Welcome!!!

Welcome to the Coast Guard Women's Leadership Association (CGWLA) blog!

Our organization began in 2004, and was for CG women in the Washington, DC area. However, in the last couple of years, the organization became largely inactive as people became busy with other responsibilities.

We (CDR Heather Hanson, CDR Leona Roszkowski, LCDR Roxanne, Tamez, YNCM Ann Tubbs, and LCDR Necia Chambliss) decided it was time to either revive the organization or officially disband. We wanted input from other CG women before making the decision, and so on December 30, 2009, we sent an e-mail to as many CG women as we could think of, and asked that the e-mail be forwarded on throughout the CG. Our question was two-fold:

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Is there still a need for an organization that is dedicated to supporting women in the Coast Guard?
If yes, how can this organization be most helpful to you?
Please be creative and share your ideas and comments, particularly ideas for supporting women at field units and units outside of the Washington DC area. For example, we are considering things such as leadership blogs, conferences, mentor programs, electronic newsletters sent to member bang list, etc.
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The response has been truly overwhelming. We have lost count, but have received probably about 180 positive responses. (We received 3 negative responses at last count.) The stories women have shared have been both inspirational as well as frustrating as we see that gender-related challenges remain alive and well.

Recognizing this overwhelming need, CGWLA will now be much more "virtual" so that we can extend our support to women throughout the Coast Guard. While this will pose some challenges as we adapt to this new format, we think the benefits far outweigh.

This blog is a first step towards recreating the organization and giving a voice and a forum to women throughout the CG. We will be restarting our website as well. We will be looking for volunteers to assist with keeping these electronic sites active and current. We are all leading busy lives - by sharing the workload, we will be able to keep this valuable organization and these tools alive and relevant.

Please check back frequently. We will try to keep new developments posted here.

Thank you so much. We are truly excited about bringing together so many amazing women.

Very respectfully,

Necia Chambliss

***Please note that this is not an official Coast Guard organization. We are separate and independent, so that we have a little more freedom to do and say what we are thinking. But, remember, we are all still military women, and so common courtesy and respect - towards all people - is expected here.