Arcadia University’s primary professor of American politics and government has been named the next executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Amy Widestrom, who lives in Elkins Park and has been a faculty member of the Montgomery County university since 2012, begins her new role Jan. 1.
“I am thrilled for the opportunity to apply my academic expertise in action,” Widestrom said in a statement from the League. “The League of Women Voters’ mission is crucial in today’s political landscape, especially with the 2024 election fast approaching. I’m geared up, and so is the League, to champion voter protection and democratic engagement in the months and years ahead.”
Widestrom, who earned her Ph.D. in political science at Syracuse, authored “Displacing Democracy: Economic Segregation in America” in 2015 and received the 2016 American Political Science Association’s Clarence Stone Scholar Award.
She also previously held an American Political Association Congressional Fellowship in 2008-09, when she worked for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs as the nation worked to recover from the 2008 economic crisis.
“Dr. Widestrom’s wealth of experience and passion for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging will enable LWVPA to expand its reach, increase membership, and engage new and young voters,” said League president Maria Delgado-Santana in the same statement. “I am very excited for the League and I am looking forward to working with Dr. Widestrom.”
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