U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen welcomed 22 young women from colleges across New England to a 
leadership program at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College from June 14 to 19. Former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey is scheduled to speak Thursday, June 18, at 5 p.m., at the NHIOP.
Shaheen, who was the first woman governor of New Hampshire, offered the keynote address for the 2009 Summer Institute of the National Education for Women (NEW) Leadership New England on Monday, June 15. The program is designed to “educate, encourage, and empower” young women to pursue leadership roles in their community and government.
Also on the agenda for the five-day residential program are former New Hampshire Speaker of the House Donna Sytek and current Speaker Terri Norelli. Such business leaders as Citizens Bank president Cathleen Schmidt and Fidelity Investments general manager Alison Stebbins, as well as Saint Anselm professors will also conduct sessions.
Students will learn about public speaking, presenting a positive image, and diversity and leadership. They will visit the New Hampshire statehouse and be taught how to sponsor and file legislation.
Organized for a second straight year by Saint Anselm professors Elizabeth Ossoff (psychology) and Jennifer Lucas (politics), the annual residential program has attracted undergraduates from colleges in every New England state but Maine, which has its own NEW institute.
“This program is especially timely given the current historic times for women,” says Ossoff. “If the 2008 presidential campaign taught us nothing else, it’s that all things are possible and that women continue to be a major political force here and throughout the world. Young women need the tools to take their involvement to the next level and continue in the traditions of those who have come before them.”