Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics Hosts NEW Leadership 2018

PITTSBURGH– The Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics (PCWP) at Chatham University held the annual National Education for Women’s (NEW) Leadership™ Pennsylvania program, a weeklong (June 3-June 8) intensive institute for women college students focused on the role of women in politics and policy making in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. NEW Leadership 2018 brought over 40 students from 26 different colleges and universities across Pennsylvania to the Chatham University campus.

The program cultivates the next generation of young women leaders, and is modeled after a program established by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The program features such topics as leadership in a diverse society, current and historical approaches to women’s participation in politics, networking with Pennsylvania women leaders, and the development of action skills in advocacy and leadership.

This year’s program was supported in part by a grant from the EQT Foundation, which identifies and supports the efforts of its operating regions to produce an abundant and well-trained workforce, a diverse and economically viable business climate, and an environmentally safe and stable infrastructure.

“The EQT Foundation is proud to provide continuing support for Chatham’s NEW Leadership Pennsylvania Program,” said Charlene Petrelli, President, EQT Foundation. “Supporting diverse education initiatives in the areas where we operate is a priority for EQT, and it is our hope that by participating in this program, these young women will work to create change and continued economic success by being involved in the political processes in their communities.”

NEW Leadership 2018 featured Practitioners-in-Residence Mayor of Wilkinsburg, Marita Garrett, and former Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak.

Recently, elected as the 10th Mayor of Wilkinsburg, PA. Marita Garrett served on Wilkinsburg Borough Council from 2014-2018. During her term on Council, Marita Garrett started “Wilkinsburg Community Conversations”, an initiative to connect and empower residents to work together for neighborhood improvement, co-founded the Free Store Wilkinsburg -where donations of new and slightly used material goods are available to residents and families; and was elected Vice-President of Council, where she served as Chair of the Borough’s Social Media & Promotions Committee and sat on the Capital Planning & Public Safety Committees. Ms. Garrett received a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master’s degree in Psychology from Chatham University.

Natalia Rudiak previously represented Pittsburgh’s fourth district on City Council from 2010-2017. District 4 includes the neighborhoods of Beechview, Bon Air, Brookline, Carrick, Overbrook, and a portion of Mount Washington. Natalia’s professional experience is in management and technology. She previously worked at Deloitte Consulting, where she implemented a state-wide information technology system. She has also done press work for the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. and worked for a public health organization in New York promoting safe and healthy motherhood. Natalia earned her bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

The students celebrated women’s leadership with Keynote Addresses by Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health, and Laura Ellsworth of JonesDay.

About the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University
The Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics (PCWP) at Chatham University is a non–partisan center devoted to fostering women’s public leadership through education, empowerment, and action. The first to focus on women’s political involvement in Pennsylvania, the PCWP integrates disciplinary knowledge, civic education, and coalition building while examining the intersection of women and public policy. The Center conducts candidate and advocacy trainings, offers educational programs in applied politics, and provides timely analysis on women’s issues. The Center is also home to the University’s membership in Project Pericles – a select group of liberal arts colleges and universities that have made institutional commitments to promoting participatory citizenship and social responsibility.

The Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy was established in 1998 through the generosity of the Hillman Foundation, Inc. and the Maurice Falk Medical Foundation. It was then re-launched and endowed in 2003, by the Hillman Foundation.

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