61st Biennial Convention
CALL TO CONVENTION
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF NEW YORK STATE
To: Local League Presidents From: Nancy Rosenthal
It is my great pleasure to extend a first call to the 61st Convention of the League of Women Voters of New York State to be held June 20-22, 2025 at the Crowne Plaza Albany – Desmond Hotel. The official business meeting begins with the opening plenary session at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 21st. However, our Convention will kick off on Friday, June 20th at 5 p.m. with our honored guest Celina Stewart, CEO and Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of New York State.
Convention is an opportunity
- to meet and network with League leaders from all over the state in person!
- to make new friends and renew old friendships
- to collaborate and tackle the challenges we are all facing together
- to learn what’s forthcoming in League operations
- to improve your League’s communications and visibility
- to strengthen your League by working together, sharing experiences, learning from each other, and being inspired
- to celebrate our successes
You will leave with more knowledge, new ideas, and motivation to make your League better able to reach its goals. I encourage each League to send at least 1 delegate! It is so important to have someone here from your League. Let us know if for some reason you cannot and we will try to help.
An exciting program is scheduled for Friday, June 20th:
- Hear from Celina Stewart, CEO and Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the United States. Celina will talk about her vision for the League and how we move forward in this historic time.
- Join us for a welcome reception and dinner on Friday evening
- Join strategic breakout sessions to discuss the trajectory of the League
On Saturday morning, we have workshops on a number of interesting topics and you are sure to learn something new for your League. And, information sessions and caucuses held on Friday and Saturday evenings will introduce you to new ideas from other Leagues and help you determine how to voice your opinions and votes at Sunday’s business meeting.
It is a wonderful exercise of grassroots democracy in action. Delegates representing the local Leagues come together to make the important decisions that will guide us through the next two years including the election of officers and directors, and the adoption of a budget, bylaws amendments, and our state program for 2025-2027.
Sec. 3. Convention:
- Composition. The Convention shall consist of the delegates of the local Leagues, ILOs and MAL units, as provided in this article, and the members of the board, each of whom shall be entitled to one vote.
- Qualifications of Delegates and Voting. All delegates shall be voting members of the League. Each delegate representing a local League, ILO, or MAL unit, or duly authorized proxy as provided in subsection f, shall be a member in good standing of that local League, ILO or MAL Unit and shall be entitled to vote only if that League, ILO or MAL unit has met its per-member-payment responsibilities. The LWVNYS board may make an exception in the case of proven hardship. No delegate shall be entitled to more than one vote, and absentee shall not be permitted. Final determination of a delegate’s qualifications or credentials shall be made by the
- Representation at Convention The members of the LWVUS who are organized into recognized local Leagues, ILOs, and MAL units in the state of New York shall be entitled to voting representation at the Convention as follows: each local League shall be represented by one delegate. In addition to that delegate, each local League is entitled to one delegate for the first 40 members. Leagues having more than 40 members shall be entitled to one delegate for each additional 40 members or major fraction thereof. Membership numbers will be determined by the number indicated in the official LWVUS membership count report for the year of the Convention. Each recognized ILO shall be entitled to one voting delegate. Each MAL unit shall be entitled to one voting delegate.
- Quorum. A quorum for the transaction of business at Convention shall be participation by one tenth of the total number of authorized delegates.
- Authorization for Action. The Convention shall consider and authorize a program for action; shall elect officers, directors, the chair and two members of the nominating committee; shall adopt a budget for the ensuing year; and shall transact such other business as may come before it.
- Proxies. Every proxy must be in writing and signed by the president of the local League or ILO or the chair of the MAL Unit. Every proxy shall be revocable at the pleasure of the person executing it, unless otherwise provided by The proxy can contain such conditions as determined by the giver of the proxy. For the purpose of representing another League, all proxies shall be delivered to the presiding officer.
If a League is authorized to send one or more delegates to the Convention and is unable to do so, they may authorize another person eligible to vote at Convention to represent them by giving that person a “proxy”. The League giving the Proxy may give a specific proxy to direct the Proxy holder how to vote on particular matters or a general proxy.
For example, League A is authorized to send two delegates, but only one member of that League is able to attend. The president of League A learns that League B has more members eager to attend the Convention than available delegate slots. League A appoints a member of League B to represent them at Convention.
If your League is going to have a proxy holder, please contact the state League office.
Delegates representing their own local League are uninstructed and are expected to use their own judgment in reaching decisions based on Convention discussion. Delegates are committing their local Leagues to program study and action as well as financial obligation. Your League should be well-represented! For your convenience, see page 8 for the number of voting delegates that your League is allowed to send to Convention.
Every League member is encouraged to attend all or part of the Convention as a visitor. Visitors may participate in all Convention events. However, they are unable to vote as delegates.
| Friday, June 20th | |
| 2:00 – 4:30 | Check-In |
| 5:00 – 6:00 | Welcome dinner |
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Speaker: Celina Stewart, LWVUS CEO and Executive Director |
| 7:30 – 8:30 | Let’s Talk: Dialogue and Discussion |
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Evening information sessions/caucuses |
| Saturday, June 21st | |
| 7:30 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
| 8:30 – 9:00 | A word from Celina Stewart 9:15 – 10:00 |
| 9:15 – 10:00 | Workshops |
| 10:15 – 11:00 | Workshops |
| 11:15 – 12:15 | Let’s Talk: Dialogue and Discussion 12:30 – 2:00 |
| 12:30 – 2:00 | Lunch, Speaker Olivia Hill |
| 2:15 – 5:30 | Plenary Session |
| 6:00 – 6:45 | Reception |
| 7:00 – 8:30 | Dinner with awards |
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Evening information sessions/caucuses |
| Sunday, June 22nd | |
| 7:30 – 8:45 | Breakfast: New Local League Presidents 7:30 – 8:45 |
| 7:30 – 8:45 | Non-President Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 12:00 | Plenary Session |
CONVENTION CHECKLIST
- Select your local See page 8 for the number of voting delegates to which your League is entitled.
- Discounted hotel room reservation deadline- May 29, 2025.
- Mail the Convention Registration Form to the State League office OR register online at https://tinyurl.com/5n9yyw9c by June 10, To make your hotel reservations, see page 12. Hotel reservation cancellation is determined by the hotel. Please contact the hotel for its cancellation policy.
- Consider holding an information session to showcase a program or activity of your local League or a caucus to promote a study or issue of interest to you or your League.
- Decide which workshops your delegates wilReserve a space to display or sell publications and products you want to share with other Leagues.
Featured Speakers
Leading the League
Friday, June 20th, 6:30 PM
Celina Stewart, CEO and Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the United States
Celina Stewart will join us to talk about the League in this pivotal moment in our nation’s history. How will we move forward as an organization and what role does the League have to play in maintaining our democracy.
Celina Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. In this role, she is charged with executing the mission to empower voters and
defend democracy and managing the century-strong voting rights organization’s operations and resources. In response to recent actions on the federal level Celina has said, “For over a century, the League has remained steadfast in our commitment to the American people and our democracy. We will continue to advance actions that build on this notion that the government is for the people, by the people, all the people.”
Luncheon Speaker A Call to Action
Saturday, June 21st, 12:30 PM Olivia Hill
Hear from Olivia Hill who will share her experiences as a candidate for office, a member of the military, and the first openly transgender person to be elected to public office in the state of Tennessee. She will discuss the impact of her transition and how her drive to advocate for what’s right led to her run for public office.
Council Member at-Large, Olivia Hill was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. A Navy veteran, Olivia served in the engineering division for ten years, seeing combat in Desert Storm. While serving her country, Olivia gained unique expertise in electrical engineering, a set of skills she utilized to become the Senior Supervisor of the Vanderbilt University power plant, managing a 24/7 operation with a budget of over 100 million dollars. In recent years, Olivia has served as a community leader, educating the public about the difficulties faced by women and the LGBTQ+ community. Olivia was elected to a four year term on the Council in September 2023 as the first openly transgender person in the state of Tennessee.
Tentative Workshops
Saturday 9:15 AM to 10:00 AM and 10:15 AM to 11:00 AM
All sessions will be offered twice so that attendees will have the chance to go to two.
Building a Movement
Ann Marie Pendegrast, LWV Saratoga and Mary Kate Owens, LWV Albany
Learn more about non-partisan membership building and leadership in highly partisan times.
Tools for Pushing Back
TBD
Learn how to effectively advocate at all levels of government. This workshop will highlight lobbying, letters to the editor, testifying, and grassroots movement building.
A New Look at Get Out The Vote
Nick Doran, Vice President of Voter Service
Join us to hear more about the technology and services we have to more effectively get out the vote. We’ll talk about VAN, canvassing, and phone banking.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access
Regina Tillman, Vice President of DEI
Join us for a panel to discuss how we can continue to prioritize DEI in all of our work amidst the national push back. Prioritizing this work is vital for engaging all community members to participate responsibly and effectively in a diverse and strong democracy.
MEMBERS NEEDED AS CONVENTION VOLUNTEERS
Contact Board Members Pattie Garret or Jane Colvin pattiemgarrett@gmail.com or janecolvin914@aol.com
- Delegates can volunteer during non-plenary
- Visitors can volunteer during plenary and observe plenary at no
- Volunteering is a great way to meet and network with fellow
EXHIBITS AND SALES
Convention will bring together creative League members ready to share ideas and techniques that work! Your exhibits and/or products may offer the perfect solution to another League’s problem. Keeping in mind that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the state League encourages you to bring products and publications to sell and exhibits to share at Convention.
If your League wishes to sell any publications or merchandise, it should be prepared to staff its own table and cover any additional charges for special equipment rentals and/or AV charges. All exhibits must be labeled with the local League name. All products and/or exhibits must be picked up by 2:00 PM on SUNDAY, June 22ND.
Sales/Exhibit space is limited and will be allotted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Contact Xavia Francis at the State Office if you’d like to reserve space in the Exhibit Room at xavia@lwvny.org.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
For Delegates, Visitors, and Observers
The method of determining the number of delegates to which your local League is entitled is described in “Call to Convention” in this packet. See page 8 for the number of voting delegates your League is allowed to send to Convention. If you have more members interested in attending Convention as delegates than the number allotted to your local League, members may have the opportunity to attend Convention representing another local league. Please contact Erica Smitka at the state League office at erica@lwvny.org for more information. You may also send as many nonvoting delegates (visitors) as you would like.
Visitors: Non-voting delegates or others who wish to participate in all or part of the special events of the Convention.
Observers: Those who wish to attend sessions and meetings only and who do not wish to partake in any meals or special events.
| Albany County | 6 | Port Washington | 3 |
| Brookhaven | 3 | Rensselaer County | 4 |
| Broome and Tioga Co. | 2 | Rochester Metro | 6 |
| Buffalo/Niagara | 4 | Rockland County | 3 |
| Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties MAL Unit | 1 | Rye-Rye Brook | 2 |
| Cazenovia | 2 | Saratoga County | 8 |
| Central Nassau | 2 | Scarsdale | 5 |
| Chautauqua County | 3 | Schenectady County | 4 |
| Cooperstown Area | 4 | Smithtown | 2 |
| Cortland County | 2 | St Lawrence MAL Unit | 1 |
| East Nassau | 2 | Steuben County | 2 |
| Geneva | 2 | Syracuse Metro. | 4 |
| Great Neck MAL Unit | 1 | Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork | 4 |
| Huntington | 3 | North Country | 2 |
| Larchmont/Mamaroneck | 4 | Rivertowns | 4 |
| Mid-Hudson Region | 5 | Tompkins County | 3 |
| New Castle | 2 | Utica Metropolitan Area | 2 |
| New Rochelle | 2 | White Plains | 3 |
| New York City | 6 | Suffolk County ILO | 1 |
| Northeast Westchester | 2 | Westchester County ILO | 1 |
| Northwest Westchester | 1 |
CONVENTION REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY
SUBSTITUTION – If there is someone else within your League who can attend the Convention in your place, their name can be substituted for yours at any time with no penalty. Simply send the new attendee’s name, address, phone, and email address to LWVNYS via email with a note as to whom they are replacing. While not preferred, substitutions can even be accommodated on-site at the actual meeting.
CANCELLATION – Whether or not you receive a refund of either the entire fee or a portion of the fee depends on when you cancel.
- FULL REFUND a full refund of the registration fee will be issued if you cancel within 30 business days prior to Convention.
- PARTIAL REFUNDS a refund for half (50%) of the registration fee will be issued if you cancel within 3 to 10 business days prior to Convention.
- NO REFUNDS will be issued if you cancel 3 or fewer business days prior to
Cancellation and refund of the hotel room is based on the policy of the Desmond Hotel (please contact them for more information)
Registration Form
PLEASE COMPLETE one form for each registrant. A single payment may be sent for all members attending from your League.