Thursday, February 13 Morning Meeting:

Aligning Equity with Edina's Values

Join LWVE on Thursday morning, February 13 to hear Thomas Brooks, City of Edina Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, speak on Aligning Equity with Edina's Values. Brooks' presentation will provide a brief overview of the history of the City of Edina’s equity and inclusion journey and the strategy for continued progress.

Thomas Brooks has been Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager for the City of Edina since June 2024. He is tasked with developing and implementing the City’s first Equity Strategic Action Plan and building capacity with city staff to center equity as a value in day-to-day work and decision making. He also works with the City of Edina’s Human Rights and Engagement Task Force and works closely with city staff leaders responsible for the other Community Well-being values of engagement, health, stewardship, and sustainability.

Brooks has a passion for public service and ensuring government is meeting the changing needs of the community.  Before joining the Edina staff, he worked with the State of Minnesota, City of Roseville, and spent several years in the private sector.

Thursday, February 13
9:45 am Social Time
10:00 am Presentation
Via Zoom*
A Zoom link will be sent to all members in advance of the event. If you are not a member of LWVE, fill out this form to receive the link.
National League Rolls Out New Membership System:
What You Need to Know
LWV is launching a new member portal through ChapterSpot for all Leagues nationwide. This system will streamline membership management and renewals, reduce administrative work for local League volunteers, and direct a larger share of membership dues to local and state Leagues all while increasing membership overall.

What You Need to Know:

  1. Invite to Log Into ChapterSpot
    Sometime between February 3 to 14, you will receive an email from the national league ([email protected]inviting you to "claim your membership". Follow the instructions to log into the portal for the first time to complete your member information. It is important to respond to this email so that the league has updated and accurate information as it moves forward with the new system.
  2. Portal Launch 
    You will receive additional emails when it is time to renew your membership. Most LWV Edina members have membership renewal dates of April 1, 2025. The new system will send out renewal reminders 60 days before the renewal date, as well as reminders 60 days after the renewal date. If you do not renew your LWVE membership within that timeframe, your membership will lapse. Lapsed members can rejoin as new members.
  3. Auto-Renew Option
    You can choose auto-renewal for seamless annual membership and forget about remembering your renewal date.
  4. Manage Your Information
    The new portal will let you update your contact details anytime, ensuring you stay connected.

Changes to Membership Dues:

  • Pay-What-You-Can Model: Membership dues will be flexible. While the recommended amount is $75, you can choose to pay any amount starting at $20. This model is designed to grow our membership, strengthen local and state Leagues, and further our mission to empower voters and defend democracy regardless of ability to pay.

Supporting your Local League:

  • A larger percentage of your membership dues will now go directly to local (20%) and state (47%) Leagues to increase our on-the-ground capacity.
  • If you’d like to support your local or state League beyond your membership, we encourage you to make a separate donation directly to your local League.

Renewing by Check:
Prefer not to renew online? No problem. You will still be able to renew by check. However, online renewals will make processing faster and easier.

National and State League Leaders are very excited about these improvements to our membership system and will keep all members updated. If you have any questions about how this will affect you or LWVE, please contact LWVE President, Colleen Feige

 

Congratulations to LWVE Student Member

Aditi Jha who recently took first place in the Lincoln-Douglas competition at the 2025 Minnesota State Debate Tournament. The topic was Resolved: The United States ought to become party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and/or the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Jha is no stranger to doing well at this tournament, as she came in second last year.

 

 

The Nominating Committee is Looking for You

Interested in becoming more involved in LWV Edina? Members can serve on the board or on a committee. Current LWVE committees are Budget, Communications, Fund Drive, Membership Directory, Nominations, Racial and Gender Justice Action and Voter Services. Members are elected at our Annual Meeting in May for two year terms.

To learn more and let the Nominating Committee know you are interested, please contact Nominating Committee Chair Ellen Jones by February 15

Three Things You Can Do

To engage with LWVE and make democracy work for all.

1. Register new citizens to vote

Volunteers are needed to help register new citizens to vote at their naturalization ceremonies. If you’d like to volunteer, email Susan Clark at [email protected] .

2. Be a History Day Judge  for Edina High School Students

Edina High School 9th grade Cultural Geography students are participating in National History Day. History Day is an academic program focused on historical research, interpretation, and creative expression. Students work individually or in groups to create an essay, exhibit, performance, documentary, or website to share their learning around an annual theme. This year’s theme is “Rights and Responsibilities in History.”As part of the learning process, students share their projects at a History Day Showcase. We invite you to be a judge at this event. Judges talk with students about their projects and complete a questionnaire to provide feedback. Each conversation is approx. 5-7 minutes.You don’t have to be an expert in history to be a judge. The showcase is about community members witnessing learning and engaging with students about their projects.

 

Showcase Details

Dates: Wednesday, January 29, and Thursday, January 30, 2025

There are various opportunities throughout the two days. Time slots are approximately an hour and a half. Feel free to sign up for more than one time slot.

Location: Edina High School – Media Center

If you are willing to serve as a judge for the EHS History Day Showcase please complete this form by January 12, 2024. Sara Swenson from EHS will follow up with additional information.

Your participation is much appreciated! Many EHS students move on in the competition, going to both the state and national competitions, where they have received high accolades. More than half of our students who have participated at the state level have received recognition for their work and over the past two years, four separate projects went to nationals. Thank you for your consideration.

3.  Sign up for the 2025 Observer and Lobby Corps 

Whether you consider yourself an experienced lobbyist or would like to just "observe the observers" at LWV MN's weekly Monday lunchtime meetings on Zoom, please consider joining the Observer and Lobby Corps (OCLC) beginning on January 13! Sign up HERE.  You will learn more about the legislative process and how to become a stronger advocate on the issues important to you. Please reference LWV MN's Legislative Session 2025 webpage for more information about OCLC and our advocacy.

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