Courageous Leadership Transition at the Women’s Media Center

As a board member of the Women’s Media Center, I’m delighted to share this announcement of a very positive passing of the torch, or more properly increasing the number of torches lighting the way to making women visible and powerful in the media: a tribute to the founding president Carol Jenkins and a warm welcome to incoming president Jehmu Greene. Here’s the press release that just went out.

It is with great pleasure that we announce to you that Progressive Women’s Voices alum Jehmu Greene has been selected as the next president of The Women’s Media Center. She brings great expertise in feminist/progressive organizing and media — and she is, we believe, the perfect woman for the organization’s next stages of development. We are sharing this announcement with you before our public announcement tomorrow because we value your support of the WMC. Thank you.

On a personal note, the selection by the board is especially pleasing to me: with great pride I’ve watched Jehmu’s amazing career develop and I couldn’t be happier to have her putting her expertise to use here at The WMC. I know that you all will welcome her, and will find her to be a great leader.

I’m including the press release below that will be sent out tomorrow — and hope that you can join us on November 2 at the Phillips Club in New York City to meet her: it will be a joyous passing of the baton! If you can attend our Nov. 2nd event (6:30-8:30 p.m.) as our guest, please RSVP to Maya Iwata who will be delighted to share the details with you.

Carol Jenkins
WMC President

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Tristin Aaron / Rebekah Spicuglia
The Women’s Media Center
(office) 212-563-0680; (Tristin cell) 718-938-4078; (Rebekah cell) 415-290-2970
tristin@womensmediacenter.com
rebekah@womensmediacenter.com

Women’s Media Center Announces Selection of New President Jehmu Greene
Former Rock the Vote Head is an Alumnae of the WMC’s Prestigious Progressive Women’s Voices Leadership Program

October 28, 2009 (New York, New York) — The Women’s Media Center (WMC), a leading media advocacy and training organization announces today that its board has unanimously chosen a new president: Jehmu Greene. Founded in 2005 by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan, The Women’s Media Center works to make women more visible and powerful in the media, and is a nationally prominent voice fighting sexism and bias.

“We are thrilled to have someone as accomplished, talented and visionary as Jehmu Greene as our next president,” said WMC Board Chair Helen Zia, “with her proven commitment to progressive social change and feminist principles. We are very proud that she will be building on the strong foundation established by Carol Jenkins, our founding president, to lead The Women’s Media Center to the next level.”

Throughout her career, Jehmu Greene has skillfully worked with the media to build powerful social justice movements. A frequent commentator on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and elsewhere, Greene helmed Rock the Vote, the largest youth voter registration group. Under her leadership, its membership grew from 1500 to over 1 million. Earlier this year, Greene participated in the WMC’s nationally recognized leadership and media training program, Progressive Women’s Voices, which has trained over 60 progressive thought leaders who have achieved over 4000 media hits in the two years that the program has existed.

“The Women’s Media Center is breaking down barriers and leading the way to make sure that women’s voices are powerfully represented in the ever-changing media landscape,” said Greene. “Participating in the Progressive Women’s Voices program enabled me to amplify my advocacy efforts. I am thrilled to join an incredible group of feminists working to harness the power of the media to create positive social change from the boardroom to the broadcast booth.”

A native of Austin, Greene got her start working in the fertile ground of Texas politics including an early stint with Governor Ann Richards’ campaign in 1994. Greene later played key roles at both the Center for Policy Alternatives and the Democratic National Committee, where she ran the women’s office. An advisor and national surrogate for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, Greene has worked on over 20 political campaigns at the local, state and national level. The recipient of many awards from organizations including Essence Magazine, the National Conference for Community and Justice, the National Council of Research on Women, the American Association of University Women and others, Greene has served on numerous boards of directors for various media, politics and social justice organizations.

Greene follows The Women’s Media Center founding president Carol Jenkins, who has led the WMC for the past four years. An Emmy award-winning former journalist and documentary producer, Carol Jenkins is a writer, media analyst and media consultant. Jenkins will continue with the WMC in the role of senior advisor and founding president emerita.

“The WMC is extraordinarily fortunate to have this gifted young woman as our next leader,” said Carol Jenkins. “I am a long-time admirer of Jehmu’s incredible work-so I can watch with pride, pleasure and confidence as the organization grows exponentially. The fact that she’s one of our own makes it perfect.”

Ms. Jenkins leaves the WMC to focus on the health of women and girls in the U.S. and developing countries and will continue to advocate for an inclusive media. She serves on the U.S. board of The African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), the largest health organization on the African continent. Jenkins is also the co-author, with her daughter, Elizabeth Hines, of Black Titan: AG Gaston and the Making of an African American Millionaire, a biography of her uncle and winner of Best Non-Fiction Book from the American Library Association’s Black Caucus.

A celebration to honor Carol Jenkins’ work and welcome Jehmu Greene to The Women’s Media Center will be held in New York’s Phillips Club on November 2. Jehmu Greene will become president of The Women’s Media Center on November 16. For more information about the celebration, to buy tickets, or to interview Jehmu Greene or Carol Jenkins, please contact Tristin Aaron or Rebekah Spicuglia, (office) 212-563-0680; (Tristin cell) 718-938-4078; (Rebekah cell) 415-290-2970; tristin@womensmediacenter.com; rebekah@womensmediacenter.com.

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About us:
The Women’s Media Center (WMC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization making women visible and powerful in the media. The WMC ensures that women are represented as they are: powerful newsmakers, informed experts, and sought-after media professionals. We depend on your support. If you are already a donor, please accept our thanks. If you would like to give to our important work, please visit our website.

Gloria Feldt

GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”

As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.