This March, Mary’s Pence is hosting two virtual NGO CSW70 Parallel Events, held in conjunction with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) — the main global intergovernmental body dedicated to advancing gender equality and the rights and empowerment of women.
In partnership with Mary’s Pence grantee organizations, these sessions will spotlight community leaders who will share their lived expertise, practical strategies, and grassroots approaches to advancing structural change.
About Mary’s Pence:
Mary’s Pence funds women’s organizations in the U.S. that work with their local communities to create long-term systemic change. The organizations we fund are all small. Yet they collaborate with diverse populations, advocate to change unjust policies, and educate to build skills and increase capacity. Our grants serve as seed funding for newly created organizations and support for organizations that have been working at the grassroots level for years. Beyond grantmaking, we connect leaders, strengthen networks, and support solutions rooted in community wisdom.
We hope you can attend these unique discussions:
🌍 Creative Coalition Building and Community Education for Structural Change
📅 Wednesday, March 18, at 1:30 p.m. Central Time
This panel explores how grassroots leaders advance women’s full participation in public life through sustained, intersectional systemic reform. The conversation will examine interconnected challenges, including healthcare, food security, caregiving, education, and mental health. Panelists will outline their community solutions that ensure women’s full participation, advance gender equity, and empower women and girls.
Panelists:
Mary Vent, Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights (Washington)
Mary Vent is a community organizer with P.O.W.E.R., where she works alongside low-income and working-class families to achieve economic justice. She supports community members in understanding how public policy shapes their realities and equips them to advocate for systemic reform. She organizes anti-poverty strategies, leadership development, and civic engagement. She is currently pursuing a paralegal degree to work within the legal system and continue working toward a more just society.
Kevette Palmas, Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights (Washington)
Kevette facilitates workshops that combine political education with creative expression, helping participants connect lived experience to structural analysis through her ARTS WALK workshop. Her work strengthens grassroots leadership among those most affected by inequitable systems. She also assists with community rallies and events.
Leslie Farrington, MD, Black Coalition for Safe Motherhood (New York);
Dr. Leslie Farrington, MD, Co-Founder of the Black Coalition for Safe Motherhood, advances maternal health equity through advocacy, education, and institutional accountability. Her work addresses persistent racial disparities in pregnancy and childbirth outcomes, centering the voices and experiences of Black mothers. She collaborates with healthcare providers, advocates, and policymakers to improve standards of care and expand access to care.
Sarah Jakle, MSW, MPP, DemocraShe (California)
Sarah Jakle is the Founder and Executive Director of DemocraShe, a national organization equipping girls from historically underserved communities with civic leadership skills. Drawing on her background in social work and public policy, she develops programs focused on political education, advocacy, and democratic participation. Her work expands opportunities for young women to engage in public decision-making.
📝 Register here.
🌍Reimaging Justice with a Community Lens
📅Thursday, March 19, at 1:30 p.m. Central Time
This conversation centers on community leadership in advancing long-term change within the U.S. legal system. Panelists will examine the unique ways the legal system impacts women, explore strategies to prevent women’s incarceration, and consider how policies and systems can be reimagined to eliminate structural barriers.
Facilitated by Angel Gilbert, co-founder and graduate of Mary’s Pence grantee DemocraShe’s flagship leadership program.
Panelists:
Comfort Dondo, Phumulani African Women Against Violence (Minnesota)Comfort Dondo is the Founder of Phumulani African Women Against Violence, where she leads culturally responsive support for immigrant and refugee survivors of gender-based violence. Her work integrates advocacy, prevention, healing and holistic services to address the complex realities survivors face within legal and social systems. Comfort’s leadership centers dignity, safety, and culturally grounded approaches to justice.
Nessa McCoy, ROOT Legal (Florida)
Nessa is the Co-founder and Director of Operations of ROOT (Reclaiming Our Options Together) Legal, which supports justice-impacted people and survivors seeking restorative, non-punitive approaches to addressing interpersonal harm. Drawing on her personal experience with the criminal legal system’s failures, Nessa advocates for transformative justice and dismantling harmful institutions.
Kendal Shaber, Idaho Justice Project (Idaho)
Kendal serves on the Idaho Justice Project (IJP) Board of Directors and was an editor on the Women’s Incarceration Report, published by IJP in 2025. She delivers public talks on women’s incarceration in Idaho. Kendal is also a long-time voting rights advocate.
📝Register here.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from our grantee partners about their work and how they are driving meaningful social justice change in their communities.
Help us continue amplifying the voices of grassroots women leaders. Donate here.