Upcoming Events
Members: Please check your email from October 6th to access discount codes that enable you to receive a reduced membership registration price and/or charge your registration to your membership account. If you have any questions please contact Pat Fitzgerald at pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org.THE HONORABLE KATHLEEN SEBELIUS
Tuesday, September 14
Moving Forward to a Healthy Future
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Join us for our outstanding opening program this fall. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear the former Governor of Kansas, who was recognized as one of the top governors by Time Magazine. She has had a remarkable career. After earning a master’s in public administration Ms. Sebelius first served as director of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association and then was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives.
After serving as the state’s insurance commissioner, she was elected to governor and reelected to that office. She and her father, John Gilligan of Ohio, followed the same path, by starting in lower offices and rising to Governor. Actually, they share a first. They are the first father and daughter to be state governors.
You will find attending this luncheon an enlightening and rewarding experience.
Time: Bar opens at 11:30 a.m. Lunch 12:15 p.m.
Price: Members $25, Nonmembers $30, Lecure Only (No Lunch) $10
Register
David Kindred, author and reporter
Morning Miracle: The Washington Post – A Great Newspaper Fights for Its Life
Thursday, September 16
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As David Kindred has described it, “My book is a love story, a tale of passion starring a faded beauty trying desperately to hang on in a rapidly changing world.” He is referring to the Washington Post! Kindred has written for newspapers and magazines for five decades, ever since he was 18 years old. He once was a sports columnist for the Post, and has interviewed 155 people, most former or current staff members, for his most recent book, “Morning Miracle.” A review describes him as “painting a vivid picture of the paper, its people, its triumphs and its struggle to survive.” Kindred believes the Post’s struggles are caused by the Internet’s rapid growth combined with the bad national economy. “No one could stand in that tsunami.” Now is your chance to have an inside look at what has been for many of us, and still is, our local and national newspaper for many years.
Time: Bar opens at 11:30 a.m. Lunch 12:15 p.m.
Price: Members $25, Nonmembers $30, Lecture Only (No Lunch) $10
Register
Jeanne Cummings
The Upcoming Midterms
Tuesday, September 21
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Jeanne Cummings, Assistant Managing Editor in charge of POLITICO’S Enterprise, returns to the WNDC podium to give us the latest information on the November elections. She has covered politics at every level, from state and local governments to five presidential campaigns. She is a regular panelist on Washington Week with Gwen Ifill, Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Diane Rehm Show, and Inside Washington with Gordon Peterson. She was a moderator at one of the Democratic primary debates between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In 2009, her appearances were included in submissions by PBS and CNN that secured Peabody Awards for both networks. At the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), she won the 2000 Aldo Beckman Memorial Award, the highest honor for daily White House correspondents, for her coverage of the Clinton Administration. She also earned a journalism award at the WSJ for her part in covering the Enron scandal and its connection to the Bush Administration. In recent years, her focus has been on tracking money and politics.
Time: Bar opens at 11:30 a.m. Lunch 12:15 p.m.
Price: Members $25, Nonmembers $30
Register
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HONORABLE CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
Thursday, September 30
Evening Reception
Congressman Chris Van Hollen has represented Maryland’s 8th District since 2002. He serves as Assistant to the Speaker of the House and is serving his second term as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee DCCC). The DCCC job is a difficult one, which he appears to carry out with considerable aplomb. Rep. Van Hollen is the recipient of many awards and is recognized as a leading member of Congress. He has always been involved in Public Service, working on the Hill and as a member of the Maryland legislature before being elected to Congress.
He is special to us not only because of all he does for Maryland and our country, but because his mother was an active member of the WNDC and also because many of us worked on his campaigns.
Since this will be after the Maryland and District primaries and most other primaries, we will have the opportunity to get the latest on how the races are going and how we can be of help.
Time: Reception at 6:30, discussion at 7:00
Price: Members $35, Nonmembers $45
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Thursday, October 7
Stephanie Schriock
President Emily’s List
“A Star in American Politics”
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Stephanie Schriock, the newly appointed President of EMILY’s List, has been described as “inspirational,” a “star in American politics,” and “a spectacular campaign manager.”
She is a recognized leader, bringing more than 12 years of fundraising, management and strategic planning experience to EMILY’s List. She has been at the forefront of some of the most challenging and innovative political campaigns of the past decade. As the National Finance Director for Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign for President, Schriock built and led the team that revolutionized political fundraising. By harnessing the power of the Internet, and through other creative fundraising strategies, the team raised more than $52 million in a Democratic primary, far exceeding previous records.
She has run successful campaigns for U.S. Senator Jon Tester of Montana and Al Franken of Minnesota. The hard fought Franken victory has solidified Schriock’s reputation as a major asset to Democratic candidates and causes. “Stephanie’s one of the absolute stars of American politics now,” says White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina. (Washington Post, 7/13/09). She was named by Washingtonian magazine as one of their “Forty Under Forty: Young Washingtonians to Watch” Washingtonian, 2007).
A graduate of Mankato State University, Schriock began her career with the Mary Rieder for Congress (MN-01) campaign, moving on to the successful Bill Luther for Congress campaign (MN-06). Schriock’s first statewide campaign was the successful primary run-off David Walters for U.S. Senate campaign in Oklahoma City, OK. Schriock has also spent time in California advising members of the progressive and high-tech community on a political giving strategy.
Time: Bar opens at 11:30 a.m. Lunch 12:15 p.m., Presentation and Q & A 1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Price: Members $25, Non-Members $30, Lecture Only (no lunch) $10
Register
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The Woman’s National Democratic Club cordially invites you to theopening reception for
Growth through Art
Works from the Collection of VSA, Washington, DC
Thursday, October 7, 2010
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW at Dupont Circle
VSA Washington, DC, is an affiliate of VSA, The International Organization on Arts and Disability, a nonprofit organization founded over 35 years ago to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. Much of the artwork in the exhibition was created in VSA, DC’s educational and training programs at SAIL, The School for ARTs in Learning.
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.
Price: Free
Register
Tuesday, October 12
Christina Lamb
“The Ultimate War Correspondent”
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Christina Lamb, the U.S. editor of the Sunday Times (London) comes to talk to us about juggling her roles as a war correspondent and a working mother. In 2006 she narrowly escaped with her life from a Taliban ambush of British troops in Helmand and in October 2007 she was on Benazir Bhutto’s bus when it was bombed. She returned repeatedly to Zimbabwe, making 15 undercover trips since the murder of the first white farmer in 2000, remaining secretly in the country even after being declared an “enemy of the state” by the Mugabe regime for her expose of rape camps of teenage girls.
Now based in Washington, after 22 years of roving the world's hotspots, Christina is Britain’s leading female war correspondent. She has won numerous awards: the Young Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards for her coverage of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1988 and has been named Foreign Correspondent of the Year five times for reporting on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. Judges described her as “the ultimate foreign correspondent”.
She was last year’s recipient of the Prix Bayeux, Europe’s most prestigious award for war correspondents and chosen by Britain’s top-selling women’s magazine Grazia as one of its Icons of the Decade.
She spent a year as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. She is the author of the best-selling book “The Africa House” as well as “House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-Torn Zimbabwe”; “Waiting For Allah: Pakistan’s Struggle for Democracy”; and “The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan,” which was runner-up for Best Nonfiction book in the Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers Awards. Her most recent book is “Small Wars Permitting: Dispatches from Foreign Lands,” a collection of her reportage.
She is a regular commentator on Sky and BBC TV and radio and has lectured all over the world from the Royal Geographical Society and Imperial War Museum in London and the Edinburgh Festival to NATO summits and the National Library in Wellington, New Zealand. She was featured in Andy McNab’s series Ambush and Oliver North’s War Stories and in the new movie Bhutto.
A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Lamb received a degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University. She is on the board of Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and a patron of the charities Afghan Connection and Hope for Children. She is married with a young son.
Time: Bar opens at 11:30 a.m. Lunch 12:15 p.m., Presentation and Q & A 1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Price: Members $25, Non-Members $30, Lecture Only (no lunch) $10
Tuesday, October 19 - LUNCHEON
Deborah Tannen
You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives
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Invite your sister, a good friend, or other sisters that you know to join you as Deborah Tannen returns to WNDC to discuss her latest research and the resulting book You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives. What she did for us in You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, You're Wearing THAT?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation, and other books, she now does for another of the powerful yet sometimes problematic relationships in our lives - sisters. What she's learned about the dynamic of closeness and competition in sister relationships gives us a profound new understanding as well as ideas for improving this unique and precious relationship.
A best selling and internationally known linguist, Deborah Tannen also writes plays, poetry, and short stories. She is one of only five in Georgetown' University's College of Arts and Sciences who hold the distinguished rank of University Professor.
Time: Bar opens at 11:30 a.m. Lunch 12:15 p.m., Presentation and Q & A 1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Price: Members $25, Non-Members $30, Lecture Only (no lunch) $10
Join your WNDC friends on an EF-sponsored foray to Staunton, VA over the Halloween weekend, Oct 29-31! Tour Woodrow Wilson's birthplace and Presidential library, and spend an autumn weekend in this charming, historic town in the Shenandoah Valley.
Itinerary
The Augusta County Historical Society has put together a wonderful three day, two night itinerary for us. We will stay in the historic and beautifully restored Stonewall Jackson Hotel, a downtown Staunton landmark. Included in the trip's cost will be two breakfasts, three lunches, and one special dinner. One dinner will be on your own, during time left free for exploring Staunton's Wharf and Beverley Street shops and galleries, including Sunspots for a glimpse of glassmaking.
Travelers will have the option to attend a performance of Othello Saturday evening at the Blackfriars Playhouse, an authentic recreationi of Shakespeare's indoor theater, using its original staging. Tickets for this play are not included in the tour price.
In addition to the Wilson birthplace tour, we will enjoy a trolley tour of Staunton, with time to admire the beautiful Tiffany windows at Trinity Church and a possible walk through Staunton's Victorian Cemetery, Thornrose. We will visit the R. R. Smith Center for Art and History to learn more about
historic Staunton and August County. Finally, as we depart Staunton, we will have a guided tour (by tram) of the Frontier Culture Museum, with homes built by pioneer immigrants from England, Ireland, and Germany and a replica of a West African farm from the 1700's, depicting the life left behind by many of the slaves who were brought to the United States.
Cost
We are still working out costs. The hang-up concerns the cost of transport to and from Staunton, and we are considering using carpools instead of a bus for the three hour trip, because buses are surprisingly expensive to rent. Depending upon a bus will not only add substantially to the cost of
the trip, but would bring some insecurity about whether we can secure enough participants to bear that expense. I will issue an e-mail blast with the final price as soon as possible, but we are hoping to keep the costs under $700 in a double room, $800 for a single room.
What's Next:
Now that you know the likely date and potential cost of the trip, please call or write Judy Olmer, 301 320 4237, olmerj@aol.com with declarations of serious interest (not commitments, but practical interest. Please do so even if you indicated earlier that you'd be generally interested in this or another trip. Although I don't yet require firm reservations or down payments, I do need to get an idea soonest about whether there is sufficient interest to continue to plan the trip. We need at least 12 and no more than about 24 to make this work.