by Liz Bander, LWVWA Director

At the 2021 Convention, the League of Women Voters of Washington awarded Karen Verrill the Evergreen Award for her tireless commitment to civic education. She was instrumental in developing our textbook, The State We're In: Washington, and we heard from a number of people about her impact on our state.

Celebrating Karen at her tree in Squaxin Park in Olympia.

Karen first joined the League in 1973 and has been an active member of the Thurston League since 1987. Her roles within the League include serving as the president of the LWV of Thurston, the president of the WA State League, the LWVWA development chair, and a member of the LWVWA Ed Fund Board. 

Since 2000, she has served as the project manager for the LWVWA civics education textbooks, The State We’re In: Washington. She has overseen the development, publishing, selling, and translation of these books and their companion teacher guides. In addition to a solid coverage of all levels of government, these are the first civics texts to include current and historic tribal governments. Chapters about sustainability and civics and the natural world are also included.

Thanks to her hard work, these books are used in classrooms and libraries across the state, giving Washington’s students a foundation for understanding our government and how to be actively involved participants.

Interested in learning more about these civics books? Visit our website to download free digital copies or to order hard copies.

One of the best parts of League is that we come together to do incredible work.

Karen sharing some of the versions of The State We're In over the years.

All images graciously provided by Oriana Von Specht Photography.