Lobbying Issues, Work and Family Flexibility Policy, Adoption
Deanna Gelak leads the National Family and Medical Leave Act Corrections Coalition on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management. The Coalition is a diverse non-partisan group of approximately 300 organizations, associations, and companies who are fully committed to complying with both the spirit and the letter of the FMLA. At the same time, the Coalition believes that the FMLA should be streamlined to reduce administrative and compliance problems experienced by employers.
Ms. Gelak has had appearances with/been quoted by:
The National Press Club, National Public Radio; MSNBC; NBC Nightly News; The Wall Street Journal; C-SPAN; The Washington Post; USA Today; Investors Business Daily; The Wall Street Journal Talk (radio show); America’s Voice; Monitor Radio; the Chicago Tribune; the San Francisco Chronicle; the Boston Globe, Roll Call, the Baltimore Sun; the Austin Statesman; the Mary Matalin Show, The Washington Times, Parenting, glamour and Working Woman magazines.
Ms. Gelak serves on the Board of Directors for the American League of Lobbyists and is an officer of the Board (Treasurer). She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resource Management (SPHR).
She formerly served as the Director of Governmental Affairs for the Society for Human Resource Management, a professional society with more than 100,000 members.
Ms. Gelak also served as Deputy Legislative Liaison with the Office of Congressional Affairs at the United States Department of Labor and was with the US House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor when the first hearing was held on the FMLA. She is originally from Niceville, Florida, and is a graduate of the University of Florida.
Ms. Gelak chaired the national Congressional Coverage Coalition, which successfully led the effort to apply private sector employment laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, to members of Congress and their staffs. After this achievement, Ms. Gelak addressed the issue of applying private sector laws to White House employees. Accordingly, legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law late in 1996 which applied the labor laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, to the White House.
Either You Are, Or You Aren't a Renaissance Woman!
A renaissance woman is someone who sets her own agenda for personal achievement and will not allow herself to be manipulated or intimidated by self-proclaimed spokesmen who try and wrap their political philosophies around terms like "equality," "choice," "peace," "tolerance" and "diversity." She understands that she has been created for such a time as this and embraces her destiny as a challenge and not a curse, no matter what her personal circumstances. She is a winner not a whiner, a leader not a follower, a victor, not a victim. She wants to change the paradigm of the feminist movement that has served to marginalize and ridicule women who do not follow their collective agenda.
Millions of women around the country, from all professions, backgrounds and cultures, are courageously picking up the mantel of leadership and virtue, that the feminist movement has squandered. They are providing thoughtful and accurate analysis, on a variety of issues, of where, and who we are as a nation.
Remember, this is not a club. It is a mindset!
Profiles, images and commentaries written by the following spokeswomen:
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