Letter from the Editor

This March, we are commemorating the brave and diverse women who’ve carved out a space for the female voice. We will be looking to the past, as well as focusing on the issues and stories of today, to continue the progression of equality and justice for women all over the world.

Join us for our speaker series events, a month-long campaign of informational material for you to brush up on your knowledge of women’s history, and two events-in-a-box. This issue has updates on our various action campaigns as well as reports on current events. Scroll down to see our featured artist, L.A. based Andrea Bowers, to commemorate WHM, and take our February Newsletter quiz!

We hope you enjoy this edition, and we hope to see you at our events!

Stayce Camparo, Communications Co-Chair Global Women’s Caucus

Join us as we discuss issues of military justice with the Founder & Chair, President, and Treasurer of Protect Our Defenders (POD),  the pre-eminent national human rights organization dedicated to ending sexual violence, victim retaliation, misogyny, sexual prejudice, and racism in the military and combating a culture that has allowed it to persist.   We will focus on the ways in which the military has led social change through history, POD’s study on racial disparities in military justice and current legislation which could radically improve the delivery of justice to the victims for whom  POD advocates.  After their comments all of the speakers will answer questions.  

This event is co-sponsored by

The Global Women’s Caucus & The Global Veterans and Military Families Caucus

Biographies

Founder & CEO, Nancy Parrish

Nancy Parrish is an active leader in community and public affairs. She has devoted much of her life to issues of social justice and human rights.

In 2011, Parrish founded Protect Our Defenders (POD) is the national organization dedicated to ending the epidemic of sexual assault and racial disparity in the military, and its wide-ranging effects on our communities. In 2014, the New York Times, Robert Draper described POD as “the nation’s pre-eminent advocacy group on behalf of victims of sexual assault in the military.” In recognition of her work with Protect Our Defenders, Parrish was named the 2016 recipient of the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage.

Parrish was also a founding co-chair of Human Rights Watch’s Northern California Chapter, an organization dedicated to protecting human rights around the world. She has worked with President and Mrs. Carter in support of their international humanitarian work at the Carter Center, which is guided by a fundamental commitment to the alleviation of human suffering. Parrish served two terms as the development trustee of UCSF’s Friends of the Department of Psychiatry’s Hospital Board, which led to the creation of a children’s center. She also served as Chair of the Ringling Museum, and as Vice President of the Children’s Guardian Fund Board of Sarasota, helping to provide basic needs and enrich the lives of foster children.

President – Colonel Don Christensen, U.S. Air Force (ret.)

Colonel Don Christensen, USAF (ret.) served as chief prosecutor for the United States Air Force between 2010 and 2014. He served as a trial counsel, defense counsel or military judge for every year of his 23-year career in the United States Air Force.

Col Christensen has served as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, Area Defense Counsel, Circuit Defense Counsel, Deputy Chief. Circuit Defense Counsel, and Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, as a deployed Staff Judge Advocate, Chief Circuit Trial Counsel, and Staff Judge Advocate and as a Military Judge. He has tried over 150 courts-martial as a trial and defense counsel and has presided over 100 trials as a military judge.

He was born in Sturgis, South Dakota and received his law degree from Marquette University Law School. A third generation Air Force officer, he received his commission as a second lieutenant through ROTC and entered active service on 15 July 1991. Col Christensen is licensed to practice law before the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

In his role as President, Col Christensen has appeared regularly in broadcast and print media to advocate for rights of crime victims, including appearances on CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News, and the BBC, in addition to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, and Newsweek. 

Col Christensen has received numerous awards and decorations including the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Air Force Achievement Medal.

Paula Coughlin – Treasurer

Paula Coughlin is a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant and the founder and owner of Ocean Yoga Center in Atlantic Beach, FL. Paula Coughlin-Puopolo comes from a lineage of military and community leaders. Before settling in Florida, she served in the US Navy as a helicopter pilot, serving aboard Naval vessels as one of the earliest women in aviation to become flight deck qualified and maintenance officer/post-maintenance check qualified. While serving as Aide de camp at the Naval Air Test Center, in 1991, her role as a whistle-blower in the infamous Tailhook Convention ended her aviation career, and Coughlin pushed forward working to rectify inequities in the military’s policies for the role of women in aviation and in combat. Coughlin is unwavering in her efforts to make positive changes; she has testified before SASC sub-committee, met with former President GH Bush, Sec. of Defense and more recently through an online petition and appearance on the Hill, forced the House Armed Services Committee to hold open hearings on the sexual abuse scandal at Lackland AFB.  In recognition of her leadership in modernizing the roles of

Click on the links below to find the current and past articles.

February 2021 Newsletter

January 2021 Newsletter

December 2020 Newsletter

November 2020 Newsletter

October 2020 Newsletter

Our Global Women's Caucus is helping Americans around the world become real activists in the struggle for women’s rights no matter where they are, no matter how small or large their numbers -- a committee of one or one hundred!

There is no "one-size-fits-all" level of involvement.  What our individual sections do depends very much on their size. Here are just a few examples:

Communications & Outreach

Help reach new caucus members and share stories of women living abroad. This working group curates our caucus’s online presence (web, social media, email) and promotes events, activities, and issues.

Country Committee Guidelines

Help coordinate with, support, and organize with Democrats Abroad's 40+ country committees to establish a women’s caucus at the country and chapter levels. (more information here).

Issues

Women are faced with many issues that have global impacts. Our action teams and issues help raise awareness and promote policy that aids in the security and wellness of women all over the world. Help us identify and educate our members about these different issues.

Events-in-a-Box and Resource Kits

To help local women’s caucuses, we are preparing pre-made events and informational resources that caucus leaders at the country and chapter levels can use to educate and bring their members together. Volunteers can help create an event based on issues identified by the Issues Working Group and find ways to facilitate discussions.

Speakers

Organize speaking events with prominent women’s rights activists. This could include these roles:

• Coordinate event with the Global Communications & Global Women’s Co-Chairs
• Zoom training with Global IT
• Liaise with speakers and plan logistics

Volunteer today! Simply fill in the Volunteer Interest Form.

Don't have time to volunteer? Consider making a donation to help Democrats Abroad promote the democratic platform and Get Out the Vote!

The GBC Cafe will screen the feature film, Harriet, for Women's History Month.

RSVP to receive the Zoom link.

Event start time by location:

Watch the trailer:

Come Join Democrats Abroad Alicante for an International Women's Day Celebration!

Monday, March 8, 2021 from 4:30-6:30pm

In honor of this day Democrats Abroad Alicante decided to learn more about the lives of our Spanish sisters. We want to raise awareness to the issues that they face in their every day lives. As Americans living in Spain we thought what better way to find out but to ask!  

DAA has assembled an amazing group of women for an online round table discussion. Our panelists come from diverse backgrounds as educators, lawyers, advertising executives, activists, journalists, producers, directors, writers, artists, actors, interpreters, housing developers, union organizers and administrators. 

We may come with different personal histories, but we share many things in common. Our goal is to reach out and create an international bond of friendship and sisterhood! We welcome allies of all genders. 

Please join us to listen, learn, and raise a glass in celebration of International Women's Day!

Celebrate International Women's Day! Explore the Women's Political Landscape...

RSVP Here! Your link will be sent several days prior to the event.

Ah, Women's History Month, we meet again, We COULD start by rattling off a list of accomplishments from the ladies of yore (and we will), but first let us take a collective bow in honor of all the moms who have lived through this last year.

Whether you home-schooled while holding down a 9-5 in home office, went out into the wild as an essential worker, delivered a child while masked or cried every day in the only space you could be alone (the toilet), we are IN AWE. You are a champion and we cannot start Women's History Month without recognizing this historic feat.

Ladies, it's been A YEAR. Add to the above; the unprecedented (are we sick of this word yet?) female-only unemployment statistics we saw in December, the never-ending struggle for reproductive rights, equal pay, and I don't know, equal representation(?), it's a wonder any of us are still standing.

This March, allow your Global Women's Caucus to celebrate YOU, your mothers, your daughters and neighbors who paved the way before them. This month is ours and we are going to make the most of it.

Between our speakers' series events, final efforts to push through the Equal Rights Amendment and open dialogue on our social pages, we are shaping the conversation and history itself, magnifying women's voices one story at a time and giving credit where it is long overdue.

Because...Who runs the world? GIRLS.

Please join us as we celebrate Women’s History Month.

Come share your stories, poems, songs, etc. Speak Your Truth, your Way.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84960674410?pwd=Zml5M3plaExVbW1zUTNydVNIOHlvQT09

Meeting ID: 849 6067 4410
Passcode: WHM2021

On March 15, join us for a day-long online celebration of International Women's Day with DA China's Womens Caucus. Sign up to this WeChat Group to receive messages that help empower you all Women's History Month.

A gender equal society needs empowered women and girls who take control of their lives, make their own decisions, and succeed in their chosen pursuits.

So throughout the day, enjoy empowering quotes from women - from innovators to activists and leaders - who've made a considerable impact across society.

Additionally, this year's International Women's Day theme is #ChooseToChallenge - 

A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.

From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.

Throughout the day, show your solidarity and #choosetochallenge, show a hand up high in a selfie to let everyone know you're in. Some examples below: