President History – Heather Medina
2022-2023

For more than 40 years, Junior League of Annapolis (JLA) members have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. Building upon our storied history, throughout 2022-2023 year we continued our dedication to making Anne Arundel County a place where all women and children are able to reach their full potential.

Through our 40th Anniversary Diaper Drive, we donated more than 42,000 diapers to Discoveries Community Pantry and the Tyler Heights Community Resource Fair and Pop Up Pantry. JLA members collected winter weather gear to keep our neighbors warm, collected nutritious food to reduce food insecurity, provided woman-power to community building events and hosted a holiday gift shop for families in Woodside Gardens. 

During our January General Membership Meeting, we packaged nearly 1,000 menstrual hygiene kits for students at Annapolis Middle School and families served by the Discoveries Community Pantry. Period poverty carries stigma and embarrassment. Those without access to adequate supplies are more likely to miss school or work therefore continuing the poverty cycle. This Done in a Meeting project was made possible by generous support from the Annapolis Rotary Club and the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County.

To develop our members into trained leaders, JLA sponsored more than a dozen league members’ attendance at AJLI and regional conferences, hosted training events to support our health and personal growth and learned the importance of creating a culture of belonging at the Galentine’s Day Brunch. 

JLA was honored to receive one of the United Way of Central Maryland’s 2022 Neighborhood Grants. With this support, we launched the Annapolis Leadership Initiative for Growth and Networking (ALIGN) Series, expert-led training with the goal of empowering local leaders and bringing together organizations to create a stronger, safer community. We are thrilled to continue ALIGN in 2023 with support from the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County. During this series, JLA will host a 3-part diversity, equity, and inclusion training for our members and fellow community leaders. 

We are thankful to receive an abundance of support from many businesses and organizations. This year’s fundraising event, A Taste of Italy, would not have been possible without Maggiano’s Little Italy. As a result of their generosity nearly every dollar raised will support our mission to advance women’s leadership. 

Thank you to the 2022-2023 Board of Directors, the committee chairs and all of our members for supporting our mission to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. We are #BetterTogether. 

2022-2023 President
Heather Medina