ESPC to discuss women’s leadership in Wyoming

The Equality State Policy Center is focusing on women’s leadership in Wyoming throughout July with online trainings and an upcoming episode of the People’s Review: Live! 

This month’s People’s Review: Live!, When Women Vote: Women’s Suffrage, Voter Access & Women’s Representation, will be online on Thursday, July 16, from 5-6 p.m. 

It is a free community event open to everybody. Viewers must register online in advance of the event to receive an invitation to join the Zoom conference, according to an ESPC press release.

“We just celebrated the 150th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Wyoming, 2020 marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment, and now is an ideal time to look at the complicated history of women’s suffrage and talk about what that legacy means today,” Jen Simon, senior policy advisor for the Equality State Policy Center and founder of the Wyoming Women’s Action Network said. 

“Women—especially indigenous women—still face barriers to vote and participate in public office. But we know that our communities benefit from greater voter participation and more diverse leadership,” Simon said. “We’re excited to have this incredible panel of state and national experts to talk about the challenges and opportunities.”

Simon will be moderating the discussion and the panelists will include Amber McReynolds, Cynthia Richie Terrell, Wyoming State Representative Andi Clifford, and Marguerite Herman.

McReynolds is a leading expert on election administration and policy, and co-author of the book When Women Vote. She is also the CEO for the National Vote At Home Institute and Coalition, and is the former Director of Elections for Denver, Colorado. 

“Amber’s work has demonstrated, very clearly, that designing pro-voter policies, voter-centric processes, and implementing technical innovations improves representation for all voters throughout the political spectrum,” said Simon.

Terrell is the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen and a founding board member of the ReflectUS coalition of non-partisan women’s representation organizations. She is an outspoken advocate for innovative rules and systems reforms to advance women’s representation and leadership in the United States.

Rep. Clifford is an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and is the assistant general manager of the Wind River Hotel and Casino where she has worked for more than a decade. She served as a Fremont County Commissioner, a Wyoming Humanities Council board member, and on the board of the Wind River Tribal College. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wyoming.

Herman is a spokeswoman for the League of Women Voters of Wyoming and has advocated on the local, state, and national level in Wyoming for several other groups, including the PTA, U.S. Breastfeeding Committee, American Cancer Society and the Advocates for School Trust Lands. She currently serves as a trustee for Laramie County School District #1. She also wrote the most recent edition of the Wyoming LWV’s “A Look at Wyoming Government.”

The People’s Review: Live! takes place on the third Thursday of every month. It is an interactive video discussion series meant to help people across Wyoming engage with ESPC’s mission. Wyoming’s government, pressing current events, subject matter experts, and each other. 

In addition to the People’s Review: Live!, ESPC is also offering RUN WY—a new, ongoing, online six-week leadership and candidate training specifically tailored to women, with all women panelists and experts. The series runs from July 6 through August 10 on Mondays from 5-6 p.m and is a free, nonpartisan leadership development opportunity, open to everyone across Wyoming.

The RUN WY schedule is as follows: 

1. July 6: Honing Your Campaign Message with Nell Callahan of Frontwood Strategies

2. July 13: Campaigning in The New Normal with Jessica Jaubert of Three Elephant PR

3. July 20: Fundraising in The Age of COVID with Kristin Walker of Three Elephant PR

4. July 27: Lessons Learned on the Campaign Trail with Auditor Kristi Racines, former Majority Floor Leader Rosie Berger, former Minority Floor Leader Mary Throne, and Representative Andi Clifford.

5. August 3: Taking Your Social Media to The Next Level with Eva Guidarini of Facebook’s Politics and Government outreach team

6. August 10: Campaign Finances

ESPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group working to help encourage civic engagement, inform voters and the general public about upcoming elections, and help citizens run for office. 

“We do not support or align with any political party or any individual candidates,” Simon said. “Everyone is welcome to attend our trainings and events. We don’t care what your political party is or what your policy positions are—we want to help you participate.”