About Us - League of Women Voters of Palo Alto

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US

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, political organization that encourages informed and active participation of citizens in government, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. We operate on a national, state and local level, with active Leagues in all 50 states and more than 750 Leagues across the country.

League members holding California sign at Convention

League of Women Voters of Palo Alto

The League of Women Voters of Palo Alto (LWVPA) was established in 1938 by Mrs. Paul Eliel to take an active role in our community. The League provides fair and unbiased, nonpartisan voter information about elections, ballot issues, candidate opinions, the voting process, and public policy issues through the work of Voter Services. Based on “positions” reached through in-depth League study, our Advocacy Teams advocate for or against public policy issues and may take actions on governmental measures, policies, and processes. We also inform and engage the community by organizing educational events.

The League is a grassroots organization providing every member with opportunities to learn and educate others about government, and to take action on public policy. For over 80 years, the Palo Alto League has provided education encouraging people to vote in elections and participate in government, and engaged in advocacy to influence public policy that benefits the community. Read the Highlights of our 80 years of Achievement to learn about what we have accomplished. We need everyone to participate in order for our community to be strong, safe and vibrant. Whether you contribute your time, your money or both, you can feel confident that your investment in democracy goes further in the League. Our voting membership is open to all who have reached the age of sixteen.

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LWVPA Presidents

2023-24: Nancy Shepherd, Judy Kleinberg
2021-23: Liz Kniss
2020-21: Nancy Shepherd
2019-20: Terry Godfrey
2018-19: Aisha Piracha-Zakariya
2016-18: Bonnie Packer
2014-16: Ellen Forbes
2011-14: Mary Alice Thornton
2008-11: Phyllis Cassel
2006-08: Doris Petersen
2004-06: Veronica Tincher
2002-04: Sandy Eakins
2001-02: Diana Steeples, Nancy Olson, Doris Petersen
2000-01: Sigrid Pinsky
1999-00: Sally Probst
1998-99: Ruth Lacey, Doris Petersen
1997-98: Ruth Lacey, Geri Stewart
1996-97: Sally Probst, Irene Sampson
1994-96: Sally Probst
1992-94: Marilyn Bryant
1990-92: Virginia Bandura
1989-90: Karen Douglas
1987-89: Rosalie Dinkey
1986-87: Virginia Bandura
1985-86: Linda S. Ross
1983-85: Lynn Torin
1981-83: Irene Sampson
1979-81: Jane Goldstein
1978-79: Mary McClean Sinclair
1977-78: Joan Heymann
1977: Laura Lundy
1975-77: Joan B. Johnston
1973-75: Helene S. Wheeler
1971-73: Joan Heymann
1969-71: Dorothy Reed
1967-69: Sylvia I. Seman
1965-67: Mary Catherine Cobbs
1963-65: Etta I. Meyers
1961-63: Francis H. Brenner
1959-61: Tinker G. Spar
1957-59: Crystal Gamage
1955-57: Elinor Heath
1954-55: Janet McClure Lyman
1954: Janet S. Finch
1953-54: Mrs. Arthur Starr
1951-53: Anna Rose Taylor
1950-51: Mrs. H.C. Moreno
1948-50: Mildred Corcoran
1947-48: Mrs. William Irvine
1946-47: Mrs. Jackson Ralston
1945-46: Mrs. Ivan Linder
1944-45: Mrs. C. A. Conner
1943-44: Mrs. F. W. Schultz
1941-43: Mrs. Blake Darling
1940-41: Mrs. A. C. Taft
1939-40: Mrs. Stanley Morrison
1938-39: Mrs. J. C. Whitman

Nonpartisan Policy

The League never supports or opposes any political parties or candidates for office. Any use of the League of Women Voters’ name or logo in campaign advertising or literature is prohibited. Read about the League's commitment to being nonpartisan: Remaining Nonpartisan in Hyper-partisan Times.

History of the League of Women Voters

The League of Women Voters was founded by Carrie Chapman Catt during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association on February 14, 1920, just six months before the ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. Catt described the purpose of the new organization:

"The League of Women Voters is not to dissolve any present organization but to unite all existing organizations of women who believe in its principles. It is not to lure women from partisanship but to combine them in an effort for legislation which will protect coming movements, which we cannot even foretell, from suffering the untoward conditions which have hindered for so long the coming of equal suffrage. Are the women of the United States big enough to see their opportunity?"

Since 1920, the League has helped improve the general welfare of the people. Some of the League’s earliest causes included support for child labor laws, minimum wage, compulsory education, and equal opportunity for women. Our work on some of these issues affected the creation of laws that are still in force today.

Learn More

Quicklink: www.lwvpaloalto.org/about-us