. For those not familiar with the process, in order to amend the state constitution, an amendment must pass 2 consecutive General Assemblies, then it goes on the ballot for citizens to vote on. This is a multi-year process. VREA is in the process of forming a CA subcommittee, led by ReproRising and Planned Parenthood of VA. We are looking for members who want to be part of this process. Please email Jennifer Gaylor at va.nwpc.communications@gmail.com if you are interested.

Lobby the US Senate on Voting for the ERA 

The US Senate will vote on SJ1 (publication of the Equal Rights Amendment) only when Americans get LOUD. The current version of the bill is sponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). Contact Senator Schumer to tell him to bring SJ1 to a vote!  www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck 

Make Your Voice Heard on the New Public School Transgender Policies

As noted in our policy updates section, Gov. Youngkin recently proposed new policies affecting transgender teens. The comment period on the proposed model policies opened on September 26 and will be open for 30 days. Please join other Virginia parents and citizens in leaving your comments regarding adopting this policy at the public comment forum before Oct. 26.

Make Your Voice Heard on RGGI & Climate Change in Virginia

As noted in our policy updates section, Gov. Youngkin issued EO9 in January to reevaluate Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and has begun regulatory processes to end it, despite RGGI being the law passed by the GA in 2020. The public comment period for this policy also opened on September 26 and will be open for 30 days. Comment here before Oct. 26.

WATCH #WOMEN LEAD!

Meet Katharine Mardirosian! Katharine is the owner and founder of 100 Bowls of Soup, an eatery based in Herndon. After enjoying delicious bowls of soup made by her Romanian-born mother-in-law, she was inspired to start a business selling similar cuisine using local and organic ingredients in 2009. She began making soup in local church kitchens and selling it at farmers’ markets and small stores in Northern Virginia. As her business continued to grow, Katharine opened her own space on Sunset Park in 2015, where she continues to operate. 

Quoted in Women’s Business Month, Katharine notes, “Women tend to be more empathetic, see the value in nurturing people and building positive relationships. I’ve found women-owned businesses often set higher, more purposeful goals for their businesses.” This philosophy came to bear in March 2020, when the pandemic hit. She decided to increase how much soup she was giving to her local food pantry, Cornerstones: 100 bowls of soup each week. Her donations continue today.  

It’s inspiring to see women begin businesses and give back to their communities based on a very basic, human premise: to nourish. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

September

September 23: Early Voting Began (In-Person)

Virginia residents can vote early now until November 5 at your local registrar’s office.

September 25- October 3:Vote Equality US Artists4ERA Exhibit-Laurel Ridge Community College/Fauquier (In-Person)

The Artists4ERA exhibition continues at Laurel Ridge Community College/Fauquier Campus, 6480 College St, Warrenton, VA 20187. Check here for updates.

October

October 5, 6:30 p.m.: NWPC-VA Membership Monthly Meeting (Online)

​​https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87394059836?pwd=bzBTcE1UZCtYMmh6OThoNkVKZ1Y5UT09 

October 10, 7:00 p.m.: NWPC-VA Tidewater Region Monthly Meeting (Online)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86532499440?pwd=K3JwYVE3WXNhOWl3SzE4SG1jTzlIUT09 

October 11, 4:00 p.m.: NWPC-VA Endorsements Monthly Meeting (Online)

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4506958480 

October 12, 7:00 p.m.: NWPC-VA Central Region Monthly Meeting (Online)

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMucOGhqD4tG9QrHwm_ZJuTMoC-zneiMGfa

October 17 & 31: Deadlines to Apply for the 2023 VA Senate & VA House Page Programs 

Applications for the page program are open for students who will be 13 or 14 in January. The deadline to apply is Friday, October 17 at 5:00 pm for the Senate and Monday, October 31 at 5:00 pm for the House.Check the website for the different requirements for each program.

October 28: Last Day to Apply for an Absentee Ballot (Online)

This is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot online, by mail, or by fax.

October 30, 6:00 p.m.: NWPC-VA Policy Committee Monthly Meeting (Online)

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsc-urrDkuH9zDgJm42hwXc71rpxl0Jh6r 

November

November 5: Last Day to Apply for an Absentee Ballot (In-Person)

This is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot in person.

November 8: Election Day (In-Person)

Members, please cast your ballots in local, state, and Congressional midterm elections!

November 29, 7:00 p.m.: NWPC-VA Annual Meeting Part 2 (Online)

We need you at the next meeting! Join us as we discuss the results of the 2023 Board of Directors Ballot and vote on proposed new by-laws. Information will be sent to members by email soon.

Register here.

December

December 7, 6:00 p.m.:Salon Series, Progress is Not Inevitable; It Takes Work (Online)

Rebecca Solnit is a leading voice in the feminine power space. She has written several books over the past decade. She is widely credited for coining the term “mansplaining” in her 2008 book Men Explain Things to Me. At our December Salon Series, we will be discussing her 2019 article “Progress is Not Inevitable; It Takes Work,” found here. Register here.

Holly Huddle is our Member Spotlight this month! Holly is a vital part of NWPC-VA, contributing her time and energy to our membership committee. She helped out at the 2022 Women's Summit and is our current Northwest Regional Representative. We are grateful for Holly's kind and gentle spirit, passion for women’s advocacy and dedication to NWPC-VA!

WE'VE GOT MERCH!

Show the world your sassy NWPC-VA style!

Order mugs, T-shirts, and more.

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