Maria Miranda

I joined the Young Feminist Taskforce after reading about it in a weekly NOW e-newsletter. I was excited to see that NOW placed a priority on the values, efforts and actions of younger women. I am particularly interested in issues that focus on women of color and reproductive justice, immigrant women, media literacy, economic issues pertaining to living wages, fair labor practices and access to education that leads to self-sustainability. I believe that economic equity, education and a comprehensive understanding of the civic system are critical to women making strides in our movement towards true social equity.

I work with several organizations in Greater Cleveland that focus on social justice and women's health including Community Shares of Greater Cleveland, Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio, TransFamily and the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. I specialize in areas of fundraising, advocacy and organizing. As a fundraiser, I specialize in foundation relations, major donor campaigns, strategic planning and corporate donations. In my advocacy and organizing work, I focus primarily on multi-level messaging and citizen education.

By serving on the taskforce, I hope to impact the following:

• Participation in Greater Cleveland NOW chapter by women ages 18-45
• Awareness of NOW key issues among marginal populations
• Mobilization efforts around NOW calls to action
• How NOW resources help engage women of all ages in political and social processes

I am most interested in using my position with YFTF to build connections between women's organizations throughout Northeast Ohio because collaboration is critical in these times of limited resources and increased attacks on women's rights.