  
The Emerge Nevada Executive Director and Board Members acknowledge the stress that the holidays may bring for some in our community. We definitely understand the added efforts and sometimes burdens that this time of year can be for our alumnae network and supporters – especially during a once-in-a-generation pandemic that has dragged on for two years and counting. We hear you, we see you and we love you. From all of us at Emerge Nevada, we wish you peace and happiness and hope that joy finds you and fills your world this Holiday Season and into the New Year.
  Save the date! Join Emerge Nevada and fellow supporters as we introduce our incredible Class of 2022 at locations in both Las Vegas and Reno! Show your support for our future elected officials and join us for this fun celebration of new cohort members and alumnae. Tickets will sell out – keep an eye out for their release!
 This month, we are excited to highlight the work of Lisa Ortega, ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist and ISA Master Arborist, and Emerge Nevada Alumna from the Class of 2010 and 2019! To help celebrate the holiday season, Lisa has graciously offered us advice about what kind of trees would make the best Christmas trees, and the answer she gave has a more profound impact than you’d think! Lisa recently launched a new non-profit, Nevada Plants, whose their mission is centered around tree education and planting. Unfortunately, in the Las Vegas valley where Lisa works, they have seen a steady decline in pine trees. This concerns Lisa as they help control pollution in the valley. Lisa explains that “dust off the highways and tires creates microscopic dust that we breathe in, and pine trees collect that cancer causing matter and help make the air clearer.” It’s for that very reason that Lisa is encouraging people to purchase a live pine tree for their Christmas tree! You will enjoy your beautiful pine all holiday season, and at the end, you can then transplant your pine tree in your yard as a holiday gift to nature! When purchasing a pine tree, Lisa recommends a mondell, aleppo, or chir pine. When deciding which one to purchase, it’s important to consider what type of tree will work best for you. A mondell pine will stay in the Christmas-tree like form after planting, whereas an ollepo will get broad and further reaching, canopy-like branches. A chir pine has 3 inch needles that look very soft and have a lovely raining effect. Here are Lisa’s pro tips for caring for your tree: Cut the end off fresh. Provide lots of water in the first few days. Keep your tree away from heat vents for safety and to keep it fresh. Thank you Lisa for your excellent tips on how we can leave a positive impact on the environment this holiday season all while enjoying a beautiful pine tree for years to come!
 This holiday season, we are thrilled to share with you some mouthwatering recipes from some of our Emerge Nevada alumnae! We can’t wait to see you test out these tried-and-true recipes spanning different traditions. Post your version of any of these recipes or your family favorite and tag us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! Assemblywoman Summers-Armstrong, from the Class of 2018 and running for re-election in Assembly District 6, has a delicious cranberry compote recipe that can be paired with anything from dinner rolls, cheesecake, or a charcuterie board. She was kind enough to share a step-by-step video with all of us so we may all enjoy it! 
2022 Judicial Candidate Augusta Massey from the Class of 2020 always enjoys baking with her children. Last year, they found a spiced holiday nuts recipe on Yummly, and it has now become a new holiday favorite tradition.
Jodi Tyson, Class of 2018 and candidate for Henderson City Council, Ward 3, shared her family’s traditional crab bisque recipe. Jodi enjoys baking for family and friends and always looks forward to making this during the holidays.  Ellen Spiegel, Class of 2007 and candidate for Nevada Secretary of State, always enjoyed her grandmother’s excellent baking and offers “her take” on her grandmother’s apple cake recipe for all to enjoy. 
 The Emerge Nevada Board and Executive Director came together this December to set short and long-term goals for the organization and to discuss how to continue building the bench of women who are trained and ready to run for office. Key to our plans is advancing the network-wide vision of training 100,000 women from the New American Majority by 2035. We discussed how we continue evolving to teach new and effective campaign strategies for those whose voices have been left out of the conversation, including Black, Brown and Indigenous women, women of color, LGBTQ+, young, and unmarried women. We are excited that our 2022 cohort, which we’ll be announcing soon, includes 17 women of color, 10 first-generation Americans, 4 women identifying with the LGBTQ+ community, 1 veteran, 6 union members, 12 women under 40 years old, and 6 women under 30 years old. This means 79.17% of our new cohort is part of the New American Majority. It was great to have the guidance of Emerge National Deputy Affiliate Director Melissa Watson, who joined us for a session to discuss our strategy as an organization by expanding our reach, lifting as we climb, and repowering political structures, as well as our values around belonging, empowerment, collaboration, and centering equity and justice. Briana Escamilla, the Chair of Strategic Initiatives, alongside Kelli Kelly, Vice-President and Secretary, led the Board through activities to identify our strengths, opportunities for growth, aspirations as an organization, and how we can continue to measure our results. This helped to create clear objectives and a vision for what we aim to accomplish in 2022. We appreciate all of our board members working hard for hours to ensure we have a successful midterm election year in 2022 and beyond. 
  Running for office? Emerge Nevada will always have your back! Join us on Wednesday, January 5th at 5:30 pm for our fourth CAT Workshop where we will cover financial filings. With candidate contribution and expense reports due January 15, 2022, this workshop is crucial for help with timely and accurate C & E filing. We look forward to seeing you at our 2022 CAT workshops and virtual candidate sessions. Register here! If you’re running for office next year, join our 2022 Candidates Facebook group to stay up to date with training opportunities and to share best practices and advice with fellow candidates.
  “Sparks Democrat Julia Ratti resigns from Legislature, plans to focus on health district job.” Reno Gazette Journal story featuring Julia Ratti. “Candidate for Secretary of State to speak at Monday’s Democratic luncheon.” Carson NOW story featuring Ellen Spiegel. “Mayoral Candidate Jenny Brekhus – A Conversation: Affordable Housing, Urban Development, and Infrastructure Challenges in Reno.” Sierra Nevada Ally story featuring Jenny Brekhus. “Minority populations poised for political power as Southern Nevada diversifies.” KTNV Las Vegas story featuring Yvette Williams. “Police help ICE seize undocumented immigrants jailed for nonviolent crimes.” Las Vegas Review-Journal story featuring Dee Sull.
 This month we are welcoming the next cohort of program members for the Class of 2022, and many Emerge alumnae and supporters are reaching out to ask how they can best support our incoming class. The tuition for our Signature Training covers only a portion of our overall programming costs, and we depend on supporters like you to fill the gap so we can continue our work to identify and recruit women of the New American Majority. As we approach the 2022 midterms, a consequential election for Nevada, we need your support now more than ever. Can we count on you to give a $25 monthly contribution to support the women in the Class of 2022? This will help ensure our long-term sustainability and success, so women have their voices heard in every room where decisions are made about them, their families, and their communities. Thank you for your generosity!
Paid for by Emerge Nevada 848 N. Rainbow Blvd. #3 |
