2005 National NOW Elections - Candidate Information

Act for NOW

Kim Gandy for President

Olga Vives for Executive Vice President

Melody Drnach for Action Vice President

Latifa Lyles for Membership Vice President

Act for NOW web site

Platform

Kim Gandy
Candidate for: President
NOW Chapter Affiliation: Montgomery County, Md. (1997-present); New Orleans (1973-1997)
Member Since: 1973
NOW Offices Held
Elected: National President (2001-2005); Executive VP (1991-2001); National Secretary (1987-1991); National Board, Mid-South (1982-1987); Louisiana President (1979-1981); Crescent City and Uptown Convenor; Various offices, New Orleans (1973-1987)

Personal Statement: Representing this organization fills me with pride, and I’ve been honored to work with and learn from NOW leaders across the country.

NOW is not my work -- it is my mission, my passion, and my family. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served you during these tumultuous times, and I ask for your vote.

The past 3½ years have been a rollercoaster, from the disaster six weeks after I became president -- the terrorist attack and anthrax at our Post Office decimated NOW’s finances (we couldn’t recruit members or collect dues for months!) to the height of elation, at the March for Women’s Lives after a grueling year of organizing, watching 1.15 million people standing up for women’s rights, and knowing we were ready to launch a massive voter mobilization campaign.

I joined NOW as a 19-year-old, outraged that AT&T required my husband’s permission for my employee benefits. With my NOW family, I spent the next 14 years getting rid of Louisiana’s “Head and Master” law, lobbying for ERA, writing legislation on family law, bringing lawsuits, starting 11 chapters, and working for change locally.

I have two amazing daughters, and balancing family with activism is a universal challenge: How to involve busy women, spark their passion, and give them tools to transform their lives. Together we will create ever more effective ways of moving forward and fighting back.

Olga Vives
Candidate for:Executive VP
NOW Chapter Affiliation:Virginia
Member Since:1982
NOW Offices Held
Elected: VP, West Suburban (IL) VP (1985); West Suburban (IL) President (1986-1988); National Board, Great Lakes Region (1987-1989); Great Lakes Regional Director (1989-1991); Illinois Action VP (1993-1991); National Action VP (2001-2005)
Appointed: National Lesbian Rights Committee (1989-1991); National NOW PAC (1991, 2001)

Personal Statement: In 2001, you gave me the opportunity to serve you as ActionVice-President. I pledged then, and pledge now, to continue building NOW as the largest, strongest feminist organization in the country, an organization committed to advancing the rights of all women.

I am proud to have represented you in these trying times. We have fought many battles in the last 3½ years, with both victories and defeats, and throughout we have been the voice of women, sometimes the ONLY voice for women in a political atmosphere that minimizes the role of women and of our organization by labeling us “special interests.”

My background as an activist, Latina, lesbian, mother and businesswoman provided me with the tools to develop and help mobilize our grassroots with action campaigns like the March for Women’s Lives, Wal-Mart: Merchant of Shame, the judicial justice project, Equal Marriage campaign, Drive for Equality, 10 for Change, TheTruthAboutGeorge.com and many others.

NOW is as relevant today as it was in 1982 when I joined the fight for ERA ratification in Illinois. Our boldness, courage and determination make us special and, most importantly make us effective in the movement towards full equality.

I ask for your support, once again, to continue in our quest to grow and make our organization even stronger in the next four years.

Personal Statement: Re-energizing Rhode Island NOW, and marching in 1992 and 2004, has enriched my life and fueled my resolve. I have formed lasting bonds with activists defending social justice and equality. We have reinforced the framework for progressive change. Serving on the National Board, and as State President, has convinced me that dedicated teamwork, shared values, and common goals make anything possible.

For 14 years, I fought to protect natural resources, raising awareness of our impact upon our environment. Today, I fight a different fight, one critical to women, access to healthcare. I’m proud to be part of a Brown University research team committed to improving healthcare for women in under-served populations.

I firmly believe that all members contributing time and resources to NOW must participate in our collective decision-making. Further, all deserve to celebrate and take credit for NOW’s successes. I promise to recognize your contributed talents, views, and opinions. We’re an organization of motivated, capable individuals. As grassroots activists, our collective wisdom and strategic actions will enable us to continue the march for women’s lives, calling for the nation to treat all people equally, with the dignity and respect they deserve.

I pledge to be accessible and I will be thrilled to work with you to implement your best solutions to our challenges. My experience as chapter leader, State President, and National Board member will serve me well as we strengthen chapters and empower each other. I ask for your support.

Personal Statement: As a 29-year-old African American woman and a daughter of the civil rights movement, I am committed to confronting the obstacles we face as women, as young women, as working women, as women of color everyday. We must come together and follow in the bold steps of our foremothers in taking on the extraordinary challenges of the coming years with courage and determination.

In 1992, as a high school student in New York City, I boarded a bus to NOW’s March for Women’s Lives, and I haven’t looked back. My ten years of experience in political organizing, community outreach, and fundraising and membership development include four years on the National NOW staff as Development Planner and Analyst working on new-member development. Currently, I head the membership department for the country’s largest public interest and civil rights law firm.

As Membership Vice President, I will implement strategies to bring more women of all ages, races and backgrounds up to the podium and into the pipeline.

On NOW’s Young Feminist Task Force, I’ve worked with powerful young leaders who are already making great strides to ensure a future of equality. My commitment is to bring even more young women to the table– not only college students, but young mothers, workers and all young women. We must continue to build, strengthen, and secure the future of NOW. And with your support, we will do it!

An Open Letter to NOW Activists, Members and Supporters:

We are proud to introduce you to our team of candidates for NOW office. Every member of our team is experienced, energized, and ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead, offering a depth of skills and knowledge gained both inside and outside of NOW. We ask you to join us and work with us toward achieving equality and broadening and strengthening the feminist community. We offer you:

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

During the past 3½ years, we worked tirelessly to build NOW, and to face – and face down – the enemies of women’s rights. Kim and Olga have experience at the Action Center, and a record of accomplishment. Latifa and Melody bring new ideas and energy, NOW leadership experience, and specific skills that NOW needs. We are grassroots organizers, experienced communicators, activists and leaders, and we bring to NOW our individual backgrounds in law, fundraising, management, marketing, membership development, event planning, training, strategic planning, and issue advocacy. We have a record of accomplishment and a plan for the future:

MASS MOBILIZATIONS:

We're proud to have organized the largest mass action in U.S. history, the March for Women’s Lives with 1.15 million marchers, and we rolled right off of that victorious event into the largest voter registration and mobilization campaign we’ve ever undertaken – achieving over seven million voter contacts before the election. Our interactive 10forChange.com website made it possible for individuals to learn the issues and register their friends, family and community members – now we are repurposing 10forChange to massively expand our online activism. And we are prepared to March again and again, until justice is ours.

WINNING CAMPAIGNS:

From foiling Bush’s attacks on Title IX, to stopping their efforts to make the welfare law more punitive, this team has taken on the Bush administration with courage, creativity, and resolve. Our recent campaigns to win Equal Marriage, to Save Social Security, and to stop Wal-Mart’s abuses have helped chapters organize locally on national issues. We are also proud of our contributions to NOW’s many accomplishments, from passing key legislation (e.g. the Violence Against Women Act, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991); to exposing the misogyny of Promise Keepers; to launching the Women- Friendly Workplace Campaign. We are prepared for the challenges of tomorrow, which will bring new calls to action and new opportunities. We are ready for the fight.

REACHING OUT:

We’ll continue reach out in creative ways to the women who support every NOW issue, yet think they’re not feminists; to young women who face pressures their mothers never experienced; to women of color who bear the double burden of racism and sexism; to women seeking fair treatment in biased family courts; to lesbian, bisexual and transgender women who suffer the indignities of a homophobic society; to older women whose economic security is threatened after a lifetime of labor. Together we will fight for human rights and social justice.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:

From The New York Times to The O’Reilly Factor, NOW gets the word out. We’re expanding our use of cutting edge technologies, and exploring new ways to communicate – like Kim’s recent podcast. Our bi-weekly News and Action Summary has nearly doubled in the past year to almost 200,000 activists, and we need many, many more.

INTERNET ACTIVISM:

NOW.org was the first feminist organization website in 1995. Now we have nearly 10,000 pages of rich content and are redesigning NOW. org for easier access and navigation. Our second most popular site is TheTruth- AboutGeorge.com, which brings us thousands of new hits every week. This team has the expertise – and now we have the resources – to combine web-based organizing with online training, while connecting women of all ages and backgrounds.

CHAPTER SUPPORT:

REGIONAL ORGANIZING:

In January we hired our first Regional Organizer, to assist and organize chapters in the Northwest region (based in Seattle), which will result in increased activism and visibility. We plan to hire an organizer for every region that requests it. ACTIVIST TRAINING: We’ve extended the comprehensive training that Kim started for new state presidents by creating a parallel course for other new leaders -- with intensive tracks for Communication, Action and Membership. Now we’ll take it “on the road” so more chapters can participate.

GROWTH:

In the past three years, we have diversified our sources of income and brought NOW to financial stability with the planned giving and major gift campaigns Kim originated, and now to real growth in membership and money. We are reaching out to those who have benefited from NOW’s work and inviting them to give back.

JOIN WITH US!

We have the expertise and energy to keep NOW strong, sound and powerful. Changing the world is serious business. But it’s also uplifting and inspiring -- and yes, even fun. Please come to Nashville and join us as we celebrate NOW’s accomplishments, identify our challenges, and share our vision. Your vote is a solemn trust, and we will honor it with action.