Portland State Magazine Winter 2017

12 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE WINTER 2017 AT PORTLAND STATE , the Center for Women’s Leadership is training and mentoring the next generation of women leaders. Founded in 2004 by then PSU professor Melody Rose, with counsel from Roberts, the center offers programs in which professional and political women leaders share their wisdom and experience to help prepare high school and college women for positions of authority. The underlying principle is that every woman is already a leader; the Center for Women’s Leadership simply helps her acknowledge that aspect of herself. The center’s flagship program is NEW Leadership Oregon (NLO), an intensive six-day symposium open to women enrolled at any college in Oregon. NLO participants live on the PSU campus for the week. They meet with past and current women officeholders, business leaders, policy specialists and activists. Those mentors might include an attorney general, a state senator or a tribal council leader, says Mariana Lindsay, interim executive director of the center. “These are women who have broken through in many different ways.” “I think young women don’t realize they have access to this network of women who have power,” says Martha Pellegrino, director of the city of Portland’s Office of Government Relations, and the center’s current board chair. “I tell them you are the next generation of leaders, and women leaders in the state want to hear from you. It’s as easy as picking up the phone and saying, ‘I would like to talk with you.’ We’re starting to see the ripple effect of women moving up in their career roles.” A lot of skill building happens at NEW Leadership Oregon, says Pellegrino. “They work on public speaking, learning how to make an impression, how to follow up, how to thank people. Every time a volunteer does something for NLO, she gets a handwritten note from all these women saying how impactful it was.” MARIANA GARCIA , a senior studying political science at Portland State, is an alumna of NLO. At the time she participated in the program, Garcia was interning in the Portland mayor’s office, but she doubted herself. “NLO really helped me become more confident,” she says. “I do have the power; I do deserve a seat at the table.” Since her experience at NLO, Garcia has become the director of Las Mujeres, a student group that addresses the needs of Latina women at PSU and in the community. Garcia plans to work closely with immigrants, on immigration policy or advocacy after she graduates this spring. PASSING THE TORCH Women from universities and colleges across the state spent a day at the Oregon State Capitol during the 2016 NEW Leadership Oregon, an annual, award-winning program offered through Portland State’s Center for Women’s Leadership. Photo by Katana Triplett.