JLW’s Nominating
Committee is the epitomy of empowered women empowering other women. This unique committee is a body of
11 women with leadership experience who identify and slate all League leaders
for the following year.
Our active members shape this committee by voting for
its members each spring as part of our annual ballot. Today, we are introducing
you to the 16 passionate and well-qualified women who make up the slate for the
2019-2020 Nominating Committee, and learn more about how these League leaders
spread the #JLWLove!
Carol Der Garry
Carol Der Garry is one
of two Sustainers on this year’s Nominating Committee slate. Did you know
Nominating Committee always includes one Sustainer? Carol’s favorite leadership
memory is helping select the winner of our Meg Graham College Scholarship
during her tenure as Sustainer chair in 2017-2018. “This process reinforced how
important JLW is to the DC community and what a huge difference we make in
people’s lives!” As a member of the Nominating Committee, she wants to spread
the #JLWLove by supporting diversity and elevating qualified JLW members who
are new to leadership.
Rosemarie Hamm
Rosemarie Hamm has been a JLW
member since 1998 and over the years, has worn many leadership hats - helping
revamp the former Hotline newsletter (before it was League Lines) as committee
chair, serving on the inaugural Website Task Force, and initiating Sustainer
General Membership Meetings as Sustainer chair. But she says her mission moment
is more low-key: “serving as a volunteer at the National Book Festival by
fulfilling our organization's commitment to literacy, and being a small cog in
the wheel to help make this important annual event a success to the community.”
Rosemarie, one of two Sustainers on the Nominating Committee slate, hopes
to find qualified, dedicated volunteers to serve as the next generation of
leaders and continue building JLW’s legacy.
Ashlyn Holeyfield
As JLW’s Transfer
Committee Chair, Ashlyn Holeyfield had a chance to hear every Transfer’s
proudest moments, which reinforced her leadership mission to help JLW’s
“high-caliber” volunteers find where they want to make an impact in our League
and our community. Ashlyn believes the “continued success of JLW depends on
women who are willing to ask, how can we do this better?” and she looks
forward to find these women as a member of JLW’s Nominating Committee, if
elected.
Zoe Louise Jackman
Having served as chair of the
60th annual Holiday Shops fundraiser, Zoe Louise Jackman knows that JLW’s
network of volunteers is strong and supportive. “I have loved serving in a
number of roles in the League, but I am the most inspired when other women in
the League tell me they feel empowered to self-nominate for a leadership
position because they realized they could rely on other League members for
support and guidance throughout their time serving,” she says. Zoe believes
a busy job or personal life doesn’t have to get in the way of getting involved
in the League, and if elected to the Nominating Committee, she’ll “help other
women in the League find their moment to shine in leadership roles.”
Adrianne James
Nominating Committee
candidate Adrianne James is uniquely connected to the Transfer experience.
After joining the Junior League of Washington in 2010, she spent six years in
the Junior League of Philadelphia, where she chaired its Thrift Shop Committee,
before returning to DC. Currently wearing two hats as the Transfer Committee’s
Vice Chair of Community Experience and the Membership Development Assistant
Council Director, Adrianne keeps a close eye on the member experience - not
just for Transfers, but all members. She wants to continue spreading the
#JLWLove on Nominating by “treating my fellow committee sisters with love
and respect… because we are stronger together.”
Sarah Jorgenson
Sarah Jorgenson knows that the
most rewarding JLW moments are ones that both excite our members and improve
the community. When she served as chair of the Resolution Read Committee (now
the Literacy Events Planning Committee), she says that planning the D.C. Public
Library’s Letters About Literature contest. “It was incredible to see
committee members get involved as a team, and it was inspirational to listen to
the winners present letters to authors about how books impacted their lives.”
Sarah hopes to continue her current work on JLW’s Nominating Committee next
year in this same vein - “helping to empower and grow our current and upcoming
leaders to positively impact our community, inside and outside the League.”
Jennifer Lim
Did you know that the Nominating Committee slate
typically includes 1-2 returning members? This helps support continuity and the
transfer of important information each year. Jenni Lim is currently on the
Nominating Committee, and shared this highlight: “I was able to offer a
woman who had been my new member years ago her first leadership position! That
really brought home the importance of what we do in the Junior League - we all
help grow DC’s best volunteers and future leaders.” If re-elected, Jenni
hopes to continue improving the Nominating Committee’s communication with the
League, something she has spearheaded this year.
Ashley MacLeay
Current Board of Directors
member Ashley MacLeay knows how effective JLW volunteers can be in the
community - and it inspires her to lead. When the child she mentored was able
to read a new book aloud for the first time, “it was then I knew the League
made an impact and I wanted to do more to empower women across community
placements and the entire JLW to create more moments just like this one,”
she said. She looks forward to doing so on the Nominating Committee next year,
if elected. Ashley hopes to find “a diverse group of empowered women who are
thinking strategically about the future of JLW and serving our community with
respect and integrity.”
Alex Moses
For her first few years in
JLW, Alex Moses primarily volunteered in roles that serve JLW’s members,
including the Development & Training and Loughborough House Committees.
This year, she answered the call to serve in the community as chair of JLW’s
Calvary Women Services Committee - her first community-facing placement - but
she hasn’t looked back. “Hearing the residents tell us how much they
appreciate our contributions to the shelter reminded me why it’s important to
be a leader in JLW,” she says. If elected to the Nominating Committee, she
wants to encourage women to “put their name in the hat” even if it’s outside of
their comfort zone or experience - because she knows first-hand how rewarding
it can be!
Emily Patt
As Co-Chair of JLW’s New
Member Committee, Emily Patt helps JLW members find their footing as volunteers
and leaders from the get-go. Emily says it’s a privilege to watch members she’s
advised develop into leaders and make a positive impact on the League. If
elected to the Nominating Committee, she hopes to pay it forward by finding a
new group of JLW leaders who will train and empower the next generation of
League leaders. “I look forward to encouraging women to try new leadership
roles and grow as leaders,” she says.
Phoenix Ricks
You may have seen
Phoenix Ricks’ picture before in our 3039M magazine accompanying the
Letter from the Editor. As chair of the Magazine Committee in 2017-2018, she
was inspired by volunteers on her committee: “Seeing their months of hard
work in the final publication is a feeling I will never forget!” Phoenix
will bring her talents from the Communications & PR Council to the
Nominating Committee to help keep the nominating process accessible to all
members, ensuring the “nominating process is transparent and communicated in a
timely manner.”
Laura Sherrod
Laura Sherrod is the
current co-chair of JLW’s Tossed & Found fundraiser, but her leadership
experience extends beyond the League. When her mother asked her to serve as
campaign manager for her re-election as a judge, Laura says, “I decided if I
can do this, I can do anything.” Laura will bring that can-do attitude to
the Nominating Committee by “approaching every member with professionalism,
respect, and up-to-date knowledge” if she is elected.
Laura Shull
Laura
Shull knows how important JLW’s leaders can be to our members’ experience in
the League. When serving as a committee leader, Laura reached out to a
rock-star member on her committee to thank her for being a dedicated and
outstanding member. “She let me know that she had been close to leaving the
League, but she changed her mind due to how our committee was run. It felt
really fantastic to have made such an impact on one member.” She will
continue to empower women across the League if elected to the Nominating
Committee by finding the strongest leaders to take JLW forward and by being
open minded and thoughtful in every decision.
Aimee Picard Soller
Immediate Past President
Aimee Picard Soller has done a little bit (or a lot of) everything in the
League - and it shows. She says that, for her, mission moments happen all the
time: “When a members says ‘Because of JLW…’, our impact in the community,
friendships formed, skills gained and applied - too numerous to pick just one!”
For Aimee, this translates to a wealth of opportunities along a League
career to get involved, develop, and grow leadership skills. As a member of the
Nominating Committee, she says, “I would like to see more women start on that
path and more women continue on that path in new areas.”
Onika Williams
Onika Williams says she is inspired any time she
is given the opportunity to represent JLW’s National Museum of Women in the
Arts Committee - which is often, given that she serves as that committee’s
chair this year! Onika also spreads the #JLWLove by sharing her path to
leadership - something she will continue to do if elected to JLW’s Nominating
Committee. “By hearing leaders’ stories, members will realize there is more
than one way to lead in JLW,” Onika says.
Carolyn Wilson
Carolyn Wilson has
been a member of JLW since 2010, and over her years in the League, she’s held
leadership positions across three different councils. Because of this, she says
she can’t pick just one moment that stands out the most: “I love being a
part of an organization that gives me such a variety of volunteer and training
opportunities.” Carolyn views leadership as a chance to share joy and
appreciation for the JLW with other members, and she looks forward to doing so
if elected to the Nominating Committee.
Active League members in good
standing will have the opportunity to elect the members of the Nominating
Committee as part of our annual ballot, which opens on April 10. Keep an eye
out for the link to the ballot in your inboxes!
