ACTION EIGHT
Virtual Cocktails and Questions
Feminist Public Policy: Centering the Needs of All Women
As author Mikki Kendall writes in Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot, “Food insecurity and access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage and medical care are all feminist issues. Instead of a framework that focuses on helping women get basic needs met, all too often the focus is not on survival but on increasing privilege. For a movement that is meant to represent all women, it often centers on those who already have most of their needs met.”
We challenge you to examine what issues and policies you support and how that aligns with intersectional feminist values. Grab your favorite beverage and watch our virtual discussion with local leaders about basic needs and gender-based issues that all voters should care about. As Kendall points out and then explores throughout her book, “It isn’t a matter of saying the right words at the right time. Feminism is the work that you do, and the people you do it for who matter more than anything else.”
PANELISTS
Brenda Council, Former Director of Adolescent Health Project of the Women’s Fund (Reproductive Justice)
Brenda joined the Women’s Fund in January 2014, and worked as the Adolescent Health Project Manager. Her previous involvement with the organization includes regular participation as a presenter for Ready to Run. She has an extensive record of public service, including election to the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, the Omaha City Council and the Nebraska Legislature. Brenda lead the initiative until she retired from the Women’s Fund in April 2019.
Dr. Erin Feichtinger, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Together (Housing)
Dr. Erin Feichtinger is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Together, focusing on the policy areas of affordable housing, food security, and economic stability. She has worked on successful legislation at the state level including expanding tenant protections, and at the local level on Omaha’s Rental Registration and Proactive Inspection Ordinance. Her work includes developing a broad coalition of advocacy partners and empowering community members to use their voice for positive change. Dr. Feichtinger received her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education and her Ph.D in Transnational Urban History from Loyola University Chicago, and in 2018 was elected to serve on the Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors representing District 2 in northeast Omaha.
Julia Isaacs Tse, Policy Coordinator, Voices for Children in Nebraska (Child Care)
Julia is responsible for identifying policy changes to improve systems impacting the lives of children and families through data analysis and research. She first joined Voices through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, a year-long service program, to research economic stability and health. She is a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa, where she received a B.A. in anthropology and East Asian studies.
Nancy Williams, Co-Founder and President/CEO, No More Empty Pots (Food Security)
Nancy Williams has been practicing agriculture for a long time: first as a 4-H member in elementary school then as an FFA member in high school. Her family raised most of the produce they consumed; at one time maintaining as many as six gardens to feed themselves and share with neighbors. Nancy earned scholarships to study horticulture. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Louisiana State University then pursued a master of science in weed science with a minor in plant pathology at Cornell University. Nancy has diverse experiences in agriculture, from corporations, serving as an agronomist for local farmers and entrepreneurs to grassroots organizing and management for non-profit community organizations. For nearly 15 years, Nancy served as an IT leader for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands; where she led award winning programs, increased technology integration and supported improved organizational outcomes.
Discussion moderated by Tiffany Seibert Joekel, Research & Policy Director, Women’s Fund of Omaha.