Vernita Gray, Debra Shore and Mary Colleen Roberts were all part of the Winning Women event at Jenner & Block. Photo by Amy Wooten___________
Thanks to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, hundreds of openly LGBT people have been trained to prepare them for work in politics and government and, since 1991, the organization has added to the five-fold increase in the number of out officials across the U.S., even in states with no prior LGBT people in political positions of power.
On March 15, the institute held a Winning Women reception at the law firm Jenner and Block, celebrating the achievements of local lesbian politicians. The event features women who have gained skills through the organization's rigorous training program, such as Metropolitan Water Reclamation Commissioner Debra Shore, Judge Mary Colleen Roberts and Vernita Gray, the LGBT liaison to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
Shore spoke of the valuable network she developed due to the training, as well as the tools she learned to dial for campaign dollars. Shore was the first non-judicial lesbian candidate to win a countywide elected seat.
Roberts, who also went through the training program, held up a list Sebastian Patty wrote for her on the back of a menu after she revealed her desire to become a judge. Number six on the list was Victory Fund training. 'You walk away with the knowledge and experience of what it's like 24/7 to run a campaign,' she said.
Gray told the crowd of philanthropists and young people with an interest in running for office that she uses the tools she learned in training to this day, adding that beforehand, she had never given a speech.
The Leadership Institute's Candidate & Campaign Training will take place in Chicago June 7-10. For more information, see www.victoryinstitute.org/training.