The National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) is proud to announce that Vermont State Representative Monique Priestley (ORA-2, D-Bradford) has been named a 2026 Elected Women of Excellence Award recipient.
The Elected Women of Excellence Award recognizes state and local elected women who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in their communities. These trailblazers have worked tirelessly—often overcoming significant barriers—to serve and lead, helping to pave the way for more women to pursue public office and advocate for the issues they care about most.
Recipients are selected on a rolling, monthly basis throughout 2026 and are invited to attend NFWL’s 2026 Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, this November, where they will be formally recognized.
“NFWL is built on celebrating the remarkable achievements of dedicated women leaders, and we are honored to recognize this year’s outstanding awardees,” said NFWL Interim Executive Director Renee Dabbs.
Representative Priestley leads on technology-related consumer protection and rural issues. She serves Vermont’s House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development and is Vice Chair of the Joint IT Oversight Committee. Monique co-chairs Vermont’s Rural Caucus and the Future Caucus National Task Force on AI Policy. She sits on the NCSL Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity & Privacy and Legislative Steering Team for the State AI Policy Forum. She was named a 2024 EPIC National Champion of Freedom and a CSG Top 20 Under 40.
“We congratulate this year’s recipients and look forward to celebrating their accomplishments in Nashville this November,” Dabbs added.
About the National Foundation for Women Legislators, Inc. (NFWL)
Since 1938, NFWL has served as a forum for elected women from across the country to be empowered through information and experience. As the oldest organization for elected women in America and the only one that includes women on the city, county and state levels, we encourage our members to take leadership roles and form connections across the aisle. Since we do not have dues, the over 5,000 elected women in the US on the state, county and municipal levels are considered members, receive our communications, and are invited to participate in our programs. NFWL is a non-partisan 501(c)(3), educational foundation for elected women on the state, county, and municipal levels. Learn more at www.womenlegislators.org.
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