Take the Lead is the Lillian’s List Blog where you can find updates on what we’re doing, letters from our Executive Director, and spotlights on our members and legislators.
Want to hear something crazy? 46. That’s how many counties in North Carolina had NO women serving on their local county commission in 2018. That’s according to research by David McLennan, a professor at Meredith College and a report released by Meredi...
Join us at Lead with Lillian! Each year, we gather our sisterhood in Chapel Hill, where Lillian’s List was founded over 20 years ago, to celebrate our progress in changing the face of power in NC and the leadership of the women we have helped elect....
Why did you decide to run for office? During first campaign I made the decision to run for office because Elna Spaulding and Josephine Clement, two women I admired, were County Commissioners. When Mrs. Clement decided not to seek re-election, I was approa...
Because of you, North Carolina is lucky enough to have 29 progressive women who are champions of reproductive freedom serving in the NC General Assembly. We thought we’d take our June newsletter to share some of the amazing legislation they’ve...
Reflections about my own family and my daughter’s future this Mother’s Day weekend brought to mind a study I saw a few years back about gender parity at the national level. The report, put out by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research determine...
The Threat is Coming from Inside the House and the Senate In mid-April our rights to reproductive healthcare were threatened once again by the Republican majority in the NCGA, but this time they were joined by six Democrats. The conservative legislators w...
Senator Erica Smith is a former School Board member and has served in the NCGA since 2014. She earned her B.S. Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and also has a M.A. in Religious Studies from Howard University School of Di...
In 2019 we ramped up our training programs to meet the needs of North Carolina after seeing so many women deciding to run for office this year. Who are the amazing women in your life who you think should run for office? Maybe you have a friend who is actu...
As we reflect on women’s history this month, I am reminded that Lillian Exum Clement, the first woman elected to the North Carolina General Assembly, did not begin her service until 1920. She was elected by an all male electorate as women did not yet ha...
In the last two years, women have really changed the political game and we want to talk about it. We’ve seen women run against establishment men accused of sexual assault and win. We’ve seen women be out-raised by their opponent and win. Overa...
