SENATOR TONI BOUCHER TAPPED FOR LEADERSHIP POSITION

September 12, 2011

CONTACT:
Jennifer Rosen
Director, Policy & Communications
National Foundation for Women Legislators
(202) 293-3040 ext. 1008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Connecticut Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) has been selected to serve in leadership for the nation’s oldest organization addressing the needs of elected women at all levels of government.

Boucher was recently selected to serve as Parliamentarian for the National Order of Women Legislators (NOWL), which was founded in 1938 and serves as the membership arm of the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL), at the 2011 NFWL Annual Conference, this year hosted in Des Moines, Iowa.

“I am honored that my colleagues from across the nation have selected me for this esteemed position within the Foundation’s leadership. I look forward to building relationships with elected women across state lines and include them in the many important programs and initiatives that the National Foundation for Women Legislators offers,” stated Boucher.

Hundreds of elected women gathered in Iowa August 11-15 for NFWL’s Annual Conference to identify effective solutions to some of the nation’s most timely and pressing issues. Providing a non-partisan environment that encourages dialogue and the sharing of information and experiences, women leaders are able to build coalitions, share the concerns of their constituents, and identify out-of-the-box solutions to the most pressing issues facing their communities today.

“We are so proud of Senator Boucher and all that she has accomplished,” stated Robin Read, NFWL’s President & CEO. “We are looking forward to her leadership in the Foundation and I know she will make this year one of the most exciting and productive years that NFWL has seen.”

Boucher begins serving in her new position immediately, and will hold this office through 2012, when the Foundation hosts NFWL’s Annual Conference next fall, November 15-19, 2012 at a location to be named shortly.

In the State Senate, Senator Boucher serves as a Deputy Minority Leader. Senator Boucher is the Senate Ranking Member of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee, Education Committee and of its Higher Education Committee. She also serves as a member of the General Assembly’s Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee.

Senator Boucher, who holds an MBA from UCONN Business School, is the founder and former owner of a small business and a former member of corporate management for two Fortune 50 firms. Senator Boucher also co-founded and served on the Board of Directors of a marketing design agency in San Diego, California which specializes in clients working in biogenetic, aerospace and leading edge computer applications. She is honored to have been a recipient of the Southwest Area (CT) Commerce and Industry Association’s Community Leader Award.

For her support of arts education, the Connecticut Association of Arts Administrators presented then Representative Boucher with its 2006 Outstanding Contributions in Arts Advocacy Award. More recently, then Representative Boucher received the 2008 Connecticut Arts Advocate Award from the Connecticut Arts Educators Association and the 2008 Music Education Advocate Award from CMEA.

Senator Boucher’s involvement with education and youth issues pre-dates her service in the General Assembly. She has served as a member of the Connecticut State Board of Education, where she chaired its committees on policy and long-range planning. From 1986 to 1994, she served on the Wilton Board of Education, during which time she was both the chair and secretary. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Wilton Education Foundation and five school/community based planning teams; the Quality and Integrated Education Local Planning Committee and the Foreign Language Task Force (1978-92).

Also, she was active in the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and the National Association of State Boards of Education; Wilton YMCA Expansion Fund; Board of the Wilton Youth Council’s Project 94, 96 and 2000; Technology Task Force (1993-present); Gifted Task Force (1988-90); and the Wilton Parent-Teacher Associations.

About the National Foundation For Women Legislators, Inc. (NFWL)
Through annual educational and networking events, the National Foundation for Women Legislators supports elected women from all levels of governance. As a non-profit, non-partisan organization, NFWL does not take ideological positions on public policy issues, but rather serves as a forum for women legislators to be empowered through information and experience. www.womenlegislators.org

About Senator Toni Boucher:
State Senator Toni Boucher was elected to represent the 26th Senatorial District in 2008, after having served as the State Representative from the 143rd Assembly District for 12 years. The 26th Senatorial District includes the communities of Bethel, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton. Senator Boucher has earned leadership roles in both the public and private sectors. Her election to the State Senate followed a distinguished career in the House of Representatives where she held caucus leadership positions and served on several legislative committees.