Commission Seeks Nominations for

2013 Achievement Awards

FCSW Connections

I am honored to begin my second term as Chair of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. This is an amazing group of women who are truly dedicated to improving the lives of women and families throughout Florida.

The Florida Commission on the Status of Women held its first quarterly meeting on Thursday, March 21, 2013 in Tallahassee, Fl. Meeting quarterly as a full Commission, this highly talented group of individuals came 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 Ms. Judy Micale, Executive, Life & Wellness Coach. Ms. Micale spoke about achieving personal goals as well as enhancing strengths while also acknowledging one's own weaknesses. Additional information about focusing on your strengths and watching the ripple effect around you is available on her web site at http://www.theauthenticitycoach.com.

Be sure to visit the Commission's website at http://www.fcsw.net for the latest details on all of these events.

The University of Florida Women's Student Association held their 26th Annual Women's Leadership Conference on February 17, 2013. The event provided a unique opportunity for young women to develop leadership skills, prepare for success in leadership roles, and network. Keynote Speaker Martha W. Barnett spoke about her experience as a female graduating from law school and how she became Holland & Knight's first female attorney when she was hired.  Conference attendees included students from UF, as well as neighboring universities and colleges and members of the local community.
 

The Florida Commission on the Status of Women were honored to host a workshop, Are you in the Know? to inform workshop participants about the works and wonders of the Commission.  Assistant Director, Michele Manning and Research Specialist, Veronica Vasquez, informed participants of the exciting projects and events of the Commission. The Florida Commission on the Status of Women was glad to be a part of this amazing event and look forward to the 27th Annual Women's Leadership Conference. 

The Florida Commission on the Status of Women is dedicated to empowering women and recognizing women's accomplishments. In keeping with this mission, the Commission is pleased to recognize Florida's women leaders through our spotlight articles.

In each newsletter, we will highlight women who impact our state. We will ask them a variety of questions about their backgrounds and experiences that will help inspire women throughout Florida to seek leadership roles. In this issue, we present Florida Senator Paula Dockery, Florida Representative Kathleen Passidomo, and Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman.
 
Florida Senator Paula Dockery retired from public office after sixteen years in the Florida legislature in November of 2012. A University of Florida B.A. and M.A. alumna, Senator Dockery worked in the insurance industry before focusing her leadership skills on a career in public service.

Elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1996, she served as State Representative for six years in the positions of House Majority Whip, Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee and Chair of General Government Appropriations. For the past year she has been writing a weekly column chronicling her final year in the Senate for Florida Voices, an online editorial page. Her columns have been republished throughout the state in many of Florida's newspapers. Tampa's ABC Action News added her to their political team to provide campaign analysis during the 2012 elections. She resides in Lakeland with her husband of 23 years, C.C. "Doc" Dockery and is thoroughly enjoying retirement.

Q: What motivated you to run for public office?
A:  My Masters thesis dealt with agenda setting in political campaigns. My goal was to run political campaigns, not to be a candidate myself. Prior to 1996, republicans were not winning legislative seats in Polk County and, in fact, were not even hitting 40% of the vote. It was difficult to entice good republican candidates to run. In an effort to prove that it could be done, I reluctantly ran and was honored to receive 54% of the vote in a three-way race.

Q:  What advice would you give a woman who is considering running for an office?
A:  Be true to yourself. Don't fall in the trap of trying to please those in power that want you to follow blindly. Women legislators tend to be more independent, harder workers and more tolerant of others' opinions. Do your homework, don't back down from a battle and fight for those that feel like no one is listening to them.

Q:  If you could meet one person, who would it be and why?

A:  Walter Cronkite. He was one of the most respected and trusted journalists. Can you imagine the stories he could tell and what you could learn from them?

Representative Kathleen Passidomo was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in November, 2010. Kathleen has been a resident of Collier County for 33 years. She graduated in 1975 from Trinity University, Washington D.C. and in 1978 from Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, Florida. Kathleen is a partner in the law firm Kelly, Passidomo & Alba LLP. Her practice centers around real estate, corporate and business law. She also served as Chairman of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women in 2006.

Kathleen is a graduate of Leadership Florida and Leadership Collier and served on the Leadership Collier Foundation Board from 2004 to 2010. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Hodges University where she serves on the Executive Committee. In 2000 she and her husband were co-recipients of the Naples Daily News Collier County Citizen of the Year award.
 
Q:  What motivated you to run for public office?
A:  After having practiced law in Collier County, Florida for over 30 years while at the same time being involved in a host of community civic and charitable organizations I felt that I could use the knowledge I had learned about my community and the skills I had developed to represent my community at a state-wide level in Tallahassee.
 
Q:  What is the most challenging part of your job?
A:  There aren't enough hours in the day.

Q:  What is something most people would not know about you?
A:  When I graduated from college (in 1975) I took a year off and traveled throughout Southeast Asia on a shoestring budget. I spent time in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma and Nepal. The most thrilling part of my trip was trekking in the Himalayas and climbing to the base camp at Anapurna...a two week odyssey that I will never forget.

Q:  If you could meet one person, who would it be and why?
A:  George Washington. A truly remarkable man. Had he been less principled and more ego driven the United States could very well have become a monarchy and the entrepreneurial spirit that made this country great may never have materialized. (I would love to ask him how he feels we are doing!)
 

Commissioner Sandra Murman was elected as a County Commissioner in 2010, representing District 1. In 2011 and 2012, Commissioner Murman was elected by her fellow commissioners to serve as Vice Chair of the BOCC. Prior to joining the County Commission, she completed eight years as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1996-2004.  Representative Murman was the first Republican Woman to hold the position of Speaker Pro-Tempore in the Florida House of Representatives.
 

Commissioner Murman has lived in Hillsborough County for more than 35 years and has spent many hours volunteering her time as an active community advocate as well as a public policy leader.  She has been directly involved in more than 20 organizations that support our community and enhance the lives of children and families.

Q:  Did/do you have mentors or role models and how have they helped?

A:  I see former Lieutenant Governor and Florida Senate President Toni Jennings as a mentor and role model because she found a way to accomplish the goals she was passionate about by serving not only in public office, but at the highest levels of public office. Also, Dr. Judy Genshaft from the University of South Florida is a great role model as I have seen how she used her strength and political knowledge to accomplish her goals for the young students at the university, and I am doing that now.

Q:  What advice would you give a woman who is considering running for an office?
A:  Get involved in your community and be known for doing something that makes a difference and use that issue as your platform to run for office and show how much you care for the community you live in. Don't be afraid to take on tough issues, and always be in it to help others.

Q:  What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
A:  Building the Glazer Children's Museum in Tampa and reforming the child welfare system.
 

Q:  If you could meet one person, who would it be and why?
A:  Dr. Condoleezza Rice. Dr. Rice is so articulate, intelligent and accomplished. She, like me, looks at any issue from so many different sides. She takes in all information and input from so many sources before making any final decision. I would like to talk with her about her thought process and her leadership qualities. And it doesn't hurt that Dr. Rice often talks about issues and makes her points using sports references. I think you always want to meet people who you greatly respect and admire. She is also a sorority sister from Alpha Chi Omega.

Veterans throughout the North Florida gathered on April 5-7 for the North Florida Stand Down, at the Tallahsse Florida Fairgrounds. During the three-day event, the fairgrounds took on a military atmosphere with tents and cots set up for homeless veterans. Tending to the needs of our homeless veterans, a plethora of services came together with a goal of bringing a range of services to help veterans escape the vicious cycle of homelessness.

Denise Manning, member of the Leon County Commission on the status of Women and Girls and a veteran hosted two workshops on behalf of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. Ms. Manning shared her experience as a female veteran while she served in the military and her transition from military life to civilian life. Her workshop was well received and many female veterans approached her at the FCSW booth to share their stories with her.

The use of the military term, 'Stand Down', which in military jargon means to make a safe place for troops to retreat and receive care and needed services, accurately describes the well organized and executed event. For more information visit www.floridaveteransfoundation.org or call 850-488-4182.

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:

• Women First in Florida
• Sexual Violence Against Women

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 kelly.sciba@myfloridalegal.com.

The 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. 

The Florida Commission on the Status of Women is pleased to announce its partnership with Working Women of Florida, the largest networking organization for professional women and women business owners in the state of Florida.

 As part of this new partnership, FCSW supporters can take advantage of special discounts for Working Women's upcoming www.facebook.com/wwotb statewide conference on September 5th & 6th at the Mahaffey Theater on the waterfront, in downtown St. Petersburg.  Full conference details are at www.WorkingWomenConference.com. 

Receive $10 off the General Admission ticket price or the Upgraded Keynote Breakfast Ticket featuring former Tampa Mayor, Pam Iorio, by entering discount code "FCSW" at check out (this discount is available for a limited time only, register before June 30).

According to Working Women of Florida Founder, Jessica Rivelli, "We're always looking for ways to create the synergy that enables each of us to achieve more than we ever could alone.  Having long appreciated the work of FCSW, I am thrilled to have them involved in our First Annual Statewide Conference and look forward to working with The Commission on many more projects."