For those of you who attended our February 18 Rise & Resist forum with Hopium Chronicles’ Simon Rosenberg, Council President Kate Stewart, and CASA’s Cathryn Ann Paul Jackson, you know there was a lot of important information shared about resources and opportunities to get involved in the resistance.

Audience questions were lively and often emotional. Many of you requested the resources and information shared by our speakers at that event, so here it is.

First, from Simon Rosenberg is the list of races we should be looking at in 2026. This graphic Simon shared is from the Cook Political Report, of the 17 most vulnerable House Republican seats. So, let’s pay attention to these races: Are you able to support the Democratic challengers? Do you know voters in those districts?

I encourage you all to check out Simon’s Hopium Chronicles on Substack. Simon offers his current recommendations here. You can also take action in the Hopium community by checking out all of Simon's events.

Second, from Council President Kate Stewart we heard about some of the key initiatives the County Council is working on under her leadership and what changes in the federal administration means for the county and the state of Maryland—our workforce, our economy, our communities. To share information with residents, the County Council is holding a series of biweekly online resource sessions focused on employment, work source development and unemployment benefits, immigration issues, housing assistance, health and wellness, and essential County services.

The second of these resource sessions will be March 6 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Rep. Jamie Raskin will join Council President Stewart, and a panel of experts for a virtual information program on mental health resources and tips for taking care of your mental wellbeing.

Additionally, the Council’s resource webpage has information on a wide variety of services for Montgomery County residents.

And from CASA’s Cathryn Ann Paul Jackson, we heard about lots of resources for those needing support, and opportunities to help for those able to pitch in. There are three priority immigration bills in the Maryland General Assembly this session—the data privacy act, protecting sensitive locations act, and the values act. Here are a few ways to get involved in the work CASA is doing. You can also reach out to them directly.

Here is a link to CASA’s website where the MD bills are set out and the bottom of that page includes a link to sign a petition.
Also, on the CASA website you can find Know Your Rights materials (at the top you can click to get all of the same materials in Spanish or French). This includes the 24/7 hotline number where people can report ICE activity.

CASA is still setting up the online process for bystander training, which Cathryn discussed. So, keep an eye out for it on their website, but we will also forward it to you, once we have it. You can find a video of the full program below or on YouTube.

In addition to all these opportunities to get engaged, WDC has a great slate of events coming up.

We’re excited to announce that on March 25, we’ll have Adam Ortiz, Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator for the U.S. EPA under President Biden and Dr. Fatima Candace Vahlsing, Vice President, Ocean Conservancy, and former Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Industrial Strategy & Climate at USAID, to join us to talk about the environment. This Happy Hour with a Purpose will be held at Los Chorros in Wheaton at 6:30 pm, so please save that date and invite others to join.

On April 9, we will honor Former Senator Ben Cardin and Former Rep. John Sarbanes at the Chevy Chase Women’s Club, at noon.

And in other exciting news—We have Heather Cox Richardson joining us on the evening of April 25!! More details to follow.

So, mark your calendars.

Please keep an eye out for the registration links and join us if you can. This is also a fantastic opportunity to introduce others to WDC, so bring a friend and learn how you can get involved in vital discussions and actions. As Alice Walker wisely said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” But we know that when we unite and organize, we are far from powerless. Let’s come together, take action, and make our voices heard. The responsibility to defend our democracy and protect our communities is ours—let’s rise to the challenge.

In closing, I want to take a moment to give a huge shoutout to our incredible advocacy team! Under the leadership of Advocacy Chair Cynthia Rubenstein, along with Co-chairs Diana Conway and JoAnne Koravos, WDC successfully held its first in-person Annapolis Day since the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizing all the appointments and bringing our legislators together takes tremendous effort, and they did an outstanding job. A big thank you also goes to our issue captains, subcommittee chairs, and committee members—this wouldn’t have been possible without your dedication and hard work.

Look for more details on Annapolis Day in the Advocacy Corner. We hope you join us in 2026.

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. You can also email me at president@womensdemocraticclub.org.