‘Why Not You?’ webinar encourages Jewish women to pursue public office
“We want to see more women and more Jewish women in public office." — Katie Reiter, national director of Jews for a Secular Democracy
Growing up in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks), then Judy Levine, aspired to a career in agriculture.
Elected office wasn’t part of her plan.
While working as a Penn State horticulture agent near Reading, Schwank was surprised when Berks County commissioners urged her to run for a vacancy on their three-member board.
“It’s something I wouldn’t have dreamed of,” recalled Schwank, now 75, who, with the encouragement of her husband and friends, embraced the challenge and became the first female commissioner in the county’s 250-year history.
That win set her on a path of political life that led her to where she is today as senator of Pennsylvania’s 11 th district, encompassing Reading and most of eastern Berks County.
Schwank and other women in public service will share what they have learned in a free bipartisan webinar, “Why Not You? Jewish Women and the Path to Political Leadership,” Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Jews for a Secular Democracy, the 75-minute conversation also will include Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Jill Beck; Pennsylvania State Rep. Abigal Salisbury (D-34); Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women & Politics, Chatham University; and Lynette Lederman, former communications coordinator for Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor.
“We want to see more women and more Jewish women in public office,” said Katie Reiter, national director of Jews for a Secular Democracy.
“The need is great and getting started is way simpler than you may think. It can begin with just raising your hand and saying you want to do something.”
There are plenty of entry points into public office, Schwank said, including volunteering, whether for a political campaign or a cause.
“See where the needs in your community are. Run for school board or another municipal office. There are usually opportunities there.”
Schwank was dean of agriculture and environmental science at Delaware Valley College — a Jewish-founded institution — when she was tapped to run in a special election in 2011 for the Senate seat she now holds, following the sudden death of her predecessor.
“I feel that God has always put me in the right place to do the right thing,” said Schwank, in a nod to her religious upbringing.
“But it’s more than being in the right place at the right time. You have to have the right mindset and heart.”
Judge Jill Beck, of Pittsburgh, decided to run for Superior Court out of a commitment to fairness shaped by her work in child advocacy, pro bono litigation, and a clerkship with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Superior Court is most often the court of last resort for people who may have wrongfully lost their homes, jobs, children, or individual rights and freedoms. and she sought a position, she said, where she could “ensure that all litigants, no matter who they are, get a full and fair review on appeal.”
Her advice to other women who are passionate about something and want to contribute their time and talent in service to the public is “you should absolutely get involved.”
“Learn about what it takes to get the role you seek,” she said. “There is never a perfect time to start a political campaign and there certainly is no perfect résumé.”
Having read repeatedly that women are statistically more likely than men to question their qualifications or whether they are ready to run or otherwise participate in government, Beck wants to assure women that they, and their participation, are needed.
“Diversity in leadership, including gender diversity, is critical to a well-functioning government as it provides for more nuanced decisions, policies and legislation with fewer blind spots,” she said.
It also promotes the public trust in all three branches of government, she said, as it better reflects the population served.
Beck is an alumna of Ready to Run Pennsylvania, a mentorship-based program at Chatham’s Center for Women & Politics, and part of Ready to Run® National Training Network of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
Program alumnae include Salisbury and seven other current or former Pennsylvania state representatives; Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato; Allegheny County Treasurer Erica Brusselars; U.S. Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA); Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judges Eleanor Bush and Nicola Henry-Taylor; and several Fox Chapel and Mt. Lebanon school board and municipal council members.
The program is designed to demystify the political process and prepare women, in daylong sessions, with the guidance they need to pursue public office, said the Center’s Dana Brown, who notes that many of the program’s participants are women in midlife.
The life experience they have to draw on is invaluable, she said, “and research shows that skills like fundraising, campaign strategy, public speaking and networking can be taught.”
“We want women to know we are a resource for them, and they don’t have to go it alone,” Brown said. “Our goal is to educate women and empower them for leadership.”
“Why Not You?” is part of the Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in Pittsburgh Project, sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh, and underwritten, in part, by trustee Nancy Weissman in memory of her mother-in-law, trustee Jackie Wechsler. PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
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