Affordable Housing - Second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m.

Education - Fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.

Environment - First Thursday of the month at 6:00 p.m.

Health Task Force - No regular meeting schedule; communicate via email

ICE Network - NEW-Second Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m.

Reproductive Health - Second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m.

Voting & Elections Main Group - Second Friday of the month at 3:00 p.m.

I have belonged to the LWV since the 90s, first in Arlington for many years and then Falls Church. In Arlington, in the early 90s, a small group of League members, including me, worked on a Recycling Task Force that made recommendations to the county on the possible costs, logistics and viability of recycling. Arlington then established their recycling program in 1994.

Having belonged to the Virginia State League Environment Issue Group (EIG) for the past 6 years, I have participated in a number of studies. Not only have I had the opportunity to meet state League members from other areas around Virginia, I have also had more contact with the State League leadership and learned how the League interacts with the Legislature. The first issue I worked on was the Environmental Justice Study (2021 - 2023) so the Virginia League could adopt a position on how environmental laws and regulations and climate change has affected and can affect low-income communities, particularly those with a high percentage of people of color. I did a deep dive into the effect of climate change, particularly how sea level rise coupled with increased amounts of rainfall, results in flooding along the Chesapeake. For my part of the study, I focused on a historic community, along the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, which was composed of middle/low income single-family, predominantly African American neighbors, who were experiencing increasing erosion due to storm surge flooding. While doing that study, which was adopted by the League in 2023, I learned about the importance of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), passed by the Legislature in 2020, and its multi - million dollar contribution to the funding of the Community Flood Preparedness Fund. I did research on the history and mechanism of RGGI for the League and presented it at the Roundtable. Virginia belonged to the Initiative until Gov. Youngkin withdrew the state in 2023 although Gov. Spanberger has since resubscribed to the pact.

In 2023, the Environment Issue Group started research into the data center boom in Virginia and its effects on the energy rates, transmission build out, air and noise pollution, water consumption, etc., of the local areas in which they were located, but more broadly, its impact on the state. I wrote a long informational paper on data centers for the League Legislative Roundtable as very few members, including myself, knew very much about the industry due in large part to the nondisclosure agreements the companies had the state sign onto before construction. Having that knowledge, the EIG could then follow and support bills, introduced in the legislature the past few years, calling for the regulation of data centers. Those bills have had some success this past session.

As you can see, I have learned a great deal about areas of environmental concern while being a member of the EI Group and also the protocols for conducting studies for League positions, the role of the State League leadership and how to prepare for the Legislative Roundtable and Sessions. I hope to bring all that experience and knowledge to some League chapter in Washington!

Volunteering with League of Women Voters of Virginia Issue Groups can be a great way to get more involved in protecting and expanding voter rights. As a LWVFC member, I had the opportunity to participate for a short stint in the Voting and Elections Issue Group. Scheduling constraints limited my contributions, but I really enjoyed learning from more experienced members and expanding my understanding of Virginia's legislative process. 

I worked with two other members to review some of Virginia's existing election regulations and provided analysis and points for consideration on a new bill considered during the 2026 session. Volunteers for Issue Groups attend online meetings, have the opportunity for some online training, and can participate in some in-person and online activities around Virginia's legislative season, which runs from January through March. Issue Groups are especially looking for volunteers to follow a bill or a particular issue, track developments, engage with delegates or their staff, draft talking points, and coordinate with other Issue Group members.