New President and CEO of NH Women's Foundation

The New Hampshire Women’s Foundation announced the appointment of Terie Norelli, former Speaker of the NH House of Representatives, as the organization’s new president and CEO. Norelli, who served as the state's first female Democratic Speaker of the House for three terms from 2007 to 2014, started her new role last week with the Concord-based organization.

The position was created in late 2014 when the Women’s Fund of NH and the NH Women’s Initiative joined forces to create a single, unified organization. The Women’s Foundation’s mission is to promote opportunity and equality for women and girls in NH through research, education, philanthropy, and advocacy.

Norelli has an extensive history of commitment to advocacy for women and girls nationwide and around the globe. In 1995, she attended the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China and helped to organize follow up events in NH in 1996 and 2000.

According to Mary Johanna Brown, board chair of the Women’s Foundation, “Terie’s lifelong commitment to advancing gender equality makes her the ideal leader for our organization as we focus on an agenda of economic security, leadership, work/life balance, health and wellness, and at-risk girls and women.”

As the only statewide foundation dedicated to the topic of gender equality, the Women’s Foundation reached out to leaders across NH during their executive search process. The Search Committee included board members of the Women’s Foundation, as well as Betsy Gardella, president and CEO of NH Public Radio in Concord and Joe Keefe, president and CEO of Pax World Funds in Portsmouth. Keefe is also co-chair of the Leadership Group for the Women’s Empowerment Principles, a joint program of the United Nations Global Compact and UN Women.

Norelli’s connection to the Granite State goes back to her studies at the University of New Hampshire in Durham where she was awarded her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics Education summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Prior to her run for the legislature, Norelli was a high school mathematics educator at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton.

She is the recipient of several state and national awards for her work in the Legislature, including the Rainbow Award for Legislative Leader for Statewide LGBT Equality from the Human Rights Commission, and the Champion of Choice Award from NARAL-NH. Norelli was also named Legislator of the Year by the NH Women’s Lobby, and the National Association of Social Workers. She has also received the Public Service Award from the Bi-State Primary Care Association, the Friend of Education Award from NEA-NH, the Legislator of the Year Award from the New England Police Benevolent Association, the Legislator of the Year by the New Hampshire Health Care Association, and a leadership award from the New Hampshire State Grange. She was presented with the Porch Light Award, by A Safe Place and Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS).

During Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential run, Norelli served as Clinton’s New Hampshire co-chair and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and 2012. She was also president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, a non-partisan organization of all state legislators and legislative staff. Additionally, she served on the Board of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation.

Norelli is featured in two books about women in politics: "Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead" by Former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, and "Women at the Table: 40 Intimate Profiles of Political Women in the Northeast" by Michaeline Della Fera. She is also included in “Legendary Locals of Portsmouth” by Charles McMahon.

For more information about the NH Women’s Foundation, visit: www.nhwomensfoundation.org. The organization can also be found on Facebook.