Conference Offers Practical Experience and Skills to Young Women Leaders

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told a group of 22 young women this week that she was born for politics, as she offered the keynote address for a five-day institute aimed at preparing college-age women for leadership.

“Some people get the political gene,” she said. “I got the political gene.”

Gender is inherent in any candidate’s presentation, Shaheen told participants of the National Education for Women (NEW) Leadership New England 2009 summer institute, hosted by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. The students were nominated and sponsored by their undergraduate colleges and come from every state in the region but Maine.

Panelists from business, government, law, and politics spoke about challenges faced in their own leadership experiences. Former Massachusetts lieutenant governor Kerry Healey said playing the game of politics was a challenge in her public service career, especially in efforts to curb drunk driving. Shaheen, and panelists discussing careers in law, remember the day when women leaders were not taken seriously.

“Women candidates start facing an electorate where male voters prefer male candidates and women are rather ambivalent,” Shaheen said. “But I think that is changing.”

Working on the concept where one generation of women leaders share their experiences and stories with the next, panelists included former speaker of the N.H. House Donna Styek, current speaker Terie Norelli, and representative Fran Wendelboe, who discussed holding legislative office over breakfast. Rockingham County commissioner Maureen Barrows shared her experiences as a public servant over dinner.

“I definitely came away with an understanding of the endless opportunities ahead after graduation in years down the road," Ashley Gisiger ’11, one of three Saint Anselm College students who completed this year's program, said.

“I was also very impressed with the wide variety of people we heard from,” Gisiger said.

Politics professor Jennifer Lucas, Ph.D., who coordinates the program with psychology department colleague Elizabeth Ossoff, Ph.D., says the program gives students “students the tools to achieve their leadership goals and encourages them to consider the importance of public service.”

“Spending a week meeting inspiring role models from a variety of professions and organizations discussing current policy issues, while simultaneously creating a lasting network of friends, provides a strong foundation to begin to fulfill their commitment to serve their communities at the local, national, and global levels,” Lucas said.

Ossoff studies and teaches the media, politics, and gender, as well as leads the Jeanne D. Smith Center for the Study of American Democracy and Citizenship at the NHIOP. Lucas, has similar research interests and has presented on the gender-conscious speaking styles in the U.S. Congress and Senate. Together, professors Ossoff and Lucas recently studied the role of gender in media portrayals of Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin in the 2008 campaign.

“This program is especially timely given the current historic times for women,” says Ossoff. “If the 2008 presidential campaign taught us nothing else, it’s that all things are possible and that women continue to be a major political force here and throughout the world. Young women need the tools to take their involvement to the next level and continue in the traditions of those who have come before them.”

Students complete an Action Project on health care policy, a topic selected for relevancy to this generation and time, while studying the underlying politics and legislative process. The panel presentations provided background and practical information useful both for the students’ projects and their future success.

A business roundtable, including Katrina Swett of Swett Associates, Citizens Bank president Cathleen Schmidt, and Fidelity Investments vice president Alison Stebbins presented business opportunities.

In Concord, the students toured the state house, learned about legislative process, and met with lobbying experts Melisa Hoffer of Conservation Law Foundation, Bonnie Packard of Orr and Reno, and Jodi Grimbilas of the N.H. Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

Former N.H. Democratic Party chair Kathy Sullivan, director Amy Ignatius of the state’s Office of Energy and Planning, Merelise O’Connor of the N.H. Retirement System, and senior program officer Deborah Schachter of the N.H. Charitable Foundation discussed policy planning challenges in balancing individual and common goods. New Hampshire television presences Jennifer Vaughn of WMUR-TV and Lauren Collins of New England Cable News joined NHIOP political director Jennifer Donahue to discuss the media and public service.

A panel discussing the value of a law degree included Leadership New Hampshire executive director Edda Cantor, former N.H. Department of Corrections assistant commissioner; Maura Carroll of the N.H. Local Government Center; Susan Duprey of Devine, Millimet, and Branch; assistant U.S. attorney Helen Fitzgibbon; Ann McLane Kuster of Rath, Young, and Pignatelli; and Marguerite Wageling of the Hillsborough County Attorney’s office.

The program will concluded Friday with presentations by radio host Jennifer Horn of 1590 WSMN, Rhode Island state representative Julie Speakman, and author Michaeline Della Fera.

Speakers also included state representatives Jane Beaulieu, Marilinda Garcia, and former representative Liz Hager. Health care experts Kelly Clark of A.A.R.P., Heather Staples of the N.H. Institute for Policy and Health, Beth Roberts of Harvard Pilgrim, and Lisa Kaplan Howe of N.H. Voices for Health spoke about health care reform.

Saint Anselm College faculty presented several skills workshops, including public speaking, non-verbal communication, diversity, the New Hampshire political environment, and the media.

Professors Ossoff and Lucas invited several of their Saint Anselm College colleagues to speak and mentor the students, including executive vice president Suzanne Mellon, Ph.D., assistant vice president Anne Botteri ’82, emeritus sociology professor Michael Dupre, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry Mary Kate Donais, Ph.D., associate professor of history Beth Salerno, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology Loretta Brady, Ph.D., and Multicultural Center director Yemi Mahoney. Professor Annabel Beerel, Ph.D., of Southern New Hampshire University presented on diversity and leadership.

Several speakers, including Shaheen, cited understanding of the multicultural and globalized marketplace as essential for the NEW students’ future success. Answering one student’s question, she said that women, compared to their male counterparts, are “not better, not worse, but different.”

“We need to get to a point where no one has to give this speech about how women face challenges different from men,” Shaheen said.

View photos of the NEW Leadership New England conference on our flickr photostream.