CONGRATULATIONS

“We are not married to any elected official We have a chance to vote them out every term but that involves the people,” she said “Younger folks need to be shown the value and importance of voting ”

In terms of getting things done, she says the government needs to stop being boring, focus on the people's work, and be visionary and forward-thinking As many complex issues impact people, such as gerrymandering, affordable housing, and living costs, solutions are reactionary and rushed

“Look at the way we are doing affordable housing We are just tossing housing any and everywhere without regard to infrastructure and other community needs,” she said “We need to consider transportation, services, and amenities, not just say we are building housing We need to have sustainable communities ” If elected, Doherty says the everyday person will be engaged and connected to their federal government, aware of resources and opportunities, and have feedback solicited regarding legislative matters She believes that elected officials must empower their constituents, and this is a three-step process

First, citizens must pick elected officials, not elected officials creating the districts they want to represent

“We need nonpartisan redistricting that is about people, not politics. We should not gerrymander districts to give a party an edge or to protect an incumbent,” she explained. “To adequately represent the citizens, the district should make sense geographically, not politically.”

Second, everyone should have an opportunity to participate in obtaining resources such as grants.

“The same folks are getting things not because they are smarter or more interested but because they are the only ones who know,” she said. “Everyone must be aware and shown how to compete for these opportunities.”

Finally, processes must be modernized for today’s needs, not yesterday’s.

“School funding is one example of draconian formulas. We are funding education at a formula devised in the 1970s and 1980s,” she said. “The representatives have used this to underfund education severely.”

Doherty represents the younger generation that refuses to wait her turn and says that it’s time for a new era of politics.

“We are not waiting for the torch to be passed. We are going to take it,” she concluded.

Claressa Winston, the founder of Club Xhell, Incorporated, is an amazing woman. She discovered her passion for youth empowerment after receiving a Bachelor's degree in Human Services from California State University Dominguez Hills and her MBA in Nonprofit Leadership from New England College She is also a lifelong learner and a proud graduate of the Clayton County Grassroots Leadership Institute Class of 2017, Woman University Class of 2019, and an active member of IM Academy

However, what separates her from others is her vision, which she received at a very young age. "Even as a little girl talking to my mother, I dreamed of having the Youth Life Center for the Arts. My Mom asked me, she took me to piano lessons and she asked me 'Lessa' what do you want to do when you grow up?".

I told her "I would have a center and my kids could go and just be safe and have a fun place to be"

Using faith, smarts, guile, and an honest heart full of love for adolescent kids, her journey began As the owner and founder of the Youth Life Center for the Arts, Ms Winston has always seen the "teen years" as a critically important time in a person's life that needs MORE adult supervision and interaction, not less. She draws heavily upon her own experiences to shape the program that impacts so many of the children her center now helps, encourages, and trains.

Ms. Winston uses her own experiences to shape the program that impacts so many children at her center, including her own childhood experiences as a latchkey kid.

Her vision is to ensure that no child is left home alone during after-school hours, and she has leveraged her children's inheritance to make this dream a reality The center started small, and it wasn't without a significant gamble from the founder into the future of her whole vision The center is still standing twelve years later, with hundreds of lives positively impacted.