As president of the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County, I joined delegates and visitors from throughout Pennsylvania at its 51st biennial state convention at the Hotel Monaco, June 5-7, as the delegate from LWV-LC.

The convention theme, "Where We've Been, Where We're Going", focused on initiatives in which the state league has been involved for many years; including, public education, redistricting, Marcellus Shale and voter services.

Those attending the convention from across the commonwealth also had opportunities to network, sharpen leadership skills and participate in workshops on using social media effectively and conducting debates/candidate nights.

Friday evening's reception honored Elsie Hillman for her sustained promotion of women to elected office.

She was presented with the first Justice Bell Award commemorating the 1915 "Votes for Women" campaign.

Speakers included John Denney who spent his career transforming ideas into action.

From his days as one of the youngest people in the United States to manage a statewide presidential campaign, to his work building an organization that aids at risk youth and nonprofits, John has worked to create positive change by managing civic campaigns and engineering public policy.

Education, advocacy, lobbying, and fundraising: all are part of our work for change.

John shared ideas on how can we effectively work with others to maximize our efforts in strategic civic campaigns.

Dana Brown, executive director of the Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University, discussed their "Ready to Run" program and the challenges and potential for women considering a run for office.

While women enjoy the right to vote, they are still in need of "Votes for Women," as Pennsylvania trails much of the nation in representation by women.

Jack Nagel is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pennsylvania.

In his research and teaching, he has investigated alternatives to the single-winner plurality elections that dominate in the U.S.

Nagel discussed methods of neutralizing intentional and unintentional gerrymandering by promoting competition, increasing turnout, reducing polarization and enhancing representation of women and minorities.

Guests at convention included Deborah McMillan, the new Shur Fellow assigned to coach trainers in LWVPA's Membership and Leadership Development Team.

She has been president and voter service chair of the League of Women Voters of East Windsor-Hightstown, N.J., president of LWVNJ, and chair of the LWVNJ Committee on Immigration, and served on the LWVUS study committee on immigration.

The Saturday awards dinner featured nominees to the prestigious Anna Ester Strawbridge Honor Roll.

We recognized seven of these for their outstanding contributions to the 21 local Leagues represented.

Conventions are great times for sharing new ideas and working with other League members across the state.

As the League strives to educate the public and promote civic participation we will apply what we have learned when conducting initiatives this fall.

Voter registration events, candidates' forums and the Voters Guide will encourage greater citizen involvement in the democratic and public policy process.

We will soon resume monthly Hot Topics Luncheons at the Superior Restaurant in Emmaus.

Please visit our website at lwvlv.org for more information about our initiatives and voting.

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Editor's note: Janet K. Little is president of the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County.