The Alliance For Women

Deb Sofield elected President of the Women's Campaign School at Yale

NEW HAVEN, CT: The Board of Directors of The Women's Campaign School at Yale University has chosen Deb Sofield, of Greenville South Carolina as President.

Sofield is a 2001 graduate of the Women's Campaign School at Yale and has served previously on the board as Vice President; she is also the public speaking trainer at the school.

"I am thrilled at the opportunities that are ahead for this wonderful organization. We have stood the test of time and are the beneficiaries of those who have gone before to make straight the path for women's leadership. I am honored to stand with those who have built this school into the nations premier women's campaign school in the country."

Sofield took office in December 2008 and has assembled a board from across the county to better represent the make up of the student body. Patti Russo of Connecticut serves as 1st Vice-President, Nancy Bocskor of Washington, DC as 2nd Vice-President, Pam Stark of Connecticut as Treasurer, Arlene Violet of Rhode Island as Secretary, Kate Stith of Connecticut serves as sponsor of the Women's Campaign School at Yale. Other Board members are Stephanie Berger of Maryland, Susan Cocco of Connecticut, Barbara Cox of Connecticut, Angela Faulkner of Indiana, Rosie Gonzales of Texas, Mary A. Johnson of Nebraska, Valerie R. Landry of Maine, Annie Mayol of Puerto Rico, Julie Roginsky of New York, Judy Van Rest of Virginia, and Shawnta Walcott of Maryland. Laurel Anderson of Connecticut and Martha Sterling-Golden of Maine serve as Advisers.

Deb Sofield recently won the Order of the Palmetto - the State of South Carolina's highest honor awarded by the Governor. She was named "Communicator of the Year" by the Association for Women in Communications and won the prestigious Toastmasters District 58 Communication and Leadership Award for the state of South Carolina. She was also awarded the Strom Thurmond Excellence in Public Service honor and was chosen as the 2005 ATHENA AWARD recipient by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce for her work with young people and aspiring politicians. Deb is a member of the National Speakers Association.

Deb Sofield is a visiting professor, teaching public speaking at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government - Women in Public Policy Program, the Woman's Campaign School at Yale University, the University of South Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Thurmond Institute's Self Civic Fellows program Ethics in Government program at Clemson University, Furman University Lifelong Learning and the Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics. Sofield also works with the International Republican Institute of Washington, DC teaching, Communications Training for Civil Society in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. She recently joined CLIME The Center for Liberty in the Middle East as a mentor and trainer. Deb recently returned from Bangladesh, she was an election observer for the countries first election since government rule seven years ago.

Actively involved in her community, Sofield represents the City of Greenville as a Commissioner of Public Works for the Water System and is the first woman to hold this position since its inception in 1918. Sofield was formerly a member of Greenville City Council, where she holds one of the highest vote victories in a district City election by overwhelmingly winning every precinct.

The Women's Campaign School at Yale University