By Dee Anne Finken, Communications Portfolio Director, LWV of Washington

Kathy Bender, a League member in Clark County, can attest to the premise that the LWV-AAUW partnership is a smart move. 

Retired after nearly 25 years as a college administrative support professional, Bender is a member of both organizations.  

Drawn initially to support the AAUW at the national level in 2018, Bender soon after began participating in the AAUW Hudson’s Bay branch in Vancouver, where she lives. Throughout her time in AAUW she's been motivated by the nonprofit's mission to advance gender equity for women and girls through research, education and advocacy. 

In time, Bender became involved in legislative advocacy for AAUW and now serves as a policy director on the state advocacy team. Bender noted that she’s come to discover that she and her AAUW colleagues often track and advocate for legislation similar to bills the LWVWA pursues. 

Those include measures dealing with health care and reproductive rights, including access on college campuses to abortion by medication; protection from sexual violence; and workplace equity. One of the more recent legislative issues AAUW tracks deals with artificial intelligence, including the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace 

 Bender noted that AAUW Washington contracts with Nancy Sapiro, who also serves as the LWVWA’s contract lobbyist. 

Sapiro, sole proprietor and owner of Northwest Justice Consulting, has provided guidance for the League for about decade.  

Sapiro specializes in health care, including reproductive health and end-of-life care, civil rights, economic and social justice, civic engagement and promoting policies that support working families.  

Bender joined the League just after the COVID-19 pandemic, drawn to its focus on voting.  “My mother was a poll worker and I’ve always been a strong believer in the importance of sharing civic knowledge and its application in society.” 

Of the AAUW and LWVWA partnership: “We really are better together,” Bender said.