Weitz Fellow Voices: Mia at Women’s Fund of Omaha

This is a guest blog written by one of our Weitz Fellows, Mia Strubel Iram. This blog is estimated to take 3 minutes to read.

Hello! My name is Mia Strubel Iram (she/her) and I am the current Weitz Fellow at Women’s Fund of Omaha. The Women’s Fund researches, advocates, and funds gender equity work in Omaha and beyond. Some of our research and project areas include: economic conditions, women in leadership, freedom from violence, and access to sexual health education and health sources.  

So far, I have mainly focused on policy work with the Women’s Fund. As a non-Nebraska native, I was excited to learn that Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral, meaning they only have one house, comprised of 49 senators. The other house is often referred to as the house of the people; it is up to the people to hold our elected senators responsible. This is where the Women’s Fund and other non-profits come in, advocating and lobbying for their values to be upheld by the Legislature. While the Legislature is currently not in session, the Women’s Fund is preparing for next session by researching bills that are stuck in committees and looking ahead to what new bills may be proposed. I have looked over bills related to medical abortions, minimum wage, emergency sexual assault kits for survivors, and more. To prepare for bill hearings, I practiced writing testimonies to better prepare myself for when the Women’s Fund testifies in front of the Legislature. Once the legislative session kicks off, I will be spending most of my time tracking bills, testifying, and supporting coalitions to pass legislation!  

In addition to policy and advocacy, I have been involved with Freedom from Violence projects. Every three years, the Women’s Fund organizes a Community Safety Assessment (CSA). CSA is a national model that assess how different institutions responded to domestic violence and sexual assault. Key findings from a CSA help determine if a new policy or practice might need to be created. This year, the CSA is looking at how well survivors understand the process of protection orders from referral to being served and whether they feel supported during this process. The CSA brings together stakeholders from various non-profits and institutions to help answer this question and uses direct sources, focus groups, and interviews to get a more well-rounded understanding. I help organize CSA meetings and will assist with listening sessions and interviews of survivors and other relevant community members. I have also sat in on our Domestic Violence Practicum for medical students. Our medical elective provides medical students with skills and education focused on responding to domestic violence in the health space.  

This fall I also participated in Emerging Leaders Circle. Emerging Leaders is an offshoot of Circles, a community-driven program that brings together women in leadership to support the goals of the Women’s Fund. Through participation in Emerging Leaders, I have the opportunity to meet other young leaders in the Omaha community as well as reflect and grow my own leadership skills.

I am grateful to the Weitz Family Foundation for the opportunity to participate in such crucial work. I am also grateful to work with such an amazing group of people at the Women’s Fund who are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about promoting gender equity. I am looking forward to the rest of my year at the Women’s Fund!