On the Trail to Making History:
NOW's Liz Wing Joins Senator Clinton's Campaign

October 30, 2007

By Lisa Bennett, Communications Director

Losing a good employee is rarely a joyous occasion for an employer. But when the employer is a feminist organization, and the staff member is leaving to help elect the first woman president of the United States, it might just be cause for celebration.

Last month, the NOW Action Center's own Liz Wing left to join Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign as a member of her on-the-ground team in Iowa.

NOW activists around the country have worked for decades to elect feminists to public office, and 2008 offers an unprecedented opportunity to expand our nation's image of a leader and to change the way women and girls think about their future. Not to mention, get the country back on track.

As Wing was preparing to depart, she shared this story: "While I was packing up my apartment in Washington, D.C., I found a paper I wrote in my senior year of high school titled "Sexism in Public Schools" (I was a feminist before I knew it), and the first sentence said, 'Why haven't we had a woman president?' That paper is going with me on the campaign trail so that after a long day or a long week I can remind myself why I am working so hard. I can revel in the fact that future generations won't have to ask that question, and I will have been part of the action."

As a Clinton field organizer, Wing's job is a new adventure every day, starting first thing in the morning and lasting well into the night. One of her first assignments was at the Harkin Steak Fry -- an event for Iowa Senator Tom Harkin at which all the Democratic candidates spoke. As "Popper Captain" Wing was responsible for leading a team in popping 100 bags of popcorn per hour and giving away 5,000 megaphones filled with popcorn.

Other events followed, like the Johnson County BBQ, where former presidential candidate George McGovern introduced Clinton and announced his official endorsement of her candidacy. Wing's parents drove 10 hours to attend the event -- to see their daughter, of course, and to meet the candidates.

"The access that Iowans have to the candidates is unimaginable," says Wing in one of her fascinating email updates. "I have never seen anything like it." Wing has the pleasure of working in downtown Iowa City, which she advises is full of character and charm, while also traveling to more rural parts of the state.

Every day Wing talks to hundreds of local constituents. She meets with key supporters, calls potential supporters, recruits new volunteers and more. "I work every day of the week," Wing confesses. "Literally, I have no social life -- but who needs one when you've got a feminist woman to elect president?"

The job does have its occasional glamorous side. Wing had the honor of meeting former secretary of state Madeleine Albright (the first woman to hold that position) and posing for a photograph with her. Other feminist role models also show up to help reach out to voters -- women like Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio), Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, and Alida Black, founder of the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project.

Wing writes: "I remember when I took my job at NOW as a young feminist thinking 'what in the world can I do to top this?' Well, I found it. Helping to elect the first woman president will be by far my biggest accomplishment and hopefully one of the most thrilling jobs of my life. I will be a part of making history and let me tell you -- Hillary has already made history by being the front runner, raising millions of dollars and having the top strategists and the best staff on her side. She has broken many glass ceilings, but there are still many more to be broken, and her success makes way for many women and girls to follow."

You, too, can Make History with Hillary! Learn more about NOW PAC's endorsement of Hillary Clinton.