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Girl Power » In The Moment » By Lee Rhodes
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Main Street Advocacy’s Sarah Chamberlain Urges Women To Get Involved
www.TodaysCharlotteWomanMag.com | September 2014 10
arah Chamberlain is passionate about engaging women to get involved in the political process. “Women are busy doing so many other things, that politics is not usually on their radar screens, which is what I’m trying to change on the Women2Women tour,” she says. Charlotte has been chosen as the first stop on the national tour — a series of meetings designed to motivate and provide a voice to female voters from all backgrounds and political affiliations. Sponsored by the nonprofit Main Street Advocacy, the tour will kick off at the Ballantyne Hotel on Thursday, Sept. 25. The next stop on the tour is Tucson, Ariz., followed by Sacramento, Calif., and Jamestown, N.Y. Chamberlain, who divides her time
between Charlotte and Washington, D.C., serves as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Main Street Advocacy, an organization devoted to educating citizens about government. She is the only woman in America to hold these positions for a major political action committee. Q: Tell me about your journey to becoming COO and CFO of Main Street. A: I started my journey uniquely — most of the people who run organizations like this come off the Hill. Fifteen years ago, I graduated with my advanced degrees. Amory “Amo” Houghton [retired member of the House of Representatives and former CEO of Corning Inc.] founded Main Street to be a policy think-tank. He is the
Sarah Chamberlain
only former CEO to serve in Congress. I knew him all my life growing up, and he brought me down from Corning, N.Y. I was his accountant, and then he retired and I stayed on running it. I had no interest in it initially, but Amo thought I should come to Washington and get involved. I said I’d try it for six months, and 15 years later, I’m still here. Q: In your experience, how do women tend to approach politics? A: My friends outside of Washington — in Charlotte, for example — are living life and aren’t engaged in politics. I’d like to change that. There are a lot of things happening in D.C. that affect their lives. Three-fourths of women are in the workforce today. They manage