The Ridgefield Youth Commission has organized an online event recognizing the civic contributions Ridgefield teen activists have made to build stronger, safer communities, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
Student activists participating include Michaela Fitzgerald, RHS Class of 2020, climate justice activist and election field office organizer; Lane Murdock, RHS Class of 2020, co-founder and executive director of the National High School Walkout, April 20, 2018, in response to the Margery Stoneman Douglas High School massacre; and Eva Trachtenberg, SRMS 2020 graduate and 2020 Ms President US of Ridgefield, whose winning campaign platform argued for stronger safeguards for the LGBTQ community. Each will speak about their inspirations to act and their goals for change.
“These young women, all still in their teens, have, through personal conviction or through witnessing injustices on social media platforms, decided they must act to make a difference in our own community and in our country,” said Denise Qualey, chair, Ridgefield Youth Commission.
First Selectman Rudy Marconi, who will moderate the webinar, noted, “While volunteers come from every age group and walk of life, Ridgefield is fortunate to have this group of dedicated and talented young women seeking to create lasting social change. They belong to Ridgefield’s tradition of female activists, most notably Alice Paul, who wrote, advocated for, and helped secure passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote.”
The student activists will be joined by Senator Will Haskell-CT-26th, who at age 22 was elected to the Connecticut State Senate. Sen. Haskell’s career in government was preceded by his own student activism. “We have seen a surge in activism across the country recently, Haskell said. “These Ridgefield students are passionate about their areas of concern, and I want to encourage them to continue to follow that passion. These experiences can lead to positions in government, law, education, or industry, all of which would benefit from their optimistic, forward thinking outlook.”
The webinar will be hosted live on the Ms President US Facebook page Wednesday, July 22, at 4 p.m. and shared on the Ridgefield Youth Commission’s Facebook page.
“Ms President US is delighted to provide a venue to highlight the activism of local young women and we welcome other girls with a public platform to reach out if they too would like to be involved in this or future events,” said Liz Osterhus, founder and executive director of Ms President US.
Ms President US is a non-partisan, non-profit, community-based initiative, dedicated to inspiring and preparing girls to aim for the highest civic leadership positions and know they can achieve them. For more information or to get involved visit: https://www.mspresidentus.org/ or contact Info@MsPresidentUS.org. For more information about the Ridgefield Youth Commission, visit http://ridgefieldyouthcommission.org/.