Folding Chair Sessions

On Sunday, January 16th at 5:30 PM CST/6:30 PM EST, pull up a chair with Elect Black Women PAC for a special edition of the Folding Chair Sessions, a EBW series where we highlight women who are changing the political landscape by bringing a folding chair to the table.

In this edition, we are highlighting Congressional candidates across the nation who are running for office. Moderated by EBWPAC Executive Director, Ruby Powell-Dennis, we are pleased to host three phenomenal candidates: Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Alisha Shelton (NE-02), and Erica Smith (NC-02).

A first-generation Haitian American, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, JD is a visionary leader who gets the job done. She is an executive, lawyer, philanthropist, mother, and wife. As the innovative CEO of a healthcare company that provides home-based continued health care, Sheila has seen first-hand the hardship our families are experiencing without access to health care. Sheila has invested 20 years into advocating for healthcare reform and spent the last decade lobbying on Capitol Hill to drive positive change. As a congresswoman for Florida, Sheila will take her progressive platform to Congress and fight for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and economic justice through an increase of the minimum wage and support for the Marshall Plan for Moms, a targeted relief plan to offset the fall of women from the labor force during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a licensed mental health practitioner and professional counselor, Alisha Shelton knows how to listen to people—something Washington has all but forgotten how to do. Raised by an industrious single mother with seven brothers and sisters, Alisha learned the value of helping others and the importance of looking out for your community. She worked her way through university and graduate school, dedicating her free time to tutor children and answer phones for a sexual assault hotline. Through her work as a counselor, Alisha has helped many Nebraskans navigate both their own mental health needs and the challenges posed by a flawed healthcare system. Alisha isn’t a politician - she’s an everyday Nebraskan whose experience and perspective can help shape our laws because she knows what we’re going through.

Former state Senator Erica Smith represented District 3 in the North Carolina State Senate for three terms. A proven leader, Erica co-chaired the Joint Legislative Women's Caucus, and served as Chair and Second Vice-Chair of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus, Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Tech Caucus, Democratic Women's Caucus, Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus Rural Working Group, and the NCLBC Agriculture Working Group. Erica also served for six years on the Northampton County Board of Education and in grassroots organizing and community leadership as Democratic Party Chair and First Vice-Chair for Northampton County. As an engineer, educator, minister, and mother, Erica will bestow a wide breadth of experience to Congress where she will fight for universal broadband, universal healthcare, and other progressive policies.

We at EBWPAC look forward to hearing from these impressive women and encourage you to attend the event, follow their social media, and donate to their campaigns.