At a time when democracy is under threat, the League of Women Voters is asking you, and countless folks across the country, to come together to defend it. 

Instead of tuning in to the President’s Address to Congress, join members of our League and community for a time of reflection, solidarity, and action to defend our democracy.

To join us on Zoom click Light For Our Democracy.

About this event

Democracy is not just a system of government—it’s the power of the people. It begins with us, our voices, and our votes. This event will offer a peaceful and unified space to come together for the health of our democracy, the future of our nation, and the well-being of all its people. Please join us for this nonpartisan event!

The topic of this meeting is to carry out the LWV Program Planning which is a process that every local League goes through between January and March to review priorities and goals.

Location:

Marin LWV Conference Room
4340 Redwood Highway
Suite F-133
San Rafael, CA, 94903

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month, and the Justice Committee is hosting a presentation sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its law enforcement unit Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Here’s some information about Brittany Portez, who’ll be speaking at this month’s meating:

Brittany Portez began her career in federal law enforcement in January 2011.  She entered on duty as a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations in San Francisco, California in June of 2016.  In her capacity as a Special Agent, Brittany has investigated organized crime, child exploitation, and human trafficking.  Brittany presently works closely with the United States Marshals Service to find missing sex-trafficked children and works to find justice for those children in the federal court system.  Brittany is the lead defensive tactics instructor for her office, is a certified crisis negotiator, and deploys with her agency’s Special Response Team.  Brittany is impassioned by working victim-centered crimes and is devoted to disrupting and dismantling criminal organizations involved in the exploitation of others for financial gain.

Brittany holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, a Master of Arts in Education, and has served as both a mental health counselor and a teacher prior to her career in law enforcement.

Human trafficking, the second-fastest growing crime globally, is not just a problem in third-world countries, but here in the United States and in the Bay Area.

Human trafficking earns global profits of roughly $150 billion a year for traffickers, $99 billion of which comes from commercial sexual exploitation.

Explore what Human Trafficking is? You can’t stop trafficking unless you know what it looks like.

There are many forms of human trafficking that can include sex trafficking, labor trafficking (including both forced labor and domestic servitude), organ trafficking, forced marriage, and exploitation of children for labor, sex, and warfare.

Learn about the HSI initiated Blue Campaign to stop the spread of human trafficking and provide support for survivors.

 JOIN US ON JANUARY 6 for an interesting and thought provoking program!

This is an in-person event and members are encouraged to attend and invite friends.

I Will Not be Forgotten: The Dignity in Homelessness

We’re going on a field trip to the Marin County Civic Center to view an art exhibit “I Will Not be Forgotten: The Dignity in Homelessness” created by photographer Lea Del Pomo, a retired Marin County employment counselor.

More than 50 photographs of people who are homeless or formerly homeless are on display.

We will meet in the lobby on the first floor off Peter Behr Drive at 12:45. The photographer will provide a guided tour of the exhibit, ending in the cafeteria with drinks and snacks and an opportunity to talk further with Lea

Location:

Lobby First Floor
3501 Civic Center Dr.
San Rafael, CA 94903

Marin County Sustainability

Government leadership to address our changing climate has never been more urgent, as evidenced by recent devastating floods and wildfires that have claimed lives and destroyed entire communities, increasingly frequent and dangerous heat waves that make it impossible to work, play, or exercise outside, melting ice sheets and associated rising sea levels, destruction of species habitat on land and in the ocean, and droughts so prolonged and severe that they threaten the viability of the global food system. 

Marin County has a long, and well-respected history of environmental and climate leadership and although the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated within our county make up a tiny fraction of global emissions, every community has a role to play in the collective effort to address climate change. Novato’s Sustainability Coordinator, Gretchen Schubeck will share what Novato and other Marin County governments are doing to support their communities to reduce GHG emissions and will discuss the most impactful actions individuals can take to reduce their climate footprint.

Gretchen’s background

Gretchen Schubeck has been a leader in the development and implementation of community-based, sustainability programs for both local governments and the nonprofit sector for nearly three decades.

After graduating from San Francisco State University with a degree in Urban Studies, Gretchen moved to New Zealand where she worked for Waitakere City Council (New Zealand’s first ‘EcoCity’) in a variety of sustainability and urban revitalization roles before being appointed Executive Director of Auckland-based nonprofit EcoMatters Environment Trust.

After emigrating back to the United States with her family, she served as Executive Director of the Bay-Friendly Landscaping & Gardening Coalition prior to joining Daily Acts, a nonprofit based in Petaluma, first as Programs Manager and then Associate Director.

While Gretchen has spent the majority of her career working in the nonprofit sector, she has always viewed partnerships between local governments and community-based nonprofits as the key ingredient to achieving lasting social, economic and environmental change.

Gretchen was appointed to the position of Sustainability Programs Coordinator for the City of Novato in 2017. She lives in Novato with her husband Scott and daughter Nina.

The event is now concluded, however feel free to checkout a recording of it at the link below!

Click here to view the recording

Next Tuesday! Add to your calendar and register to attend today.
When: Join us October 29th
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Where: Via Zoom

Hello Fellow League Members and Friends,

Please join LWV Bay Area on Tuesday, Oct. 29th at 1:00 PM for an educational forum on Proposition 5.

We’ll be joined by Matt Regan of the Bay Area Council and Heather Hood of Enterprise Community Partners for a discussion on how Prop 5 will allow communities to address urgent housing shortages and infrastructure needs more effectively. 

The event will consist of a brief presentation followed by the opportunity to ask any questions about the measure. You can register using the link below:

If you have any questions before the event, please contact Roma Dawson at lwvbayarea@gmail.com 

We hope to see you on Tuesday! 

Vote Early Day is a civic holiday to help all eligible voters learn about their early voting options and celebrate the act of voting early. Learn more HERE

Learn about early voting options in Marin County HERE

We will be leading and partnering on several events on VOTE EARLY DAY (10/29) to promote early voting. We will also be posting on social media - @lwvmarin on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

IN-PERSON EVENTS
1.Grocery Outlet - Donahue Street, Gateway Mall, Marin City - (12-6pm)

2, Civic center Library & Elections Department - (main Entrance - near Escalator). 10am-3pm

3. Women’s Health & Wellness Day, St. Andrews Church, Marin City,  3-6pm

4. College of Marin - AC Quad - 11am-2pm

5. Fairfax Library, 10am-12pm (tentative)

Everyone can celebrate Vote Early Day by voting early

or helping someone else to vote early!!

THIS FORUM HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

TWO CANDIDATES COULD NOT ATTEND, LEAVING ONE CANDIDATE ATTENDING AND WE CANNOT HOLD A FORUM WITH ONLY ONE CANDIDATE.

Climate Change & Its Impact On Our Collective Health

The League of Women Voters of the Bay Area (LWVBA) invites you to participate in a continuing series on Public Health Awareness. The League sees multiple arenas impacting public health: housing, education, race and gender, and climate – among others. This program will focus on the climate impacts.
 
This summer's intense heat waves, wildfires and floods have spotlighted the impact of climate change as a major public health threat. The American Lung Association has found that 131 million people live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution - that is 1 in 4 Americans. The figure increased by nearly 12 million since the survey a year ago, disproportionately impacting under-resourced and vulnerable communities. Our experts will discuss climate change and its relationship to health challenges such as chronic conditions of respiratory and heart disease, preterm labor, changes in vector ecology, water and air quality impacts, and climate anxiety. They will also discuss climate policy focused on health and equity, and steps to raise awareness and engagement in our communities.
 
Our Speakers:

• Diz Swift, Director of Natural Resources for the LWV of California

• Kelly Lê, executive director of the UC–CSU Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs)

• Lisa Patel, Executive Director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine

LWVBA Mission-Vision (ILO) Monitors, educates, and advocates League positions in regional context: observing regional planning and governance and reviewing how decision-making impacts communities, addresses systemic inequities, and promotes transparency, financial accountability and inclusive participation.

Subscribe to LWV Bay Area Monitor Notes for updates as well as information on LWV Bay Area here

For our October Member Meeting, our Pros & Cons Team will present education about the 10 State Propositions on the November 5, 2024 General Election Ballot.

The information presented in the Pros & Cons format brings clarity to often confusing ballot propositions and gives voters confidence to decide how they want to vote.

Breaking Down the 2024 Election:

Issues, Battleground States, Polls, and Momentum

Speaker:

Professor Alison Howard,

Dominican University

With our Fall Kickoff concluded, we’d like to thank everyone who attended, professor Alison Howard for taking the time to speak, and our very own Robin Diederich who was presented the much deserved Community Service Award. Below are some pictures captured during the event:

Professor Alison Howard returns to the Fall Kickoff event this year to discuss the “State of the 2024 Presidential and Congressional Elections.” She will share insights about the polls, issues, campaign spending, and changes in the electorate and technology since the last presidential election to give us a better understanding of how presidential and congressional candidates are campaigning and how the electorate is responding.

Alison Dana Howard has taught at Dominican University of California for nineteen years and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Division of Public Affairs and the Director of the Core Curriculum. She teaches courses on American Government, the Presidency, Congress, Politics and Media, Political Parties and Interest Groups and Campaigns and Elections. She received her M.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on political communication, specifically presidential rhetoric including the State of the Union Address and unilateral executive actions, as well as art, politics, and culture.  Alison has published articles in PS: Political Science and Politics, American Behavioral Science, Journal of Political Science Education, Social Science Quarterly, and Perspectives on Political Science.  She is the co-author (with Donna R. Hoffman University of Northern Iowa) of Addressing the State of the Union: The Evolution and Impact of the President’s Big Speech (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006). Alison is also a frequent commentator for the media on the State of the Union Address and has been interviewed by National Public Radio, The SF Chronicle, NBC Bay Area, and KCBS radio.

Feel free to check out the recording of the meeting below!