Interim Dean Lady Dhyana Ziegler being sworn in as chair
of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.
Photo credit: Jeff Walker
The 22 commissioners of the Florida Commision on the Status of Women elected a new chair for 2018: Interim dean of Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication, Lady Dhyana Ziegler.
The commission’s purpose is to study and make recommendations to the Governor, Cabinet and Legislature on issues affecting women, according to the FCSW website. Each year the commission creates recommendations that are placed in an annual report and distributed in the first quarter of each year.
Ziegler also serves as the only African American woman on the commission and plans on raising awareness of and celebrating the contributions and successes of women. She has the option to serve two years if re-elected chair in 2019.
Officers were inducted by Leon County Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson during a ceremony Tuesday night at the Historic Capitol.
“The only thing that I want to do at the end of the day is do a good job and to be effective and to make sure that I follow the protocols and I represent well,” said Ziegler. “I push myself so hard sometimes because I want to strive for excellence because that's what gives everyone else the example of not doing it half way, go big and go broad.”
The FCSW installation of officers was only one component of a two-day event, the Women’s Legislative Education Summit.The FCSW also scheduled a committee meeting and tour of the Capitol and a reception that provided an opportunity for the public to meet and greet with legislators earlier in the day.
The summit will go on to continue through Wednesday and will include a women’s history celebration luncheon, a social media and political advocacy program and a women’s town hall program.
FCSW staff assistant Kim Mehr assists with scheduling the speakers and making the agenda for the summit. Mehr speaks highly of Ziegler and expects nothing but the best from her during her tenure as chair.
“Anybody that knows her, there is not a single person that would ever doubt her work ethic, I don’t know when she has time to sleep,” said Mehr. “She puts in a lot of time and work with our commission.”
Assistant director of the FCSW, Michele Manning, has been with the commission for 24 years and with the state of Florida for 35 years. She plans to retire at the end of February but believes that the FCSW is left in good hands with Ziegler.
“Her background and her connections with the journalism program will bring the commission to a new level to help with promoting them to become more relevant and more known throughout the state of Florida,” said Manning.“She’s very dependable, outgoing and she is going to be a great leader for the commission.”