LWVNE Committees
The state board includes officers as well as directors (or co-directors) who head seven committees for the LWVNE. Six LWVNE committees mirror committees of the Nebraska Legislature. Every bill introduced to the Nebraska Legislature receives a hearing in a legislative committee. The various committees of the LWVNE work on issues at the state level. Members from local Leagues across the state and members-at-large are encouraged to work with these LWVNE state committees. Contact the directors to join a committee.
Education Committee
- Education Board Director: Melina Cohen
- mcohen@lwvnebraska.org
- Before each legislative session, Melina and the committee reviews the bills that will be heard in the Legislature’s Education Committee. Periodically, the committee may monitor events or studies related to education.
- Melina, representing Stand for Schools, recently spoke at LWVGO’s virtual Dine & Discuss about school funding and the Legislature. The Zoom recording can be viewed here.
Government Committee
- Government Board Director: Sheri St. Clair
- fairmaps@lwvnebraska.org
- Before each legislative session, Sheri and the committee reviews bills that will be heard in the Legislature’s Government and Executive Committees.
- During the 2021 legislative session, the Government Committee will be focused on redistricting legislation.
- The Government Committee also adopted the National LWV People Powered Fair Maps campaign in 2020 and will be focusing on the Fair Maps campaign in 2021.
- Please go to our redistricting tab on the main menu for more information.
Health Care Committee
- Health Care Board Director: Phyllis Salyards
- hpsalyard@inebraska.com
- Before each legislative session, Phyllis and the committee reviews bills that will be heard in the Legislature’s Health & Human Services Committee.
Mental and Behavioral Health Committee
- Mental & Behavioral Health Board Co-Directors: Aimée Folker & Palistene Gray Moore.
- afolker@lwvnebraska.org; pgraymoore@lwvnebraska.org
- Before each legislative session, Aimée and Palistene and the committee review bills that will be heard in the Health & Human Services, Education and other relevant committees.
- Aimée and Palistene also keep the state board appraised of new initiatives in the mental and behavioral health area such as the recent Well Being Partners mental health stigma reduction campaign.
Natural Resources Committee
- Natural Resources Board Co-Directors: Megan York Lyons & Janelle Stevenson
- mlyons@lwvnebraska.org; jstevenson@lwvnebraska.org
- Before each legislative session, Megan & Janelle and the committee review bills that will be heard in the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committees.
- Megan, Janelle and Toni Monette worked in cooperation with the LWVNE, the LWV of Kansas and the Great Plains United Methodists to present a webinar on “Faith, Climate Change and the 2020 Election” on July 9, 2020 (Video of the Zoom below).
- Climate Change and Water website resources (PDF)
- Voting Rights website resources (PDF)
- Democracy, Values and the 2020 Election: A Reflection Guide for Faith Communities
Social Policy Committee
- Social Policy Board Co-Directors: Carol Dennison
- Before each legislative session, Carol and the committee review the bills that will be heard in various legislative committees that touch on social policy issues such as the minimum wage, prescription drug prices for insulin and pay day lending.
- The LWVNE was part of the Coalition for Responsible Lending, which successfully passed initiative 428 in the November 2020 general election, limiting the interest on payday loans to 36%.
Voter Services Committee
- Voter Services Board Director: Toni Monette
- In 2020, LWVNE Voter Services expanded the VOTE411.org online voters guide to include city, county and district races in all 93 Nebraska counties along with state and federal races. In addition, Toni (along with Carol Guisinger) created the first statewide LWVNE Voter’s Guide for the 2020 primary and general elections.
- Toni (along with Carol Guisinger) also created a statewide “Know Your Voting Rights” campaign, which includes a brochure. The brochure is available in PDF form in English and Spanish.
