Don't Forget to Vote on Tuesday, April 7th! | Inside this issue...
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President’s Message
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Save-the-Date for LWVMC Annual Meeting
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Save-the-Date for May 9th Member Engagement Event
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RSVP for April 11th Data Center Event
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Voter Services Teams Celebrate Successful Season
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The Facts on Voting by Non-Citizens
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Advocating for Elections by National Popular Vote (NPV)
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Tracking Repro Rights Legislation
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Spanish Translations Courtesy of Judit Schugurensky
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Advocacy Leads to FRT Moratorium
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Monthly Donations = Big Impact
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Thanks, VOTE411 Team!
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Launching LWVMC Speakers Bureau
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Drag Bingo Event a Hit
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DEI Committee: MLK & Black History Month
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Organizing Unite & Rise Communications + NO KINGS 3
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Eleanor Roosevelt at LWV Birthday Party!
| President's Message
The League of Women Voters, nationally and locally, is grounded in our mission to empower voters and defend democracy, even in moments of international crisis and deep division at home. While the League has not traditionally taken positions on specific military operations, we consistently support peaceful, democratic solutions, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in U.S. foreign and domestic policy. In the face of the current attack on Iran and the growing risk of wider conflict, we stand with those across civil society calling for restraint, adherence to international law, and renewed commitment to diplomacy and peace.
At the same time, here at home, we are deeply alarmed by calls from the current administration to “nationalize” elections in ways that would centralize political control over voting and undermine long‑standing state and local election administration. League leaders around the country have already warned that proposals like the SAVE America Act and related efforts would suppress the vote, inject partisan interference into nonpartisan election systems, and erode public trust in our elections. Any federal role in elections must expand and protect voting rights, not weaponize them for partisan gain.
In Milwaukee, our response is clear: we will continue doing what we do best. We will keep registering new voters, helping eligible residents navigate changing rules, and providing reliable, nonpartisan voting information in multiple languages wherever possible. We will deepen our partnerships with organizations such as AAUW, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and other community‑based groups that share our commitment to civic participation, equity, and peace, so that together we can reach more voters and amplify more voices. We will continue partnering with neighborhood, faith‑based, student, and immigrant‑serving organizations to reach underrepresented communities, young and first‑time voters, and naturalized citizens eager to make their voices heard. And we will keep lifting up the connections between a healthy democracy and a more peaceful world, insisting that every voter has both the right and the responsibility to participate.
Our advocacy agenda reflects the interconnected crises our communities are facing. We are actively engaging in protests and pushing back on emerging issues under our Unite and Rise initiative. We are against any policies that reinforce mass incarceration, criminalization, or discrimination. We advocate for humane, fair immigration policies that keep families together and recognize the contributions of immigrants and refugees; for bold climate action that protects public health and frontline neighborhoods; and for full reproductive rights, including access to comprehensive health care and bodily autonomy. Through testimony, coalition work, and voter education, we will continue to ensure that the voices of Milwaukee County residents shape policies that advance justice, safety, and dignity for all.
In League,
Peg Schrader
President
|  |  |  |  |  | Voter Services Teams Celebrate Successful Season
By: Candice Owley, VP of Voter Services
Empowering Voters Everywhere All the Time
As we come to the April 2026 elections, our voter services teams are on track to hold 90 separate registration and education events from January to April! Our League was represented in high Schools, libraries, universities, correctional facilities, naturalization ceremonies, and community outreach events on both the south and north sides of town. When the dust settles, we will have reached hundreds of people in our community and done an amazing job of empowering voters, which is key to defending democracy. Thanks to the leaders and volunteers who made these efforts possible.
New Partnerships
The great activism of our league coupled with the ongoing threats to our democracy have led to valuable new partnerships. Over the last few months, we have developed strong connections with the American Association of University Women South Western Milwaukee chapter (AAUW/SWM). The connections with AAUW/SWM led to a first time event with the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). Eloisa Gomez’s connections with Mount Mary University (MMU) resulted in a very successful day of vote registration plus a program developed by our new Speaker's Bureau about the importance of the spring supreme court race. The new AAAUW/SWM members were enthusiastic volunteers for both the MSOE and MMU events. Meetings also took place with leaders of the Delta Sigma Theta (DST) sorority, who have a keen interest in partnering with our high school teams. And finally, a new relationship is being explored between our league and the local chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), who are interested in working together on voter registration and education.
These three organizations have also joined in partnership with LWVUS but more importantly find value in working together with our league at a local level. It is times like these, when democracy is on the line, that remind us that we are stronger together.
Attacks On Voting Rights at the Federal Level Continue
(Excerpt of article from the LWVUS)
Congress continues to introduce bills that would require voters to present documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register and/or vote. In the 119th Congress, three major pieces of legislation were introduced to require DPOC to vote, including:
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote, and, more recently
The SAVE America Act and the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act, which have even stricter components than the SAVE Act, like requirements for voters to present DPOC both at registration and the polls, and for absentee ballots to be received by election day.
It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections, and many communities of eligible voters would be unnecessarily burdened by the requirements of the SAVE Act. See more in the article below from LWVMC Communications Director Peggy Creer.
At the local level, our voter services teams will continue to educate voters and to encourage them to contact their elected representatives to ask them to protect voting rights for all by not creating new and unnecessary barriers like those in the SAVE Act suite of bills.
|  | The Facts on Noncitizen Voting
By: Peggy Creer, LWVMC Communications Director
For 10 years, there have been persistent allegations, especially by the U.S. president, that large numbers of noncitizens vote in elections. The SAVE Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in February, purported to prevent that by requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship. This would be a tremendous burden on the approximately half of citizens who don’t own a passport, and also on married women whose birth certificates do not match their married surname. The League of Women Voters of the U.S. Opposed the SAVE Act because of its many features, including a ban on mail-in ballots, that would suppress voter turnout.
A study, updated in February 2026, by the Center for Election Innovation and Research, found “that sweeping allegations about noncitizen registrations or voting appear to arise from misunderstandings, mischaracterizations, or outright fabrications about complex voter data.”
Read more from the Center for Election Innovation and Research here.
The nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice called the incidents of noncitizen voting "vanishingly rare". The Cato Institute found noncitizen voting to be "virtually nonexistent".
League members can use these resources to refute claims on noncitizens voting and defend the integrity of our elections.
| Advocating for Elections by National Popular Vote
By: Elizabeth Lentini, LWVMC member and member of LWVWI NPV Committee
The LWVWI National Popular Vote (NPV) Interstate Compact * Advocacy Committee met virtually on February 19, 2026.
The committee’s purpose is to advocate for the introduction of NPV legislation in the Wisconsin Legislature. To that end, members of the committee are pursuing various advocacy and informational activities, including letter-writing to newspapers, developing explanatory and advocacy materials, building coalitions with like-minded organizations, and giving presentations to LWV branches and other potentially interested organizations throughout the state. Members of the committee are also exploring options (organizations and funding) for obtaining a poll of Wisconsin voters. The results, which would likely be highly favorable, would bolster overall advocacy activities. (If anyone within LWVMC has any contacts or information about polling organizations or obtaining funding for same, please contact Elizabeth Lentini.)
Elizabeth Lentini, a LWVMC member sitting on the LWVWI committee, has agreed to coordinate and give a presentation on the NPV Interstate Compact for the Milwaukee County LWV organization. It is hoped that this will occur before summer.
NPV legislation was recently passed by both houses of the Virginia Legislature. Once signed into law by its Governor, states representing 222 electoral votes (48 short of 270), will have adopted the legislation.
*The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a tool to ensure the President of the United States is elected based on the national popular vote. This is enabled through the enactment of identical state laws requiring, once states representing a total of at least 270 electoral votes have enacted the legislation, all electoral votes of that state to be pledged to the candidate receiving the most votes nationwide.
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Tracking WI Legislature Votes on Repro Rights
By: Charlie Gaebler-Uhing, M.D., co-chair, LWVMC Reproductive Rights Committee
LWVMC’S Reproductive Rights Committee continues its review of restrictive reproductive rights legislation passed in Wisconsin since 2011. Many legislators would like you to forget the restrictions they have placed on women and their families. Our quarterly Voter articles serve as a quick review and reminder of the impact of these measures. Monitoring legislators’ support or opposition to these bills can inform your vote when they run for re-election.
In April President Trump, through an Executive order, froze $65 million in funds to Title X Family Planning Clinics because of their focus on DEI. As you may recall, in 1970 President Nixon established Title X Family Planning Clinics to address the barriers women of color and lower socio-economic status faced accessing contraception and sexually transmitted infection and cancer screening, a foundational DEI initiative.
The funding freeze had limited impact in Wisconsin because of WI Act 151, which passed in 2015. Act 151 made changes to WI statute 253.075, Family planning and related preventive services grant, switching the grantee of Title X monies from Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to WI Department of Health Services (DHS). DHS was instructed to apply to the federal government and assume this service in 2018. This Act was an early prototype of defunding Planned Parenthood.
Changing the grantee to DHS has resulted in a persistent reduction in the number of Family Planning clinics and individuals served in Wisconsin. A Guttmacher Institute Study reviewing Wisconsin Title X clinics use between 2017-2024 found a 78% persistent reduction in the number of WI women served by Title X clinics and a spillover effect resulting in a 39% reduction of the number of WI women served by publicly funded clinics. In addition, the Guttmacher study found these changes have contributed to fewer women of reproductive age being able to access contraception in Wisconsin as contraception use in this group decreased from 85% to 75% between 2017 and 2023. To see how your elected official voted on Act 151, known as AB 310 check here:
WI Assembly Voting Record AYES - 60 NAYS - 35
WI Senate Voting RecordAYES -19 NAYS – 14
Please share with friends and family. Many running for re-election will hope we do not remember their record on reproductive rights – let’s hold them accountable! |  | |
Spanish Translations Courtesy of Judit Schugurensky
By: Lou Ann Van Fossen
Want to meet a self-described “citizen of the world,” a newly published author, and a visionary whose contributions to LWVMC include translator, researcher, and advocate? Look no further than retired educator Judit Schugurensky.
The thing is – these aren’t just an impressive variety of skill sets; they are the trajectory of a life. “I have had many friends of different backgrounds and abilities and ages and one thing that I learnt from all of them was the utmost necessity of reinventing myself after a certain age. That is what I continue doing,” Judit said.
Judit was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; moved to Israel at age nine; studied in England for a year before returning to Buenos Aires to pursue architecture and science; left Argentina, during the 1970s dictatorship; moved to Venezuela, where she married and had her children; returned to Israel to live in a kibbutz; came to the United States to live in Texas; and, since 1999, zigzagged from Milwaukee to Mexico, where she is now retired in Puebla.
“I got to study and work in all those places. I studied Special Ed in Israel, ESL and Spanish in Texas, and earned a Master’s in Foreign Languages and Literature at UWM-Milwaukee. I worked as a teacher in Venezuela, the Kibbutz, Texas, and at Waukesha County Technical College in Wisconsin,” she said.
Judit’s book, about grandparents, titled El Mundo transparente de los abuelos Cristal/The Transparent World of the Grandparents Cristal, is “the first children’s story I ever wrote,” she said.
“I wrote it when my children were about eight or nine (they are now 47 and 49),” she said, “and it is entirely based on them as I saw them then, and as I imagined their future as adults and grandparents.
”More books may be in the works. I sent to the editors my whole collection of children’s stories and they chose this particular one to publish first. I never thought of publishing anything, but finally, at old age, I decided, ‘What do I have to lose?’ If nothing else, my writings are my legacy to my children and grandchildren,” she said.
Judit joined the League in 2017 at the initial meeting of the Comité Por el Voto Latino. Judit volunteered for the committee, and also translates materials for LWVWI.
“At the Comité, I worked side by side in most of the amazing work they did and continue doing. As they are solidly determined to have all the educational material available in bilingual form, almost by default I started translating all their material,” she said.
Judit has also contributed to the Unite and Rise committee by researching and writing a flyer about fascism, what it is, and what a Fascist state works and looks like, which is “so important for the particular crisis we are living today,” she said.
“Speaking of the migrant population and American green card holders and citizens not belonging to the white race, it is fundamental that they know their rights, that they educate themselves as much as possible on social, legal, and human rights; that they understand the politics of the world as much as the politics of the country – and therein, I believe is the work cut out for the League,” she said.
Ever the student, Judit has taken a break from her year-long study of Italian in search of a class to learn Chinese.
“All these migrations made me who I am. I love different cultures, languages, foods, and peoples. I find the world fascinating despite the wars and massacres, destructions and colonizations, famines and genocides,” she said. “There is so much to see and learn! So much to do and change! So much unexpected beauty, so much ugliness to fight.” | | Want to purchase a copy of El Mundo transparente de los abuelos Cristal (The Transparent World of the Grandparents Cristal) by Judit Schugurensky? The book is published by a Spanish editorial company - https://www.babidibulibros.com/ - and is available via Amazon and on other European sites. The Amazon site is inconvenient as it is only Amazon’s Spanish site and shipment of the book would cost more than the book itself. If you are interested in purchasing the book, email Judit at jschugurensky@yahoo.com or send an SMS to her at (414) 306 1214. | | |  | |
Advocacy Leads to FRT Moratorium
By: Dr. Emily Sterk, chair, LWVMC Mass Incarceration Committee
After ten months of community-led advocacy, the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) have both issued moratoriums on the use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). The League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County and its Mass Incarceration Advocacy Program stood in coalition with countless organizations and community advocates to speak out about the dangers of surveillance technologies at the hands of law enforcement and threats to civil liberties and racial justice. The Mass Incarceration Advocacy Program would like to thank everyone who has supported this effort alongside other Milwaukee advocates. This is a clear reminder that collective action works. |  | |
Monthly Giving = Big Impact
By: Mary Voelker, member, LWVMC Fund Development Committee
Did you know?
Small monthly donations can have just as much impact as a larger, one-time donation.As a recurring, sustaining donor, you play a direct role in helping the League advance its mission to empower voters and defend democracy. Just as there are benefits for the LWVMC, there are benefits for you.
1.Set the amount and forget it.
Monthly donations are automatic. Once you sign up for a monthly donation, you don’t have to worry about remembering to support the League.
2. Be part of the League’s biggest fan group!
Being a monthly donor brings you closer to the mission and you are a part of an important community of donors within the League.
3. Make a lasting impact.
Every dollar counts for nonprofit organizations like us, the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County. A guaranteed dollar amount every month is comfort for organizations that run on the generosity of others.
Smaller donations that occur throughout the year are generally more manageable for the donor and can make the same impact as a one-time larger gift. Spreading out your donation may even allow you to contribute more than you originally thought. For example, spending $200 all at once might be too much for the monthly budget to handle, but if donating $20 every month is doable, you’ll donate $240 by the end of the year!
If you’re in the market for a meaningful investment, a recurring donation could be just the right move. More than providing monetary support for nonprofit growth, as a monthly donor, you help our outreach efforts when you tell your friends, families, and professional networks about our mission: EMPOWER VOTERS AND DEFEND DEMOCRACY! |  | |
Thank you, VOTE411 Team!
By: Mary Voelker, co-chair, LWVMC VOTE411 Committee
The first quarter of every year is the busiest time of the year for the VOTE411 Team. Local spring elections are held in April of each year. We cover local elections in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties; all municipalities and school districts in Milwaukee County (there are 19 municipalities); and all communities in Waukesha County with population over 8000 and their school districts (14 municipalities this year).
This spring, the League is covering 157 nonpartisan races in Milwaukee and Waukesha County in the April Election.
Beth Lueck, Co-chair of the VOTE411 team, coordinates the community volunteers who contact municipal and school board clerks to get race and candidate information.
We thank our community volunteers for the vital role they play in preparing for the spring election. The community volunteers this past election were:
Colleen Barnett, Theresa Bellone, Michelle Buerger, Deb Bursinger, Mollie Conrad, Nancy Florsheim, Lisa Fohey, Beth Furumo, Lisa Goglio-Zarczynski, Jeanne Beauchamp Hewitt, Joan Janus, Debbie Kohn, Wendy Kramer, Mary Sue Kristiansen, Katelyn Kugler, Elizabeth Lentini, Beth Lueck, Rosemaria Makowski, Beth McCoy, Stacy Mueller, Kerri Nguyen, Diana Otterbacher, Deborah Patel, Piper Plummer, Judy Poklar, Marsha Poulsen, Peggy Serrano, Rachel Shea, Jane Stoltz, Mary Walz-Chojnacki, Susan Weistrop, Jean Wilde, and Jennifer Williams.
The tech team manages the races and candidates in the Vote411 system. Thank you, Wally Creer, Sue Leister, Mary Ellen Spicuzza, and Colleen Barnett. Wally also handles requests for information from the Vote411 system, Sue manages the candidate correspondence, and Mary Ellen maintains the working calendar.
Mary Sue Kristiansen leads the Questions Committee, working with Mary Geiser, Beth Lueck and Mary Voelker to develop questions for the candidates based on required candidate qualifications and local issues identified by the Community Volunteers and other League members. Judit Schugurensky Gomez translates the candidate questions into Spanish.
Melissa Klein is the liaison with the social media team. Michelle Fetherson, our data team member, works with Anita Gulotta-Connelly to identify voting districts for our members and Anita leads the work to increase candidate participation. There were only a few primary races this year and 57% of the candidates running for office in the primary election responded to our questions.
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Launching the Speakers Bureau
By: Mary Voelker, chair, LWVMC Speakers Bureau Committee
The LWVMC Speakers Bureau is the League’s educational outreach to provide civic education in a strategic, intentional, and organized way.
The role of the LWVMC Speakers Bureau is to:
- raise the League’s visibility within the community;
- encourage active participation in government, from voting to running for office;
- advance understanding of public policy issues and strengthen their impact through education and advocacy;
- and provide voter education.
Trained volunteers of LWVMC are eager to speak to youth groups, schools, churches, companies, neighborhood associations, and other civic groups.
LWVMC offers insightful, nonpartisan presentations on a range of timely topics such as:
- Introduction to the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County
- The League of Women Voters History and Mission
- The History of Voting Rights
- All About voting
- Introduction to Voting for New Voters
- Unite and Rise: Defending Democracy
- National Popular Vote
- Most Dangerous Women (video)
Requesting a speaker is easy. Just complete a Speaker Request Form or contact Amy Ziolkowski at SpeakersBureau@lwvmilwaukee.org
Amy will contact you to coordinate a date and time with your location and help you secure a speaker on the topic you and your group is interested in.
Are you an LWV member interested in becoming a speaker? We have a roster of seventeen (17) speakers who are ready and willing to present on the topics listed above. We invite you to fill out this form complete a SB Speaker Information Form to join the roster.
We welcome members who would like to deliver presentations that have been developed for the Speakers Bureau. We have a team ready to support speakers with an orientation and coaching.
The Speakers Bureau has a presence on the League’s website. We are creating a flyer to promote our presentations as well as to recruit speakers. We have an overall outreach plan that includes our priority groups for outreach: 1) OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute; 2) Youth - focus on MPS through the LWVMC’s High School Program; 3) Other youth groups and youth organizations, especially non-profit youth organizations; 4) Libraries: 5) Senior Centers / Elderly Nutrition Sites, e.g. Community Projects for Seniors; 5) Colleges and Universities; 6) Service Organizations - i.e. Rotary, Lions, AAUW, etc; 7) LWVMC’s partner organizations; 8) Senior independent living facilities; 9) Faith Communities; and 10) Museums.
If you are have questions or want additional information, please contact Mary Voelker or one of the team leads, Jodi Delfosse, Amy Ziolkowski, Heather Godley, or Theresa Bellone at SpeakersBureau@lwvmilwaukee.org |  | |
Drag Queen Bingo Night a Fun Success
By: Mary Newby, co-chair, LWVMC LGBTQ+ Advocacy Committee
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Drag Queen Bingo at POP on March 5th! As the first event hosted by the LGBTQ+ Committee, it was an incredible success. The event sold out quickly and even had a waiting list, ensuring the room was filled with community members eager to connect, have fun, and learn more about the work and impact of the League of Women Voters.
The evening began with an energetic performance by drag queen Dear Ruthie, who immediately brought excitement and laughter to the room before the bingo games began. After the performance, Ruthie explained the rules and guided participants through 10 lively rounds of bingo, keeping the crowd engaged with humor, commentary, and plenty of audience interaction throughout the night.
Prizes for the evening were provided by the LGBTQ+ Committee and included 8 gift cards to local queer-owned businesses, as well as two curated collections of books that promote understanding and education around LGBTQ+ experiences, history, and rights. Supporting queer-owned businesses and uplifting LGBTQ+ voices was an important part of the event’s mission.
Beyond the fun of the evening, the event also highlighted why community spaces like this matter. The League of Women Voters remains committed to advocating for equal voting access and civic participation for everyone, including LGBTQ+ individuals. Across the country, policy changes and administrative rules continue to raise concerns about barriers to voting. For example, new or proposed policies requiring identification documents, such as driver’s licenses, to match the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate could create challenges for transgender and nonbinary voters whose identification documents do not align due to legal, financial, or administrative barriers.
Events like Drag Queen Bingo remind us that building community and celebrating LGBTQ+ culture go hand in hand with protecting civic rights. By creating welcoming spaces and staying informed about policies that may impact voter access, we strengthen our collective commitment to ensuring that every voice can be heard and every vote can count. |  | |
Organizing Unite & Rise 8.5 Communications
By: Jean Radtke, Communications Chair, LWVMC Unite & Rise 8.5 Committee
LWVMC’s Unite & Rise 8.5 Communications committee is implementing a branded look for our new webpage, using the LWV tagline “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.” as our positioning statement. We’re also promoting VOTE411, MyVoteWi.Gov, absentee and early voting, as well as other area events.
On February 7th, we held a Poster Party at the Firefly Room in Wauwatosa City Hall and marched with the protesters on 76th and North Avenue afterwards.
As we honor 100 years of Black history and 106 years of the League’s work, one truth rings loud and clear: Now, more than ever, it’s time to fight to keep our democracy. Let’s continue to learn, uplift, advocate, and STAND together.
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Unite & Rise at NO KINGS Rally
LWVMC’s Unite & Rise committee had a booth at the third national NO KINGS rally on March 28. Volunteers at the booth, near the Washington Park Bandshell, encouraged attendees to sign 1,000 postcards, which will be delivered to Senator Ron Johnson. The booth also had a large photo "selfie frame" and paddles with key messages for attendees to share in photos and videos on social media, our newsletters and website. The photo frame will be used at multiple LWVMC events, including street fairs and meetings.
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DEI Committee Hosts Dr. MLK, Jr. Event, Promotes Black History Month
By: Karen Nelson, co-chair, LWVMC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee
We are pleased to debut our new eye-popping Committee logo! On January 19th the DEI Committee hosted “Where Do We Go from Here – Part 2” held in the 1st Floor Conference Room at Summit Place with nearly 70 attendees. The NAACP - Milwaukee Branch was our Co-Sponsor who provided lunch and video recording services. Karen Nelson served as the Moderator setting the tone with the Day’s Purpose. The 8 panelists were:
- Jim Engle -- Milwaukee Voter Project
- Sinceree Dixon – LWVWI Communications Manager
- Genene Onaye Hibbler – Founder, Heart2Heart Compassionate Widows Circle, Inc.
- Patricia McFarland – LWVMC Membership Committee Co-Chair
- Kole Torres – LWVWI Communications Manager
- Derick Cornelius – MATC Instructor
- Mary Voelker – LWVMC VOTE411 Volunteer
- Eloisa Gomez – LWVMC Community Alliances Committee Co-Chair
The Raging Grannies led us in singing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the beginning of the program and sang “Why we Vote” later in the program. 83.3% of respondents rated the event as “Very Helpful” or “Helpful”. 14,3% were “Mixed” evenly between “Very” and “Helpful”. Only one response was rated as "Not Helpful," representing less than 2.4% of the total feedback. You can view a recording of the event here.
On February 2nd, DEI Co-Chairs Elizabeth Harris-Hodge and Karen Nelson enjoyed a beautiful Tu Bishvat Seder with Rhonda Lindner and The Mindful Rabbi Moishe Steigmann of Own Your Judaism who led the group through an intimate reflective experience at Tricklebee Café in Sherman Park. The takeaway: "May we be present in the brokenness of the world...and...be inspired...to sow love, kindness and compassion!”
The committee also created a 28 Days of Little Known Black History Facts Calendar. Several Days were shared on the League’s social media thanks to Genene Hibbler, committee member. KEEP LEARNING: 24/7/365 – Little Known Black History Facts
View Karen Nelson's full presentation showcasing the DEI Committee's accomplishments this season here. |  | |
League of Women Voters Turns 106... With a Visit from Eleanor Roosevelt!
By: Peggy Creer, LWVMC Communications Director
The League of Women Voters celebrated its 106th Birthday on Saturday, February 28, with an inspiring afternoon of history and reflection. Guests enjoyed a captivating performance by Jessica Michna, who brought Eleanor Roosevelt to life with her portrayal of the former First Lady’s years in the White House. League President Peg Schrader followed with a brief but powerful presentation highlighting the League’s rich history and enduring achievements in civic engagement and voter education. Board members and leaders in attendance were recognized for their contributions to the success of our league chapter. The event honored more than a century of advocacy and the League’s continuing commitment to empowering voters and defending democracy. It was an inspiring afternoon in a beautiful venue, and a fun time was had by all!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the event, including Peg Schrader, Jen Lemke, Gail Sklodowska, Karen Nelson, and Mary Ellen Spicuzza.
Karen Nelson portrayed a beautiful Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune at the League birthday party. It was on the last day of the 100th Anniversary of Black History Month to celebrate the civil rights activist who founded the National Council of Negro Women and served as a trusted advisor in President Franklin Roosevelt's ‘Black Cabinet’. Together with the Eleanor Roosevelt performance by Jessica Michna they were able to recreate an iconic photo from 1948. |  | | Karen Nelson (left) and Jessica Michna (right) as Dr. Mary McLeon Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt (2026). |  | | Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune (left) and Eleanor Roosevelt (right) (1948). | | |
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