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JAC was honored and privileged to have Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) join us at JAC’s 2023 Power of Women Luncheon this week in the Chicago area. Thanks to our co-chairs, Jessica B. Cohen, Marisa Chez, and Marcy Zoller, more than 440 attended making this JAC’s largest event to date.
The luncheon’s theme was Making Herstory, and Speaker Pelosi has been doing that since she first entered Congress. JAC has proudly been by her side since the beginning. We supported her first race for Congress in 1986 and we have maintained a close relationship with her ever since.
“You know what you stand for,” Speaker Pelosi said to our luncheon group. “I am here to not only thank you for that, but to thank you for your patriotism…. You should take pride in the the difference you are making.”
When JAC began, few women ran for Congress because it was harder for them to raise money than for men. JAC’s main goal then was to help women get elected. There were only 12 women in the House and zero women in the Senate when JAC started in 1981. Through JAC’s hard work and fundraising efforts, today there are a total of 124 women serving in Congress.
JAC has supported Speaker Pelosi from the beginning of her Congressional career and proudly watched her rise through House leadership to become the first woman Speaker of the House. Each step of the way, she made “Herstory.”
JAC was privileged to celebrate each victory with her as she showed that women do deserve a seat at the table and that they can be leaders in their own right.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sent a video message. “JACPAC has a strong, well deserved reputation,” he said. “JACPAC has grown into a powerful national organization that has helped to send 100s of strong Democrats to Congress.”
Making “Herstory” has always been part of JAC; and we will continue to do so as we take back the House and expand our majority in the Senate.
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