Bryant Pond woman an emergent leader

BRYANT POND — "At this point in time we need to advocate in a new way and that new way is politics," says Gayle Russell, a Bryant Pond resident and member of the 2013 Emerge Maine program.

Russell says she has sat on the political sidelines for too long – she expects Emerge Maine will give her the tools to achieve public policy results.

Emerge Maine is part of a national network that trains Democratic women to organize political campaigns and run for office on all levels – from local school boards to the halls of congress.

The organization isn't affiliated with the Democratic Party but does represent its values.

Russell and 17 other women from across the state will take part in a six-month, 70-hour political training program with the organization starting in September.

Russell, who has a PhD in nursing and has worked for the Department of Health and Human Services is more interested in learning strategies to promote public policy than she is running for public office herself.

She says that the training will help her design and implement policy that will aid her profession.

"Although nurses don't often get involved in the political process we're affected by those policies," she says.

"It's that much more important, in our advocacy role, to become involved in the political process."

The fact that Emerge Maine is oriented to get women involved in politics makes the program equally attractive to Russell.

"It's not doing politics as usual, it's doing politics as women," she says.

"I think it's very important to get more women involved in the political process, not just as volunteers ... but as candidates at all levels."

"The glass ceiling is still very much there."

Emerge Maine Executive Director Katie Mae Simpson says the overall goal of the program is to address the gender imbalance in public office.

"At every level, women are under represented," Simpson says. "We want to prepare women and inspire them to run and give them the tools they need when they do choose to run."

Another goal of the Emerge Maine project is increased diversity in public office – members of the 2013 class come from across the professional spectrum – from farming to consulting.

Russell says the wide range of women she will meet and network with during the program is exciting, and encourages bringing more points of view into the public policy arena.

"I'm a big believer ... that you bring everyone to the table ... not just the policy makers, not just the folks that are going to implement the plan, but also the folks who are going to be affected – who have the most to either gain or lose ... in their every day life."

Russell is excited for the program and already knows how much of an impact it can make – her daughter, Diane Russell, was in the first Emerge Maine class and is now a state representative for the Munjoy Hill neighborhood in Portland.