Yale Group stages Greenwich program - Westfair Communications

From left: Luncheon Co-Chair Liz Lazarus; Patti Russo; U.S. Rep. Jim Himes; Women”™s Campaign School at Yale coordinator Erica Carlino; Tricia Hyacinth; and Mary Lee Kiernan, executive director of the YWCA of Greenwich. Photo by Olivier Kpognon.

More than 80 women with a passion for public service attended a luncheon and the inaugural one-day training created by the Women”™s Campaign School at Yale, a nonpartisan, issue-neutral political campaign training program for women interested in running for office. The training was underwritten by a grant from Fairfield County”™s Community Foundation Fund for Women & Girls. The program was held at the YWCA in Greenwich.

Patricia Russo, executive director of the Women”™s Campaign School at Yale, thanked the foundation”™s fund for “answering the clarion call of the importance of providing women with the tools and skills to effectively and successfully launch their political careers.”

The mission of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale is to increase the number and influence of women in office in the U.S. and around the globe. It has been in operation for 23 years.

“With less than 30 percent of legislative seats in Connecticut currently held by women, Fairfield County”™s Community Foundation Fund for Women & Girls is aiming to shift this paradigm by investing in trainings like this. It is imperative that women are represented at the decision-making tables and that their voices be heard,” said Tricia Hyacinth, director of the fund.