NWPC Fresno

President’s Message

NWPC Fresno — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 18:21:08 +0000

The third month of the year is nearly upon us and it is time for NWPC to begin interviewing and endorsing candidates. This year the Endorsement Committee will begin interviewing female candidates in the last week in February. Our VP for PAC, Darcy Brown, reaches out to all female candidates and provides them with our endorsement application and with information about our organization. If they return the completed application, we schedule them for an interview with our Endorsement Committee. Using the questions provided by the California State NWPC, we will interview each candidate for possible endorsement. At the next General Membership meeting the Endorsement Committee will present their recommendations for endorsement to the membership.

At the March meeting we anticipate the committee will have interviewed at least two candidates. They will present their recommendations for endorsement and will recommend an amount of financial support for the candidate. The membership will have a chance to ask questions and make comments before we vote on the endorsement motion from the committee.

On another note:
When we conducted the brainstorming session in January one of the issues that received the greatest support was the idea of finding more ways to participate in supporting our endorsed candidates i.e., postcard writing, phone calls, and hosting meet-the-candidate neighborhood events. We voted to be more informed and more active in other kinds of political issues and activities, such as Letters to the Editor, working on public campaigns, marches for or against people or issues, or attending public meetings. Missy Heffron and I will research and share actions members can take to be more politically active. If you have suggestions for us, please reach out to me or Missy. We welcome your ideas!

Membership:
Our Membership chair Linda Knight announced at our February Board meeting that in the next three months, twenty-five percent of our membership will need to renew their membership. If you don’t know when your membership expires, please contact Linda to make sure you renew your membership. You can reach Linda by email at knight7380@gmail.com

Best Wishes to Everyone and I hope to see you on March 3rd.

Lynn Badertscher

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Dinner Meeting March 3, 2026

NWPC Fresno — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 18:01:17 +0000

Our speaker will be Joanne Lai. Joanne’s topic will be, Coming Home to Yourself — Embodiment, Trauma Healing & Authentic Leadership

In today’s political and social climate, many women are navigating stress, burnout, and increasing demands on their leadership. Sustainable advocacy requires not only passion, but resilience and connection to self.

Joanne Lai will discuss trauma-informed care and somatic healing, and how reconnecting with the body strengthens authentic leadership. She will explore how stress and past experiences shape the way women show up in public spaces, and why grounded, regulated leaders are essential to building strong movements.

Joanne is the CEO and founder of Spiral & Bloom Embodiment Sanctuary and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner specializing in holistic, trauma-informed psychotherapy. She supports women navigating stress, burnout, cultural identity, and relational challenges through body-centered approaches that build resilience and lasting growth.

She is the recipient of the Top Ten Professional Women Award from the Marjaree Mason Center and serves as President of Central California Asian Pacific Women (CCAPW). Her work has been featured in the documentary Final Fight: When the Trauma of War Comes Home, as well as in Fig Garden Magazine, Bold Journey, and on ABC30 News.

Joanne lives and works in the Central Valley and remains committed to strengthening leadership and community resilience.

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President’s Message

NWPC Fresno — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 21:39:59 +0000

Many thanks to all of you who attended and participated in our January General Meeting. Instead of a speaker everyone who was present had the opportunity to help us plan the speaker topics for the year ahead. We had more than thirty topics suggested and each member had a chance to vote for eight topics. Those 30+ topics were diverse and wide ranging.

Among the most popular topics were Immigrant Success Stories; Candidate Forums or Hearing From the Candidates; the Dakota Eco Gardens; and Dementia. We will do our best to cover as many of the topics as we can this year. There was also a lot of interest in becoming more active in the campaigns in 2026. If you have suggestions for election activities, please share your ideas or information with a Board Member.

We had our first Board Meeting of the year on January 21st . Our Board is made of up new members and members who have been with our caucus for decades, and some of us have been around for a while; we are of many different backgrounds, experiences, ages and interests. I’m excited to see what we can make happen this year.

Apparently, at the January meeting, I forgot to update every one on our December donation to Faith in the Valley. Our $1,000 donation was directed to their Valley Watch Network Program. This program focuses on the immigration landscape in the Valley and the current status of ICE detentions and raids in our local communities. Thanks to all of you who for your generous contributions.

Looking forward to seeing you on February 3rd .

Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Please contact your member of Congress and make sure they know how you
feel about the “State of Our Nation.”.

In Unity and Equality,

Lynn Badertscher

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Dinner Meeting February 3, 2026

NWPC Fresno — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 21:19:43 +0000

Our topic this month will be the Dakota EcoGarden

Based on our brainstorming session at the January meeting, one of the most popular topics was the Dakota EcoGarden. In February our speakers will be sharing the vision and work of the Dakota EcoGarden.

In July of 2012, homeless advocate Nancy Waidtlow purchased a 0.6 acre lot in West Central Fresno, where she founded the Dakota EcoGarden in late 2013. It’s the original site of the Eco Village Project of Fresno and the first of its kind in the city. There are many resources for the homeless in Fresno, but what makes it unique is the uplifting environment and democratic approach to developing a community.

The Dakota EcoGarden is open to people of all walks of life – regardless of gender, race or creed. The mission of the Dakota EcoGarden, which is part of the Eco Village Project of Fresno, is to empower formerly homeless individuals with the skills needed for self-sufficient lifestyles that enable happiness, health and success.

The Dakota EcoGarden represents Nancy’s version of Fresno Architect Arthur Dyson’s original vision for an eco village. Although the Dakota EcoGarden does not include a standard community building, the home on the property provides the same basic elements of a shared kitchen, living space and bathrooms. Tiny home residences, and tent structures provide living spaces for others in need.

The Eco Village and EcoGarden provide residents with places to live and the needed resources for residents to learn new skills or to further develop their existing skills. Residents raise their own fruits and vegetables and they have access to computers for their use in seeking educational opportunities or to find employment.

Hope you will join us on February 3rd to learn more about this unique program in our
community!

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President’s Message

NWPC Fresno — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 03:19:45 +0000

This has been a wonderful year for us at NWPC Fresno. We’ve had wonderful, interesting speakers thanks to Marsha Conant. We added more than $24,000 to our PAC account for important endorsements in 2026. We have nearly tripled our membership numbers to 96. We are still the largest caucus in California. We had much to celebrate at our December Holiday Party and everyone seemed to have a great time.

I want to thank our 2025 Board for all their hard work. Thanks to Past President Marsha Conant; CFO Cathy Brass; Secretary Myra Coble; State Director Barbara Castle; PAC VP Darcy Brown; PAC Treasurer Linda Knight. Special thanks to Cathy Brass who has been on our Board for 16 years and to Myra Coble who has done a great job as Secretary this year.

I want to remind everyone that we will be voting for the 2026 slate of officers as the first item at the January meeting. The slate includes:

President – Lynn Badertscher
Past President – Marsha Conant
ADMIN VP – Vacant
Secretary – Vacant
ADMIN CFO – Michelle DeLaBarre
State Director – Barbara Castle
PAC VP – Darcy Brown
PAC Treasurer – Linda Knight

Please consider joining our Board as either the ADMIN VP or Secretary. We hold our Board Meetings once a month for an evening Zoom meeting that lasts about an hour.

Marsha took responsibility for scheduling speakers this past year but that was not her official responsibility. She will remain on the Board as Past President but she has decided that she won’t be able to take on the responsibility of arranging speakers. Please consider volunteering to be ADMIN VP. The major responsibility for this position is finding a speaker for the monthly meetings. I have already scheduled speakers for March and April and the Board will be helpful in suggesting speakers. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at the General Meeting and at the Board Meeting.

The Board is a fun and dedicated group of women who enjoy one another and our caucus. Join us in leading the largest caucus in CA. Please reach out to me if you are interested in taking on one of the vacant positions.

No speaker this month. Instead we are going to break the meeting up into small groups of 4-5 and people give us ideas about topics or speakers and perhaps a theme for the year.

Hope to see everyone on our January 6th meeting. Please feel free to bring a friend.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

My best to all of you,

Lynn Badertscher

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President’s Message

NWPC Fresno — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 22:53:50 +0000

***Late Breaking News on Women’s Equality Day***

To sum it up in one phrase, our Women’s Equality Day and 50^th Anniversary Event was a “Smashing Success.”

Our celebratory luncheon was a high energy and joyful occasion. Our honorees were inspiring, our speaker Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis was impressed by the size of our event and spoke with passion and appreciation for the work done and support given by NWPC in California. Her message focused on the many challenges facing us in California.

NWPC California President Angelica Ramos-Allen’s message included confirmation that we are still the largest caucus in the state.

We had about a dozen elected officials who attended including one of our favorite Good Guys Congressman Jim Costa. I’m sorry not to list all of the elected officials, but I’m afraid I’ll leave someone out. We invited former honorees, former Good Guys and former Fresno caucus presidents.

We were honored that our caucus’ first president Donna Newman was in attendance. She told the story of how she brought like-minded women together to create our caucus. After fifty years she was as dedicated and committed to our cause as ever. It was truly wonderful to have her in attendance.

We sold over 170 tickets in advance. I don’t have final numbers on our total attendance since we had a number of walk-ins. We raised nearly $1,000 on the sale of tickets for the alcohol tables. Our Silent Auction was a big hit, with more than thirty-five items for sale. Many thanks for all of those who donated items to the auction. We were blessed with many art and craft items which were very popular. Several attendees told me this was the highest quality silent auction they had ever seen. Good work my friends.

A special thank you to Annette Levi who has put together the slide presentation for many years. She really out did herself this year. She told me this is the last year she will be able to create the slide show but she assured me she had found two of our members who will take her place next year. Thank you Annette, we will miss you.

A special thank you to Keith Cappellutti who graciously used his graphic design expertise to make our program, flyer and other handouts look spectacular. Thus, he made us look good. Thanks Keith!

Thank you to all our sponsors who donated a total of $20,000 to the event!

The Women’s Equality Day Committee worked hard and it showed throughout the event. Teamwork was the key to such a well-organized event. Marsha Conant was the committee chair and her vision carried us forward to make the event such a success. Courtney Becker Foster was our very talented florist and decorator; Myra Coble, Patty Cappellutti and Courtney Becker-Foster manned the check-in table; Linda Knight organized and coordinated the Silent Auction; Cynthia Sterling and Barbara Castle worked with legislators to provide certificates from each of their offices to each of the honorees; Gina Vue shared her wealth of decorations to make the venue a floral and balloon wonderland; Cathy Brass organized the tables with NWPC brochures, membership applications, candy and NWPC pens; Marsha and Claudia Soria Delgado presented the awards to the honorees, Joanne Bazarian purchased the bottles for our alcohol tables and ordered the pens we placed at each place setting. Kimberly Tapscott-Munson and David Tepperman did a great job of selling tickets for the alcohol tables. Special thanks to all of you who stayed to help us clean-up after the event was over. If I missed anyone, I’m sorry and thank you for your help and support.

We will have a more accurate count of our attendees and our fundraising success at our next meeting!

Hope to see all of you on October 7^th.

Grateful to be your president,
Lynn Badertscher

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Dinner Meeting October 7, 2025

NWPC Fresno — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 22:29:01 +0000

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. Our speaker will be Ashlee Wolf. Ashlee’s topic will be, The Critical Intersection of Advocacy, Policy, and Philanthropy in the Fight Against Domestic Violence.

Ashlee Wolf is an accomplished fundraising and marketing professional with over a decade of experience helping nonprofits and mission-driven organizations grow their impact through strategic development, donor engagement, and brand storytelling.

With a passion for building strong community partnerships, Ashlee has led successful campaigns that have raised millions in philanthropic support across the Central Valley. Her expertise spans major gifts, annual giving, fundraising events, digital marketing, and strategic communications—always with a focus on aligning purpose with measurable outcomes.

Currently serving as Director of Philanthropy and Communication for the Marjaree Mason Center in Fresno, CA, Ashlee is recognized for her collaborative leadership, strategic creativity, and unwavering commitment to amplifying the voices of survivors of domestic violence and advocating for those impacted by abuse. She thrives on connecting people to purpose and elevating the visibility of organizations doing transformative work.

Ashlee holds Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Fresno State and is an active participant in the local business and nonprofit community.

When she’s not advocating for those in need, Ashlee enjoys spending quality time with her family—which often means cheering from the sidelines of a soccer field or supporting from the stands at a wrestling match. With both of her children involved in competitive sports, her evenings and weekends are a whirlwind of practices, tournaments, and road trips, alongside her husband, Kent—all of which she embraces with the same passion and energy she brings to her professional work.

Ashlee Wolf will present on the critical intersection of advocacy, policy, and philanthropy in the fight against domestic violence in Fresno County. Representing the Marjaree Mason Center—Fresno County’s primary provider of domestic violence services—Ashlee will share how shifting public policy and funding priorities directly impact the resources available to survivors.

Members will gain insight into recent changes to the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), long-term implications for service providers nationwide, and what the State of California is doing at the local level. Ashlee will also highlight the importance of sustained lobbying efforts at the state and federal levels, and offer actionable ways for political advocates to support survivor-centered legislation, ensure funding stability, and amplify the voices of those who often have none.

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Women’s Equality Day 2025

NWPC Fresno — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 01:47:55 +0000

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President’s Message

NWPC Fresno — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 01:28:12 +0000

It’s almost September, and this year that means Women’s Equality Day (WED) is only four weeks away. On Saturday, September 27^th we will be holding a luncheon honoring both Women’s Equality Day and NWPC Fresno’s 50^th Anniversary.

In September of 1975, a group of civic minded local women held the first meeting of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Fresno. NWPC was founded nationally in 1971 by politically and civically prominent women in support of equal rights for women.

The Fresno caucus will be celebrating our 50^thAnniversary with our annual fundraising event. We will also be commemorating Women’s Equality Day (August 26, 1920) at this event in honor of the adoption of the 19^th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the US on the basis of sex.

This year’s WED speaker is CA Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

Who are we honoring this year?

Alysia Bonner – President, Central Labor Council
Annalisa Perea – Fresno City Councilmember, District 1
Bernadette Vasquez – Community Activist; Co-Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the Central Valley; and NWPC Member

Mary Stanley Courage to Run Award:

Itzi Robles – Fresno Co. Board of Education

Good Guy Award:

Rev. Tim Kutzmark, Minister Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno

Our fundraising efforts allow us to provide endorsements and campaign funds for Valley women running for office for mayor, school boards, city councils, county supervisors, etc.

What can you do help make this event a success?

Buy a ticket for yourself
Bring your friends and family members
Sign up to help with setup or take down after the luncheon
Please consider donating an item or two for the silent action. Minimum value of $50 per item.
Become a financial Sponsor of the event.
Join the WED Planning Committee – Next meeting on Thursday, August 28, 5:30 on Zoom. Contact Marsha or Lynn to be included on the Zoom call.

Looking forward to a very successful fundraiser!
Lynn Badertscher

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Dinner Meeting September 2, 2025

NWPC Fresno — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 00:59:02 +0000

Socorro Santillan has spent over twenty-five years of her professional career advocating for reproductive justice. During her thirteen years as the executive director of Fresno Barrios Unidos she led a three-year campaign that brought comprehensive sex education to Fresno Unified School District.

Socorro has been serving as the Central Valley director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte for over six years. She oversees the Stanislaus to Kern County regions. In her role she has been instrumental in working with elected officials to strengthen and grow support of PPMM at the state and local level.

She has diversified and grown Planned Parenthood’s support base to include people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and faith leaders. She strongly believes she is an example of how empowering it can be for people to have autonomy over their own bodies.`

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