FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Sunita Theiss
media@womenspublicleadership.net
Tel. 404-775-5075

Denton, Tx./Atlanta, Ga. (April 27, 2020)—The coronavirus has quickly and suddenly upended daily life in the United States. Individuals and organizations alike have been forced to recalibrate and reconfigure how they live their lives in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including public leaders and those seeking elected office. As election cycles continue while much of the country shelters in place, virtual opportunities to interact with local leadership and gain access to resources are essential.

For Women’s Public Leadership Network (WPLN), an organization that seeks to educate, organize, and inspire women to enter public office, this meant pivoting to exclusively digital resources to energize partners around the country. Due to the evolving situation with the coronavirus pandemic, WPLN canceled its inaugural in-person Summit planned for early April in Dallas. To provide a similar virtual experience, WPLN set up weekly Summit calls with state-based organizations that train women to run for office. Female leaders around the country gather digitally to share best practices, grow their organizations, and strategize how to navigate these unprecedented times. Additionally, WPLN is doing this by designing a new roadmap of online content and training materials, and planning Facebook lives with experts in the field.

Last Friday, April 24th, 2020, WPLN hosted its fourth Summit call with these partner organizations, this time focused on fundraising. Guest speaker Nancy Bocskor of The Texas Woman’s University’s Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy emphasized the importance of communicating with passion to engage and effect change in their communities. On outreach, Bocskor, who describes her fundraising style as “cheerfully persistent,” reminded attendees to “give everyone the opportunity to invest in your organization.”

Organizations attending the Summit call included the Virginia Conservative Women’s Coalition, Colorado Women’s Alliance, California Women’s Leadership Association, RISE New Mexico, Conservative Women for a Better Future, LBJ Women’s Campaign School, Michigan Excellence in Public Service, and the Lincoln Series.

“We want to equip women for success no matter where they are on their public service journey and no matter what’s happening in the world,” said WPLN Board Chair, Jenifer Sarver.

Larissa Martinez, co-founder and president of WPLN, agreed, “The American spirit is evident in the current crisis. We can see that from the passion these leaders bring to each of our calls, and we look forward to hosting an in-person Summit when possible. These challenging times exemplify the importance of having more diversity in our public leadership, and we need the voices of women from across the country to contribute to the conversation about the pandemic’s impact on our families and communities—during and after this crisis.”

“We want to connect with women ready to serve at all levels of government,” Sarver, a Texan and former congressional candidate, continued. “A woman might be running for school board today and U.S. Senate in the future. These calls continue to provide opportunities for these state-based organizations to connect and learn new ways to adapt to this new environment. Creating opportunities to hear from experts like Nancy Bocskor is one way we can do that.”

To continue their work of increasing women’s representation in public office and amplifying its impact during this critical time, WPLN will be participating in the upcoming Giving Tuesday Now. This movement, created directly in response to the pandemic, aims to strengthen communities at the grassroots level and will take place on May 5, 2020.

About Women’s Public Leadership Network

Women’s Public Leadership Network (WPLN) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that educates, organizes, and inspires women to enter public office across the United States. We aim to mitigate barriers women face by partnering with a network of state-based organizations who identify, engage, and train women to run for elected office, obtain political appointments, and become more involved in the political process.  WPLN also offers tools and opportunities designed to equip women with the knowledge and resources they need as they step up, get involved in the political process, and lead.