Presented by The American Conservation Coalition

Dear friend, 

The American Conservation Coalition is proud to sponsor the Women’s Public Leadership Network’s July newsletter, which corresponds with National Park and Recreation Month! If you haven’t heard of us before, we’re the largest, right-of-center environmental organization in the country – with more than 20,000 members and 100 branches nationwide. 

At ACC, we love our beautiful national, state, and local parks. Unlike other environmental organizations that focus their efforts on blocking traffic and throwing soup on priceless paintings, our activists host clean-ups in their local communities to keep these parks pristine. In addition to park clean-ups, we’ve hosted tree-planting events, energy facility tours, ecosystem restoration efforts, and more. We’re proud that our activists don’t just talk the environmentalist talk, but walk the environmentalist walk.

Nationally, we advocate for environmental solutions that are good for people and good for our planet. The Climate Commitment is guided by six big ideas: innovate, streamline, compete, unlock, conserve, protect. This platform is the path forward for effective, actionable climate solutions. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to the environmental challenges we face, which is why we champion a whole host of solutions, from streamlining burdensome regulations holding clean energy back, to promoting essential conservation practices, to unleashing the power of nuclear energy.

To join our community of conservative climate advocates, visit our membership page and keep up with national events here.

Onward,

The American Conservation Coalition

To learn more, visit www.acc.eco

ACC is proud that more than half of our full-time staff are women.

Pictured (left to right) are ACC Action Government Affairs Director Morgan Brummund, EVP Danielle Butcher Franz, Communications Director Karly Matthews, and Policy Associate Sarah Jensen. Danielle Butcher Franz currently serves as ACC’s executive vice president and will assume the role of CEO next month.

Our guest for our #LeadershipSpotlight this month was Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison! She was the first female City Attorney and the first mother to hold this position, the highest legal office in Seattle City government. Watch the conversation here.

INSIDER BUSINESS | "Working women's record-setting comeback": "2020 was a bad year for everyone, but it was especially tough for working women... The numbers were so alarming that commentators dubbed it a 'she-cession.' The pandemic, economists warned, might wipe out a generation of progress for working women. But instead, the opposite happened: Women came roaring back to the workforce in record numbers. By early this year, their ranks had returned to pre-pandemic levels. Today, 77.8% of women between the ages of 25 and 54 are in the labor force, surpassing the previous peak in 2000. The pandemic didn't impair women's careers. It supercharged them." Read more.

MENTAL FLOSS | "9 Women Who Helped Win the American Revolution": "The men who led the American Revolution — George Washington, Sam and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Ethan Allen, and countless others — are well-known. But a number of women aided them in securing a victory over the British. Women played vital roles in the Revolution, serving as soldiers, raising morale, and even spying on the enemy." Read more.

AXIOS | "GOP leans in on candidate diversity to keep the House": "Over the past several years, Republicans tried to target more minority voters amid sweeping demographic changes in the U.S." Read more.

SMITHSONIAN | "Five Things to Know About the Declaration of Sentiments: From seating to suffrage, here’s why the document is relevant today": "Here’s what you should know about the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions that was passed [on July 19–20, 1848] at the Seneca Falls Convention on women’s rights." Read more.

Higher Heights Leadership Fund and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) released an updated version of their joint report, titled "Black Women in American Politics 2023."

"For nearly a decade, Higher Heights and the Center for American Women and Politics have teamed up to report on the status of Black women in American politics. In that period, Black women have seen representational gains across all levels of office, including in the federal executive, and achieved milestones as candidates and officeholders within states and nationwide. But the underrepresentation of Black women persists, and our organizations remain committed to documenting, analyzing, and addressing disparities in both political presence and power...

There remain vast opportunities for growth in the number of Black women running and winning at all levels of office. The 2023 and 2024 elections offer immediate occasions for harnessing Black women’s political power both at the ballot box as voters and on the ballot as candidates."

Read more.

READING | No Place for a Woman: The Struggle for Suffrage in the Wild West by Chris Enss: We wanted to honor the women of the American West this month for several reasons: 1) July is National Park and Recreation Month, and California, Alaska, Utah, and Colorado are the 4 states with the most national parks. 2) We recently passed a key date in women's suffrage! On July 10, 1890, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th state and so became the first state to guarantee women's suffrage in its constitution. (And a bonus fact: On June 11, 1880, Jeannette Rankin was born; she would later become the first woman to hold federal office in the United States when she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916 from Montana.) Learn more.

WATCHING | Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera: It's a strong month for new Hollywood releases, with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Oppenheimer, but we especially loved following Margot Robbie's Barbie's journey from Barbieland to the Real World. The movie manages to be fun while highlighting the problems with gendered stereotypes and expectations — and we appreciated its argument that Barbie is a feminist toy that helps young girls better envision all the different opportunities and paths available to them. Learn more.

LISTENING TO | Speak Now (Taylor's Version): When the superstar dropped her Speak Now recording on July 7, it broke Spotify records for the most single-day streams in 2023 — and for a country album, ever. She recently became the first woman to have 4 albums on Billboard's Top 10 at once. And not only is her Eras tour boosting the local economy for each city she plays, it's also boosting the U.S. economy at large. So drop everything now, meet us on the trail for your campaign! Learn more.

EXCITED FOR | The 2nd Cohort of WPLN's Nonprofit Management Fellowship: We're excited for the kick-off of our 2nd Cohort of our Nonprofit Management Fellowship next month. Stay tuned for our announcement!

• Ida B. Wells, investigative journalist, civil rights activist, and a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (July 16)
• Emma Lazarus, writer whose poem "The New Colossus" is inscribed onto the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (July 22)
• Lucy Burns, suffragist and women's rights advocate who co-founded the National Woman's Party and was arrested and sent to the Occoquan Workhouse as part of the Silent Sentinels in 1917 (July 28)

Visit our website to see the other women trailblazers and leaders who were born in July.

JULY 31 | California Women's Leadership Association's Rooftop Conversation Starters Series #2: Join our California training partner California Women's Leadership Association on July 31 for part 2 of their Rooftop Conversation Series, honoring local women leaders with Congresswoman Michelle Steel and other special guests. Learn more.

JULY 31 | California Women's Leadership Association Reception and Presidential Townhall with Tim Scott: Join the Republican Party of Orange County and our California training partner California Women's Leadership Association for a reception and presidential townhall with presidential candidate Senator Tim Scott! Learn more.

AUGUST 8 | WPLN Women's Civic Leadership Training: Join us for our Women’s Civic Leadership Training event on August 8 in Oklahoma City, OK! As part of this event, WPLN will host expert-led sessions where attendees will have the opportunity to network and learn essential skills for leadership both in civic and business life. We're proud to offer free childcare during the event for attendees who register before August 1. Register today! Learn more.

AUGUST 9 | Virginia Conservative Women's Coalition August Candidate Mentoring Circle: Join our Virginia training partner Virginia Conservative Women's Coalition on August 9 to network with right-of-center women running for any office in Virginia. This is an opportunity to introduce yourself and ask questions about issues you are facing in your race. VCWC Executive Board and Advisory Board members, former candidates, and special guests will be available! NOTE: This event is for candidates only. Learn more.

AUGUST 18 | Latinas Represent Master Class Training Program: Are you a Latina thinking of running for office or managing a campaign in the next few years? Join the Latinas Represent Master Class, a unique training program created by Latinas for Latinas. This program will give participants the tools they need to understand the political process, develop their political capacity, and launch well-run, issue-based campaigns. Spaces are limited, so learn more and apply by July 31! Learn more.

Presented By The American Conservation Coalition

Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke is a nuclear energy advocate and spoke at the ACC Summit in June.

Nearly 300 activists gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah for the second annual ACC Summit in June.

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