The National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) is proud to announce Senator Donna Mercado Kim to serve as their new Board of Directors Chair, leading the nation’s oldest organization addressing the needs of elected women at all levels of government.
Senator Kim was elected by her peers at the 2019 NFWL Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, where over one hundred elected women met 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 Kim and all she has accomplished,” stated Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, NFWL’s Immediate Past Chair. “It has been an honor to work with her over the years as members of the Board, and we are all looking forward to her continued leadership in the Foundation. I know she will make next year one of the most exciting years that NFWL has seen.”
Senator Kim begins serving in her new position on January 1, 2020 and will hold this office through the end of 2020. The Foundation will host its 2020 Annual Conference next fall, in Memphis, Tennessee. Senator Donna Mercado Kim represents Hawaii’s 14th Senatorial District in urban Honolulu. She has served in the Hawaii State Senate since 2000, the Honolulu City Council from 1984 to 2000 and the Hawaii House of Representative from 1982 to 1984.
Senator Kim has held leadership positions, including Senate President, Vice President, Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on Government Affairs, the Committee on Tourism, the Special Committee on Accountability, and the Task Force on Reinventing Government. She currently serves as the Chair of Higher Education.
Senator Kim has been actively involved in NFWL since 2013. “We congratulate Senator Kim, and are so glad to have her as a leader of our national organization,” states Jody Thomas, NFWL’s Executive Director.