Seattle City Council member Judy Nicastro cleared her schedule for one week in June, packed her bags, and settled into a UW dorm room. So did Renton City Council member Kathy Keolker-Wheeler and Sue Hammell, former member of British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly. Their destination? The Center for Women & Democracy’s NEW Leadership Institute, a program designed to educate and empower the next generation of women leaders.

	The NEW Leadership Institute's keynote speaker, attorney Roberta Riley (center), with participants.

The six-day institute, based on a program developed at Rutgers University, attracted 45 students from universities, community colleges, and tribal colleges throughout the Puget Sound region. They spent their days and evenings talking with a wide range of women leaders about how they became leaders, what they have accomplished, and how their personal lives have been impacted. “Washington state has the highest percentage of women elected officials in the country,” says Christine DiStefano, director of the Center for Women & Democracy. “These women were very responsive when we asked them to participate. They saw it as a way to give back.”

Nearly 65 officials, activists, and leaders from around the region came in to speak with the students. “All of the programming was geared toward exposing the students to various types of leadership and getting them comfortable with the notion of power,” says Jessie Israel, administrator for the Center.

None of the speakers sugar-coated their message. “We had a fabulous session with Deborah Senn, who talked not only about serving as an elected official but also about losing a race,” says DiStefano. “She really brought home that this is a fight, a struggle. But it is still worth doing.”

In addition to attending panel discussions and workshops, the students spent one morning in offices of elected officials downtown. They also enjoyed a Best of “The West Wing” party, where they watched the political TV drama with local legislative aides. They even attended a Democratic Party awards dinner. “We are not a party-affiliated organization,” says Israel, “but when the Democratic Party comped us 60 tickets at the last minute, we talked about it with the students and concluded it was a great opportunity for them to practice their networking skills.”

Nicastro, Keolker-Wheeler, and Hammell served as “leaders-in-residence” throughout the week, attending most events and speaking with students informally while living in the dorms. “The concept is that these women could interact with students during the scheduled sessions but also during meals and other down times,” says DiStefano. “A lot of learning is going on during those times.”

Keolker-Wheeler,  president of the Suburban Cities Association of King County as well as a Renton City Council member, welcomed the opportunity. “It gave me a chance to spend time with a group of people I don’t get to meet every day and to see what they are thinking about,” she says. Because of the informal setting, students felt comfortable asking Keolker-Wheeler personal questions and she felt comfortable answering.

“It was a very safe place to be able to share my experiences,” she says. “It wasn’t a public event with media, where you had to watch what you say.”

Keolker-Wheeler was impressed with “how incredibly bright and how diverse” the students were. With more than 150 applicants for 45 slots, those were two key factors in selecting participants.

“The students ranged in age from 20 to 60,” says Israel. “One had a parent working in the Mayor’s office. Another had become a single mother at 15 and was recovering from a substance abuse problem. They all had something to learn and something to teach.” The Institute was free for participants, with the Center’s Board of Directors pitching in to offset the $65,000 price tag.  The Center is actively seeking additional support for future institutes.

Nichole Shippen, an honors student who attended the institute after graduating from UW Tacoma, says, “I always thought there was one specific path to follow to become a politician. What I learned from all these different women is that they went in the direction of something that interested them and in some cases literally fell into politics. It was reassuring to learn that there is no one ‘right way’ to go about it.”

[Autumn 2001 - Table of Contents]