Three Students Attend National Education for Women’s Leadership Conference

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on June 11, 2018, No Comments

Three East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania students were selected to attend a program which seeks to help prepare and empower young women to be future leaders in the political process. The students attended the National Education for Women’s (NEW) Leadership Pennsylvania™ institute at the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pa. from June 3 – 8. The NEW program is a six-day, concentrated curriculum for female students attending colleges and universities throughout Pennsylvania. Participants learned about networking, public speaking, the need for women’s leadership in the political process and participated in skills-building workshops.

The ESU students chosen to attend were Shelby Jimcosky, a junior majoring in political science from Scranton, Pa., Asia Morton, a senior majoring in history from Newark, N.J., and Natalia Castillo, a junior majoring in biotechnology from East Stroudsburg, Pa. This year, 43 students were selected to attend from more than 26 colleges and universities across Pennsylvania. Kimberly S. Adams, Ph.D., ESU professor of political science, recruited the students and serves as a faculty liaison between ESU and the NEW Leadership Institute. “I am amazed at how this program continues to educate and inspire young women to be active participants in the political process. It is an incredible opportunity for our students,” Dr. Adams said.

Participants spent a day touring the Capitol in Harrisburg and heard female legislators discuss how women are making a difference in the press and in PA’s General Assembly. Their Harrisburg visit included a reception at the Governor’s Residence, where a keynote address was delivered by Pennsylvania’s Physician General, Dr. Rachel Levine. The Practitioners-in-Residence for the 2018 New Leadership program were Marita Garrett, Mayor of Wilkinsburg Borough and Natalia Rudiak, former Pittsburgh Councilwoman. Laura Ellsworth of JonesDay addressed the students as the keynote speaker for the Women and Public Leadership lecture.

The ESU Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, and the Dean of Arts and Sciences funded the students’ participation. To date, nearly 20 ESU students have participated in the NEW Leadership Program.

For more information about the NEW Leadership Program contact Adams at 570-422-3924 or by email at ksadams@esu.edu or visit www.esu.edu/pols.