Why Women are the Key to the Future of Progressive Election Victories
As the GOP has garnered victories in Massachussetts, Virginia and New Jersey since the 2008 presidential election, progressives are looking for a new path to keep the seats they have and win back the ones they've lost. Standard playbook assumptions about where, how and why progressives can win campaigns have been turned on their head as increasing numbers of voters feel disaffected and Tea Partiers throw wild cards into many races. Progressive women can embrace this moment to help move the progressive agenda forward. But too often the Democratic Party fails to recruit and support the very women candidates who could be game changers for progressive politics. We'll discuss how the growing numbers of activist women—and organizations devoted to helping them participate in politics and political leadership—can help reconnect voters with important progressive economic and gender issues. And we'll analyze how to access the untapped power of women who want to make a difference for progressive issues and what it will take to get them elected.
Gloria Feldt is a leading activist and author who blogs about women’s lives, rights, and leadership from where the personal meets the political. Her newest book, No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power ~ Tools for Leading an Unlimited Life, will be published October, 2010. It reveals why women are stuck at 18% of top leadership roles and shows how we can redefine power and reach parity from the boardroom to the bedroom for good—our own and society’s.
Former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America whose journey to leadership began as a teen mom, Gloria was dubbed “the voice of experience” by People Magazine. She teaches “Women, Power, and Leadership” at Arizona State University. Previous books include New York Times best seller Send YOURSELF Roses co-written with actress Kathleen Turner, The War on Choice, and Behind Every Choice Is a Story. Her commentary has been featured in national publications such as the New York Times, the Daily Beast, and Salon; find her Heartfeldt blog at www.GloriaFeldt.com. Glamour honored her as Woman of the Year; Vanity Fair named her to its Top 200 Women Leaders, Legends, and Trailblazers; she is a Women’s e-News’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. She serves on the board of the Women’s Media Center. Connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter where she hangs out far too much.
Barbara Lee is a national leader in the effort to promote women's political leadership and powerful participation in our democracy and in the arts.
The Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which Lee founded and leads, is recognized nationally for investing in women in politics. Lee is the driving force behind the Foundation's groundbreaking "Governors Guidebook" series, which combines original research with nationally-distributed practical guides for women candidates seeking executive office.
Lee has leveraged her belief in empowering women in politics by endowing the Barbara Lee Women in U.S. Politics Training Program and Lecture Series at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, which trains women for political office in the United States, and the Barbara Lee Political Intern Fellowship Program at Simmons College.
Lee also serves as Advisory Council Chair for Emerge Massachusetts, a training program for Democratic women in the Commonwealth.
A devoted advocate for Boston’s cultural life, Lee is an active member of the Board of Trustees for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
Barbara Lee earned a Masters Degree from the Boston University School of Social Work and her Bachelors Degree from Simmons College.
Joanne Bamberger is a political and media strategist/analyst, author, and recovering attorney better known around the blogosphere as PunditMom. Her newly released book — Mothers of Intention: How Women & Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America (Bright Sky Press) -- will be available at the Netroots conference book store. Mothers of Intention is the first book to take a serious look at the idiom of political motherhood and its confluence with social media, which started way before Sarah Palin and her "mama grizzlies." Her blog, PunditMom, was a finalist for best political blog in the 2011 Weblog "Bloggies" Awards and was named by BlogHer in 2010 as one of the "must read" political blogs by women.
A new media expert and authority on political involvement of women and mothers, Joanne was a regular contributor to AOL’s Politics Daily and contributes frequently to The Huffington Post, MomsRising and MOMocrats. Her political commentary has appeared on CNN, Fox News, Good Morning America, BBC Radio & XM Radio POTUS, among others. Joanne is part of the Netroots Nation Advisors Committee. She will shortly be launching a new site called The Broad Side, a collective site for women's commentary & opinion writing.
Named by PODER Magazine as among the most influential American Latinos under 40, Maria Teresa (Petersen) Kumar is the founding Executive Director of Voto Latino, a leading national civic engagement organization targeting acculturated American Latino youth.
In the 2008 presidential election, Voto Latino leveraged social media and celebrity participation in five battleground states, all of which saw Latino voter participation increase 5% or more above the national average.
Voto Latino’s innovative web initiatives – including a tele-novela spoof that became an internet sensation – won two Webby Official Honoree awards and a MySpace Impact award. Today, Voto Latino is expanding its civic engagement to include issue based advocacy such as green jobs, education, health and the 2010 census.
Currently a MSNBC political analyst, Maria Teresa appeared regularly as a commentator during the 2008 election on MSNBC’s primary and general election night coverage. She was also a frequent guest on CNN’s AC 360 and American Morning, NPR, and Telemundo.
Maria Teresa started her career as a Legislative Aide for former Democratic Caucus Chairman Vic Fazio managing international trade issues and appropriations.
Harvard Law School, NetRoots, Personal Democracy Forum, Prudential and Tide’s Momentum are among the organizations that seek her to speak on social entrepreneurship, technology and electoral politics.
Maria Teresa is a Council of Foreign Relations term member, an Ambassador Swanee Hunt Prime Mover Fellow, a Women’s Media Center Fellow and a Woodrow Wilson Public Policy International Affairs Fellow. She is a recipient of numerous leadership awards including from The White House Project, Imagen Foundation and the New York Legislature. Last year, Washington Life magazine placed Maria Teresa on the cover of their issue highlighting the most influential Washingtonians under 40. She serves as a founding board member for both the Latino Leaders Network and Poder PAC.
Maria Teresa received a masters degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelors degree in international relations from the University California at Davis.
Roxanne Conlin is a strong leader who is not afraid to take on tough fights. Whether it was battling organized crime, corruption, or giant corporations, Roxanne Conlin has spent her life standing up to special interests to help Iowa families hurt by powerful forces.
Roxanne has taken on city halls, public officials, and national and international companies to protect the rights of average Iowans. She has been threatened and harassed but she continues to stand up for all Iowans whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion.
Roxanne Conlin is dedicated to representing everyday people who do not have a voice. She has never worked for a big corporate interest or insurance company. Instead, Roxanne has chosen to fight for family farmers squeezed by big banks, police officers wronged by their own departments, workers hurt by large companies, and rape victims who were victimized again by the system. She fought to change laws and attitudes, seeking the kind of real change Iowans need.
As an Assistant Attorney General for Iowa, Roxanne fought public corruption and wrote the first law of its kind protecting rape victims. When an Iowa teacher was fired for being pregnant, Roxanne took this case to the state's Supreme Court and made the practice of firing pregnant women illegal. Then, as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, she worked hand in hand with law enforcement, staring down death threats, leading major drug busts and cracking down on violent crime.
For more than 25 years, Roxanne has owned and managed a small law firm in Iowa. A successful small business, Roxanne Conlin & Associates was recently cited by a national magazine as one of the best firms to work for because of its family-friendly practices, welcoming the children of staff into the workplace.
Pam Spaulding is the Durham, NC-based founder of the award-winning political blog PamsHouseBlend.com. She has also guest blogged on Firedoglake and for Glenn Greenwald at Salon. Pam was named one of Huffington Post's Ultimate Game Changers in Politics, received the Women's Media Center Award for Online Journalism, and was named one of the OUT 100 for 2009. This year Pam also landed on Politics Daily's Top 25 Progressive Twitterers list.
