Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory hosted the Executive Board of the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative (N.O.B.E.L.) Women on Wednesday evening. Joining the Senate President were: Vice President, Senator Novelle E. Francis, Jr., Secretary, Senator Genevieve Whitaker, along with Senators Carla J. Joseph and Janelle K. Sarauw.
Led by President Juandalynn Givan, State Representative from Alabama, the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women were visiting the territory as they were vetting locations for their Annual Legislative Conference. Joining President Givan, was 2nd Vice President Tonya Anderson, State Senator from Georgia, Treasurer Regina Barrow, State Senator from Louisiana and N.O.B.E.L. Historian and President Elect of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), Laura Hall, State Representative from Alabama.
N.O.B.E.L. Women is a non-profit, non-partisan organization composed of current and former black women legislators. Established in 1985, N.O.B.E.L. Women is the premier organization of Black women legislators committed to increasing and promoting the presence of Black women in government, nonprofit, and corporate leadership in the United States.
President Givan announced that after visiting the territory, upon the invitation of Senate President FrettGregory, that the 2023 N.O.B.E.L. Women Annual Legislative Conference will be held on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands in July 2023. The organization’s annual meeting attracts more than 200 Black women legislators along with corporate and community leaders to discuss matters impacting Black communities nationwide. The formal announcement to include naming Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory as the ALC Committee Chair will be made during the 2022 Annual Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. on October 7, 2022.
Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory expressed her appreciation to N.O.B.E.L. for selecting the Virgin Islands and her as the Committee Chair. “This is an excellent opportunity on many levels for the Virgin Islands and I look forward to working with N.O.B.E.L. Women to make the 2023 Annual Legislative Conference one that will be remembered,” stated Frett-Gregory.