Lyme on Agenda at Women in Govt. Conference

2016 MLDSE Deb Pat Paula WIG loMaine State Rep. Deb Sanderson; LDA President, Pat Smith; and Paula Jackson Jones, President of MLDSE at the Women in Government conference, Sept 30th, 2016LDA President Pat Smith has been invited by the Women In Government Foundation, Inc. (WIG) to speak at its 17th Annual Southern & 18th Annual Eastern Regional Conference (9/29-10/1) in Bar Harbor, Maine. WIG, Washington, D.C., “is a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization of women state legislators that provides leadership opportunities, networking expert forums, and educational resources to address and resolve complex public policy issues to all 1,783 women state legislators.https://www.womeningovernment.org/about-us

On the WIG agenda for September 30, in a session entitled, “How to Reduce Negative Impact of Lyme Disease,” Ms. Smith will discuss issues related to Lyme which could benefit state legislators across the country in their in their decision making. https://www.womeningovernment.org/sites/default/files/documents/events/2016SouthernEasternRegionalConference-Publicagenda.pdf

The LDA President will be part of the Lyme panel speaking at the conference which also consists of Beatrice M. Szantyr, MD, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine and Paula Jackson Jones, President, Midcoast  Lyme Disease Support & Education, a partner with the Lyme Disease Association LDAnet Umbrella group.

Ms. Smith has been twice invited to speak at the Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education public Lyme conference held in Maine, and both times, a number of state legislators were present at the well-attended conferences.  Maine State Representative Deborah J. Sanderson (R-Chelsea) approached the LDA President at the most recent event about possibly speaking at the WIG conference and followed up through Paula Jackson-Jones of MidCoast who has coordinated with the legislator.

2016 Women in Govt Maine lowMaine State Rep. Deb Sanderson; LDA President, Pat Smith; Paula Jackson Jones, President of MLDSE; Constance Dickey; and Beatrice M. Szantyr, MD, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine at the Women in Government conference, Sept 30th, 2016