Where We've Been and Where We're Going
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard every excuse for why I shouldn’t serve in public office. Media scrutiny, protecting my future kids, sparing my non-existant husband’s ego— the list goes on and on. I’m a young minority woman, so for years I just assumed these comments came with the territory since glass ceilings still needed to be broken. But over the years, I began to realize that this was the shared narrative of women interested in government and politics, independent of their backgrounds.
If we, as a society, continue to discourage young women from running for office, women’s voices will remain underrepresented in elected bodies. As long as this status quo stays unperturbed in law-making institutions, we have little hope of trying to achieve gender equality in all walks of life. In recognition of this principle, Leading Women of Tomorrow was born.
A little over two years ago, our executive board had the challenging task of designing an organization that supported the interests and ambitions of our peers. Still, the tireless passion and limitless talent of Kathryn Urban, Nicole Cennamo, Sophia Ramcharitar, and Michaela Dowdy turned this vague vision into a promising model in a matter of months. But our most valuable ally throughout this period was you, our members.
You developed the most innovative workshops, created programming highlighting established public servants, and mobilized your campus communities. Your work has fundamentally expanded our conception of what it means to be a Leading Women of Tomorrow. Inspired by your endeavors, we’ve decided to update our mission with three new goals.
1. Provide More Pre-Professional Resources
We’re incredibly fortunate to have members from all across the country. This year, we want to create more opportunities for you to get to know each other! Our brand-new Director of Engagement will be creating social media and LinkedIn groups open to all of our members as well as mentors from a variety of sectors, as well as organizing a series of regional meet-ups. Alisha Rajan, our Director of External Relations, will also be putting together a monthly newsletter sharing opportunities relating to jobs/internships, conferences, and networking events.
2. Educate our Team on Important Legislative Proposals and Social Movements
While we all strive to be Leading Women of Tomorrow, we also believe it’s important to highlight opportunities to make a difference today. With that in mind, we’ve asked Taylor King to lead our Legislative Affairs Department. We’ll be sending out regular updates on current debates in Congress and State Legislatures throughout the country, as well as sharing a series of workshops on community organizing.
3. Create an Outlet that Highlights Prominent Strides in the Gender Equality Movement
With the elapse of 2018’s Year of the Woman, women are reaching new milestones in every sector. We want to be your go-to resource on gender equality news. Jenna Gail Julian, our former International Committee Representative for Ireland, is taking over our digital media team. This summer, she single-handedly revamped our social media pages to better reflect this goal. Next, she’ll be using her unique vision to launch version 2.0 of our blog, which will feature our brand-new writer’s team.
We’re so excited to be sharing more about these initiatives with you in the coming months! If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.