Cynthia Stewart, LWVWA Board first vice president and Advocacy Chair, receives the 2025 Dorothy Roberts award at the state League convention in June in Clark County. The award recognizes commitment, dedication, and passion for the mission of the state League and salutes the recipient’s work in the wider community that has brought recognition to the League.
By Angela Gyurko, Nominating Committee Director, LWV of Washington
“What made you first step into a leadership position?” I asked Cynthia Stewart, the LWVWA board’s first vice president. Her answer caught me by surprise.
“Someone asked me to.”
Stewart first joined the League in 1972, staying active until 1977 when she returned to the workforce to support herself and her three children. When she retired in 2009, she stepped back into League work, noting that many of the people she had met in the 1970s were still friends and still active.
“I enjoyed the grunt work,” she explained, “doing the typing, copying, and addressing newsletters when all that work was done by hand. When I came back in 2009, LWV Thurston County was doing a study on governance in Thurston County. There were three cities, a small population, and a lot of repetitive structures that didn’t seem to make sense. I dove right in, helping with the study, and doing newsletters and mailings.”
“But how long,” I asked her, “before you first joined a board?”
For Stewart, it was one year after she rejoined the Thurston League that she first served on their board. Three years after that, in 2013, Stewart first served on the LWVWA board.
There’s a perception that a person has to serve a certain number of years or participate in a certain number of activities before they are “qualified” to be a League leader. I came into the League with that perception, but as we talked, it became clear that the person willing to do the on-the-ground grunt work is often the best person to try their hand at leading.
“It helps everyone when leaders serve at every level,” she told me.
Stewart is definitely an expert at this, and her experience highlights the importance of rotating between local League duties, local League leadership, and state League leadership.
The recipient of the 2025 Dorothy Roberts award, Stewart has served two terms on the LWV Thurston County board, three terms as president of LWV Tacoma-Pierce County and three terms on the LWVWA board. She’s also served on the Advocacy Team since 2009 and is the current Advocacy Chair.
“I always want to be contributing,” she told me.
If you feel like now could be your time to step up and lead, consider this your invitation.
Talk with your local League about their leadership needs or check out the LWVWA Nominating Committee website to learn more about serving at the LWVWA level.
The strength of the League has always been its members. And leading is a great way to learn about all the possibilities for engagement and involvement that exist within the League.
