Welcome to Women and Community Politics. Today we are talking climate with Distaterologist Samantha Montano and the start of the Virginia General Assembly with Senator Hashmi.

Samantha Montano

Samantha is currently an assistant professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. She has a doctorate degree in emergency management from North Dakota State University. She is the author of the recently titled book Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis.

Senator Ghazala Hashmi

Senator Ghazala Hashmi, PhD, serves in the Virginia General Assembly, representing the 10th Senatorial District which includes parts of Richmond City, Chesterfield County, and all of Powhatan County. She sits on the following Senate committees: Education and Health; Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; General Laws and Technology; and Local Government. Senator Hashmi also chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Public Education. As an experienced educator and advocate who spent nearly 30 years working within Virginia’s college and university system, she identifies education, equity, the environment, and healthcare access as top legislative priorities. Senator Hashmi was elected to office in November 2019, helping to bring an historic Democratic majority to the state Senate and to the General Assembly. Prior to her election, she served as the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) at Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia. She is the first Muslim American to serve in the Virginia Senate.

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