• Home
  • Independent Voter News
  • Quizzes
  • Election Dissection
  • Sections
  • Events
  • Directory
  • About Us
  • Glossary
  • Opinion
  • Campaign Finance
  • Redistricting
  • Civic Ed
  • Voting
  • Fact Check
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Voting>
  3. league of women voters>

Meet the reformer: Alma Couverthie, a new face for the League of Women Voters

Our Staff
February 07, 2020
Alma Couverthie, League of Women Voters

Alma Couverthie spoke at an April 2019 rally when the Supreme Court was considering whether to require a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

Community Change

The League of Women Voters, founded a century ago to register 20 million Americans just enfranchised with ratification of the 19th Amendment, is now one of the best-known champions of democracy reforms including expanding voting rights, ending partisan gerrymandering, curbing money in politics and promoting civic engagement. It also advocates on such hot-button domestic issues as health care, the environment and immigration. Since last year, Alma Couverthie has led the league's grassroots advocacy work. Before that she was a field operative for the immigration reform group Community Change and spent two decades as an immigrants' rights and labor organizer. Her responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What's the tweet-length description of your organization?

The polite, badass ladies empowering voters and defending democracy.


Describe your very first civic engagement.

Joining fellow students at the University of Puerto Rico on a strike protesting my college's fees hikes. We were not successful, and the fees have continued to skyrocket. I would not be able to afford my education the way I did back then if I had to do it today.

What was your biggest professional triumph?

Developing and teaching Poder, a leadership development program that for 10 years incubated many of the leaders who are active and engaged today. Some are elected officials, others have become community organizers, social impact business owners and radio personalities.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

And your most disappointing setback?

Losing the so-called DAPA case. Back in 2016 the Supreme Court deadlocked on a challenge to President Obama's immigration plan, and that effectively ended his efforts to shield as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation and allow them to legally work here. DAPA stands for Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents. The feeling of defeat and the deception of all those parents and their families was one of the most painful moments.

How does your identity influence the way you go about your work?

Since organizing power comes from building relationships of trust, you need to be true to yourself and be authentic. My experience as a Puerto Rican woman, born and raised on the island, informs and influences how I approach my work.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

The perfect version of what you want to accomplish exists only in your head. Keep it to yourself.

Create a new flavor for Ben & Jerry's.

Holding by the Mango: intense mango flavor with a puckery lemon swirl and sprinkled with sweet red dragon fruit jelly candy. This is inspired by the best dessert I've ever had.

"Mango" in Spanish refers to the fruit but also means "handle," like from a frying pan. A common phrase is "Agarrando el sarten por el mango," which literally means holding the frying pan by the handle — but which really refers to being in charge. So the name for my flavor is alluding to that "take charge" phrase that I grew up with.

The West Wing or Veep?

Neither. Scandal!

What's the last thing you do on your phone at night?

Make sure the alarm is set. I go to bed early so I can rise early almost every day.

What is your deepest, darkest secret?

When I make flan, I clean the leftover sweetened condensed milk on the can with my finger and lick it! It's my guilty pleasure.

From Your Site Articles
  • League of Women Voters asks Georgia to stop new voter purge ... ›
  • League of Women Voters launches $500K anti-gerrymandering ... ›
  • Supreme Court OKs plan to not count undocumented immigrants - The Fulcrum ›
league of women voters
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Are large donor networks still needed to win in a fairer election system?

Paige Chan

Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

David Thornburgh
John Opdycke

The U.S. has been seeking the center since the days of Teddy Roosevelt

Dave Anderson

Imperfection and perseverance

Jeff Clements

We’ve expanded the Supreme Court before. It’s time to do so again.

Anushka Sarkar

The ‘great replacement theory’ is nonsense

Debilyn Molineaux
latest News

Americans want action on gun control, but the Senate can’t move forward

David Meyers
9h

Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Our Staff
14h

Nearly 20 states have restricted private funding of elections

David Meyers
24 May

Video: Will Trump run in 2024?

Our Staff
24 May

The state of voting: May 23, 2022

Our Staff
23 May

Trump looms large over Tuesday’s primaries

Richard Perrins
23 May
Videos

Video: Helping loved ones divided by politics

Our Staff

Video: What happened in Virginia?

Our Staff

Video: Infrastructure past, present, and future

Our Staff

Video: Beyond the headlines SCOTUS 2021 - 2022

Our Staff

Video: Should we even have a debt limit

Our Staff

Video: #ListenFirstFriday Yap Politics

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Did economists move the Democrats to the right?

Our Staff
02 May

Podcast: The future of depolarization

Our Staff
11 February

Podcast: Sore losers are bad for democracy

Our Staff
20 January

Deconstructed Podcast from IVN

Our Staff
08 November 2021
Recommended
Shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas

Americans want action on gun control, but the Senate can’t move forward

Congress
Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Big Picture
First-ever majority-female New York city council

Are large donor networks still needed to win in a fairer election system?

Campaign Finance
Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

Voting
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg

Nearly 20 states have restricted private funding of elections

State
Video: Will Trump run in 2024?

Video: Will Trump run in 2024?

Elections