ReflectUS, the nonpartisan coalition of the nation’s leading women’s representation organizations, is pleased to announce the hire of Tiffany Gardner as the coalition’s new CEO.
“Tiffany’s hire comes at a pivotal moment for the organization, and her leadership will help us capitalize on the heightened civic engagement of a presidential election year and advance the number of women in public office across America,” says Madalene Mielke, ReflectUS Board of Directors Chair and CEO of Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS).
Tiffany brings a decade of extensive international experience in human rights advocacy and domestic public interest. She has worked on women’s rights, human rights and grassroots organizing throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United States. She worked with the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the United Nations International Law Commission and Human Rights Watch and recently was the co-founder and director of the One World Exchange Program for under-represented U.S. college students and organized international solidarity coalitions. She is a former Mergers & Acquisitions associate at the New York law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She received a B.A. from Yale University, a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a LL.M. in human rights law from Columbia University Law School.
“I look forward to working with the many partners and organizations committed to expediting equal representation of women in public office in our lifetime,” says Tiffany Gardner. “Women are stepping into their political power and I’m excited that ReflectUS is leading the way by modeling the power of collective action – starting with the work in our pilot site, Dallas County.”
Across the country, women hold about 24% of elected offices; yet, half of all cities in Dallas County do not meet the national average when it comes to representation. In fact, just 6 of 31 cities in the county are at or above 50% women in elected office and only 5 of 31 cities in the county have female mayors, according to ReflectUS research. To increase women’s representation in elected office, ReflectUS has launched its collective work in Dallas County and will be kicking off four new trainings during Women’s History Month in March. Registration is still open for these upcoming trainings for women.
ReflectUS hopes to use Dallas County as a model for collective intervention to expedite balanced representation in government throughout the country.
About ReflectUS
ReflectUS, online at reflect.us, is a nonpartisan coalition of eight leading women’s organizations working to increase the number of women in office and achieve equal representation across the racial, ideological, ethnic and geographic spectrum. The organizations are: RepresentWomen, She Should Run, Empowered Women, Women’s Public Leadership Network, IGNITE, Vote Run Lead, Latinas Represent, and APAICS. Together, they combine their unique resources, experiences, and know-how of eight leading organizations to equip more women to run, win and serve – creating lasting change built on qualified, experienced women public officials.
