Junior League Leaders from Four Countries to Gather in Washington for 91st Annual Conference

NEW YORK - May 13, 2013 - PRLog -- New York – The connection between policy and advocacy will be on the table as Junior League leaders from Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States gather in Washington, D.C. for the Association’s 91st Annual Conference on May 16-18. Building on last year’s theme of reimagining leadership, the 2013 Annual Conference will focus on EmPOWERing leadership locally, regionally, nationally and internationally… for the 21st century and beyond!

As part of a planned Hill Day event, which AJLI coordinated, a number of U.S. Leagues and League-sponsored SPACs (State Public Affairs Committees) will take advantage of the conference’s Washington location to schedule meetings with their members of Congress to discuss issues relevant to their own initiatives, such as human trafficking, childhood obesity and women’s health. The participating Leagues and SPACs include:

·         Atlanta, GA

·         Boca Raton, FL

·         Champaign-Urbana, IL  

·         Cleveland, OH

·         Columbia, SC

·         Florida SPAC

·         Ft. Lauderdale, FL

·         Georgia SPAC

·         Hartford, CT

·         Honolulu, HI

·         Kane & DuPage Counties (IL)

·         Long Beach, CA

·         Longview, TX

·         New Jersey SPAC

·         Panama City, FL

·         Spokane, WA

·         Westchester on the Sound (NY)

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi American writer, activist and social entrepreneur who is co-founder and president of Women for Women International (http://www.womenforwomen.org/?wfw=donatesrch&utm_sour...), a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides practical and moral support to help women survivors of war rebuild their lives.

The three-day conference will also bring together noted speakers from the worlds of politics, public policy and nonprofits, including:

·         In On Capitol Hill: Junior League Leaders’ Guide to Using Political Power, three sitting members of the 113th Congress who are also Junior League members will discuss why women should consider running for public office as a way to exercise their community and civic leadership. The Congresswomen are the Hon. Susan W. Brooks (R-Indiana), a member of the Junior League of Indianapolis; the Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-New York), a member of the Junior League of New York; and the Hon. Doris O. Matsui, (D-California), a member of the Junior League of Sacramento.

·         In Powerhouse Collaborations for Community Impact, Irv Katz, President and CEO of the National Human Services Assembly; Stacey D. Stewart, U.S. President of the United Way Worldwide; and Marc DeCourcey, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships of the American Red Cross, will discuss how collaboration among nonprofits can be one of the most effective means of bringing about community change.

·         In Prepare for a Tomorrow that Doesn’t Look Like Today, Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and CEO of PolicyLink, will discuss why diversity is quickly becoming a driver of growth around the world for organizations of all sorts, and how building, leveraging and maximizing the potential of a diverse constituency is not only a social imperative, but is also a competitive advantage.

“This is an exciting time for women seeking leadership positions in politics, public policy and nonprofits, including organizations like The Junior League that train women as civic leaders,” said AJLI President Toni Freeman, a member of the Junior League of Charlotte. “For more than 11 decades, The Junior League has been a champion of the idea that women, trained as civic leaders, can create lasting community impact. This Annual Conference, our 91st as an Association, demonstrates that legacy.”

The AJLI Annual Conference is as much a training event for League leaders as it is a business and celebratory event. It is designed to provide each delegate with the tools and inspiration she needs based on her role in her League, with workshops on topics like program development, nonprofit branding, nonprofit advocacy and lobbying, and corporation sponsorships.

About The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc.
Founded in 1901 by New Yorker and social activism pioneer, Mary Harriman, the Junior Leagues are charitable nonprofit organizations of women, developed as civic leaders, creating demonstrable community impact.
Today, The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (http://www.ajli.org/) (AJLI) is comprised of more than 155,000 women in 293 Junior Leagues throughout Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together, they constitute one of the largest, most effective volunteer organizations in the world.  

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