FCSW Connections

We are in the midst of a very exciting and busy year. The Commission looks forward to celebrating the 92^nd Anniversary of the Women's Right to Vote on Women's Equality Day. The FCSW will be joining the Manatee and Sarasota Commissions on the Status of Women and the Manatee and Sarasota Leagues of Women Voters at Polo Grill in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. The program this year will focus on Title IX-women in high school and college athletics. The guest speaker will be Blair Bloomston, Associate Director, Game on Nation, who will speak on "Building Leadership with Women's Sports." 

The Commission will hold its Third Quarterly Meeting on Saturday, September 15, 2012, 9:30 AM - Noon at Keiser University College of Golf, Port St. Lucie, Florida. In addition to conducting business, the Commission will be addressed by Ms. Evelyn Keiser, Co-founder of Keiser University. The meeting is open to the public and interested parties are encouraged to attend. Following the meeting, the Commission will be hosting "All Grown Up and Nowhere to Go," a panel discussion focusing on the issue of girls aging out of Florida Foster Care. The event will take place on September 15, 2012 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Keiser University College of Golf, Port St. Lucie, FL.  Representatives of child advocacy organizations, academia, and government, will share with participants their perspectives and experiences in dealing with the challenges of girls who age out of the foster care system in Florida. The discussion will identify specific needs of these girls and propose practical solutions to obstacles they face. The event is free and open to the public.

Commission Chair Laurie Pizzo and Assistant Director Michele Manning represented the Florida Commission on the Status of Women at the National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW) during its 42^nd Annual Conference held July 25-27, 2012 at the Embassy Suites in Charleston, West Virginia.Hosted by the West Virginia Women's Commission, the conference theme was "Count Us In!"
 

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The Commission is pleased to welcome three newly appointed members. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam has appointed Commissioners Chloe Gentry, Shannon Miller, and Elizabeth Pines.

 Commissioner Chloe Gentry is the Marketing Manager for Cherry Lake Tree Farm, a leading producer and wholesaler of container trees, shrubs and palms in the SouthEast United States.  As a part owner of this family business, she sits on the Board of IMG Enterprise, the holding company for Cherry Lake Tree Farm and IMG Citrus.

Chloe is a past member of the Give Kids the World Landscape Advisory Board and is the coordinator for the Fairchild Challenge in Lake County - a non-profit, environmental outreach program catered towards high school students.  She also volunteers to bring the Agriculture in the Classroom programs to Lake County schools.

Chloe received a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Psychology from Tufts University, and later completed a Masters in Business at the SKEMA Business School in France.  She is an alumnus of the University of Florida's Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources. She resides in Clermont Florida, where she also grew up as a child. She is married and has 2 daughters, Penelope and Daphne.

Commissioner Shannon Miller is the most decorated American gymnast, male or female, in history. She is the only American to rank among the Top 10 All-time gymnasts and is the only female athlete to be inducted into the U.S. Olympics Hall of Fame ---- twice! (Individual in 2006 and Team in 2008). At the 1996 Olympic games, she led the "Magnificent Seven" to the U.S. Women's first ever Team Gold, and for the first time for any American gymnast, she captured Gold on the balance beam. Ms. Miller holds a law degree from Boston College Law School. She founded the Shannon Miller Foundation, which is dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. Shannon is the President of Shannon Miller Lifestyle: Health & Fitness for Women which is dedicated to helping women make their health a priority. In early 2011, Ms. Miller was diagnosed with a malignant germ cell tumor (a form of ovarian cancer) and   underwent surgery and chemotherapy.  Now cancer-free, she continues to be a passionate advocate for early detection and overall health. Shannon is the television host of The Wish List with Shannon Miller (Health & Wellness Channel) and her weekly radio show Shannon Miller Lifestyle where she interviews experts on the latest health issues. She continues to travel the country as a highly sought after motivational speaker and advocate for the health and wellness of women. As a wife, mother and cancer survivor, Shannon hopes that by sharing her story she can encourage other women to make their health a priority.

 Commissioner  Elizabeth C. Pines has been practicing immigration law for nearly 20 years and is the founding partner of Elizabeth C. Pines, P.A., a boutique law firm dedicated to helping foreign nationals with immigration matters in the U.S. Ms. Pines is very involved in the state and local communities in which she lives.  She sits on the board of the League of Women Voters of Florida and LWV of Miami-Dade County.  She has taken on leadership roles, as Chair of the Fair Districts Committee and the Executive Committee at the state level and she chairs the nominating committee and the Immigration Task Force for LWV of Miami-Dade County. 

She remains active in her local school as a mentor to high school girls from the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. Ms. Pines has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association since 1996 and formerly served on the South Florida Chapter board. Ms. Pines received her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from the University of Miami in 1985 and earned an M.B.A. there in 1988.  She received her Juris Doctor degree from St. Thomas University School of Law in 1994. She is also a graduate of the University of Florida Wedgworth Leadership Institute.

Welcome to the Commission!

Under the leadership of Secretary of U.S. Department of Labor, Hilda L. Solis, the U.S. Department of Labor has renewed its commitment not only to equal pay, but also to workplace flexibility, worker protection, paid leave, retirement security, veterans' services, and employment opportunities for all women. Acting on this commitment, the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau hosted a forum in Orlando on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at Ana G. Mendez University System to discuss the challenges facing working women and the resources available to address those challenges. Secretary Hilda L. Solis joined Senior Department of Labor Officials in hope of launching a variety of initiatives to improve working conditions and increasing employment opportunities for women and their families.

The Florida Commission on the Status of Women is proud to announce four new fact sheets. After receiving an award for our current eleven fact sheets from The National Association of Commission for Women Outstanding Achievement Award, we could not resist the urge to work on some new fact sheets.   Recently added to our library of fact sheets are the following:

• Bullying in Florida: A Silent Epidemic
• Gestational Diabetes: A Woman's To-Know Guide
• Women in National Parliaments
• Title IX: Equitable Treatment of Girls and Women in School Athletic Programs

While Florida Commission on the Status of Women continues to strive to add more fact sheets to their library of fact sheets, they encourage ideas on topics that can educate lawmakers and the public about the status of women and families in Florida. If there is a topic you would like to see covered in an upcoming FCSW Fact Sheet, please forward your suggestion to veronica.vasquez@myfloridalegal.com. The four new fact sheets along with the current eleven fact sheets will be available for download from the FCSW web site, www.fcsw.net, under publications.

Commission Holds Second Quarterly Meeting 

The Florida Commission on the status of Women held its second quarterly meeting on Saturday, June 23, 2012 in Ft. Myers-Estero at the Embassy Suites. Meeting quarterly as a full Commission, this highly talented group of individuals come together as volunteers to research, analyze and address issues facing women and families throughout the state of Florida. In addition to conducting quarterly business, the Commission was addressed by Florida State Representative Kathleen C. Passidomo of Naples, and Dr. Amanda Evans, EdD, MSW, Assistant Professor of Social Work & Program Evaluator for the Lee County Human Trafficking Task Force, and Florida Gulf Coast University. Additional information on the Commission is available from its web site at http://www.fcsw.net.