I sang Fever at An Die Musik today, with Coby Siegel on Guitar and Dylan Simon on Bass. Enjoy!

Today, Jacquelyn was elected Co-President of the Carroll County League of Women Voters along with Cheryl Steinbacher. By developing the social media team and the Vote 411 Guide Team, Jacquelyn has already grown the presence of the League in Carroll County. She is very excited to continue developing the presence if the Carroll County Maryland League by working with local organizations to share voter information while also growing the membership.

Today, Jacquelyn hosted a panel of women in government of both political parties with panelists Clerk of Court Heather DeWees, Representative Jessica Feldmark, Delegate Susan Krebs, Delegate Brooke Lierman, Judge Maria Oesterreicher, and Councilwoman Odette Ramos (listed in alphabetical order). She shared panel with over 200 high school students and faculty members via zoom.
This panel served to inspire young women to enter the political arena and advocate for what they believe in when they do not see it happening within their own communities. Jacquelyn asked each woman questions on how their political career began, what they were doing to advocate for the needs of others as teenagers and young adults, and about their paths to success. Watch the panel below!

Today, Jacquelyn testified in collaboration with the League of Women Voters in favor of SB 283, The Student and Military Voter Empowerment Act. If you did not read the last post, the Voter Empowerment Act is a great first step to make the process of registering and turning out to vote easier, especially for young people in the military and at university/college. There are three main parts of the legislation: 
1. Military personnel can use their federal military ID to register to vote online, 
2. Local Boards of Elections have to include large residential communities, such as universities, colleges, and nursing homes, in the process of deciding polling locations
3. Universities/colleges have to designate a staff member as the Student Voting Coordinator and develop a plan to increase voter registration and turnout.
Jacquelyn's testimony was received favorably by the committee, in fact, they remarked that it was nice to see someone younger from the League of Women Voters. The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. 
You can watch Jacquelyn's testimony below here starting at 4:16:59.

Today our founder Jacquelyn Slade testified in front of the Maryland State House in favor of the Student and Military Voter Empowerment Act, also known as HB 156. She was one of a few students asked to testify for the bill by Delegate Luedtke, the sponsor or HB 156 in the State House. Jacquelyn also submitted written testimony through a My MGA account, which is a specific account through the MD General Assembly that can be used to sign up to testify as well as track bills in the MD Senate and House.
The Voter Empowerment Act which she testified for is a great first step to make the process of registering and turning out to vote easier, especially for young people in the military and at university/college. There are three main parts of the legislation: 
1. Military personnel can use their federal military ID to register to vote online, 
2. Local Boards of Elections have to include large residential communities, such as universities, colleges, and nursing homes, in the process of deciding polling locations
3. Universities/colleges have to designate a staff member as the Student Voting Coordinator and develop a plan to increase voter registration and turnout 
The full text of the bill is here.   
You can watch Jacquelyn's Testimony below starting at 37:43.

Today, Jacquelyn began to ponder the roots and effects of inequities in the education system. She plotted out and discussed major inequities in the educational system with her peers. She identified 3 main inequities in the educational system which she will be writing uop policy proposals surrounding in the following week, including a lack of preparation for college.

Today, Jacquelyn attended the first session of the Close Up: Empowering Female Voices Program. The program focuses on policy proposals made for Biden's First 100 days. Each participant shares their stories and works togea​ther on the policy proposals regarding issues facing our country today. On Jacquelyn's first day, she learned about policy proposals Biden made regarding issues such as education, the environment, and health insurance. She chose to focus on policy proposals regarding education, with the hope to increase civics education in schools. She looks forward to meeting engaged teens from around the country!

Today, Jacquelyn attended a panel with other high school students interested in pursuing careers in the political field with the Hockaday Institute for Social Impact. This panel included Melissa Kilby, the Executive Director of Girl Up; Irene Bueno, the founder of the NVG government relations firm; and Amber MacDonald, a speechwriter for the Biden Campaign. During this meeting, Jacquelyn was able to network with Melissa Kilby and learn more about how to create change through VotEd from experts in the field.

Learn more about the Hockaday Institute for Social Impact here: https://www.hockaday.org/academics/institute-for-social-impact

Today, Jacquelyn talked to Delegate Susan Krebs and invited her to participate in her women in government panel in April and May. She accepted and discussed her experience entering the government sector. She explained that she never planned to enter the MD House of Delegates until she realized that educational policy was not being advocated for often in the MD House. She also realized that women were not often represented in the House and wanted to make sure their voices were heard. She plans to participate in the VotEd Women in Government panel.

Today, Jacquelyn (with the assistance of the Youth Advocacy Project) planned and coordinated a meeting with local activists interested in helping advocate for voting rights in Maryland. In this meeting, the members decided that out priorities would be: 1.)instituting advisory lessons regarding voting in local schools and 2.) advocating for legislation regarding voting rights. We plan to meet again next year to discuss implementing these proposals and creating change in our local community.