Deirdre Macnab (née Coulson, born December 14, 1955) is an American

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and voting rights activist an
sustainable agriculture rancher
She is former president of the

League of Women Voters of Florida The League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) is a civic organization in the state of Florida. The organization is nonpartisan; the League's Bylaws mandate that the organization will not support any political candidate or party. League promotes ...

(LWVFL) and member of Florida's Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. She served as a Knight's Fellow-in-Residence at the University of Florida

Bob Graham Center for Public Service The Bob Graham Center for Public Service, housed at the University of Florida in Gainesville, is a community of students, scholars and citizens. The center was founded by the former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. The center, loca ...

and is a

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

activist in Florida, acting as chairperson for LWVFL solar energy initiative, and in Colorado, where she is on the Solar United Neighborsbr>advisory board.

Early life and education

Macnab was raised in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 2004. She graduated with an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in marketing and finance and a bachelor's degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in history and political science. After moving to the greater

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

area, Macnab joined the board of MyRegion, a seven-county visioning coalition in

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

and WMFE's Community Advisory Board, in addition to joining the League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL).

Political career

Macnab became president of the League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) in 2009, where she spearheaded petitions for fair voting districts in Florida,

tax reform Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxatio ...

and voter protection, and worked towards opening a dialogue with

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

by organizing several delegations to the country. During her tenure as LWVFL president, two state constitutional amendments ending gerrymandering were finally accomplished, after 60 years of work by the Florida League. Under her presidency, the LWVFL announced a lawsuit in April 2014, protecting Florida voters from being purged from voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election, and she was asked to talk about it on

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

. The state eventually decided not to purge the voter rolls. During her leadership, serious restrictions on voter registration drives were imposed and eventually removed because of the League's work. It eliminated roadblocks to voting by demanding the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

re-institute early voting days, and the Sunday before election day, following long delays, including eight-hour lines in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, that voters faced during the

2012 Presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: E ...

. The LWVFL also pushed for fairly-drawn congressional districts and saw fair districting upheld and implemented in 2014. Deirdre Macnab was nominated for the National Slate of the League of Women Voters of the United States in 2014, and was then nominated to be their National President in 2015. Although her bid for the presidency was unsuccessful, she is generally credited with havin
transformed the Florida League of Women Voters
as well as many state policies, during her long tenure as president. Her initiatives include; lobbying for the implementation of civil citations as a way t

and reduce youth arrests; heading the campaign to take Florida to the number one position in rooftop solar and harness the sun to truly make Florida th
"Sunshine State"
educating the voting public about two 2016 ballot amendments, successfully helping defeat one and pass the other; creating
"The Next Car Pledge"
nd advocating for the benefits of zero emission electric cars or "EVs". In 2020 Macnab left Florida to start
regenerative cattle ranch
in Colorado, becoming one of the firs
Audubon Certified ranches
in Northwest Colorado. She co-founded th
Meeker Mustang Makeover
an event designed to find homes for

wild horses Wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'' that includes domesticated and undomesticated subspecies. * Przewalski's wild horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), a rare and endangered subspecies of wild ...

in BLM holding areas, th
White River Alliance
a stakeholder group working to promote citizen engagement for the protection and conservation of the White River basin, and continues her

alternative energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a Orders of magnitude (time), human timescale. It includes sources such as Solar power, sunlight, wind power, wind, the movement of Hydropo ...

work wit
Solar United Neighbors of Colorado

Honors and awards

In 2012, Macnab was awarded the 2012 Florida Achievement Award by the

Florida Commission on the Status of Women The Florida Commission on the Status of Women (FCSW) is a nonpartisan board established in 1991 with a focus of raising awareness and celebrating the contributions and success of all Floridians. They provide a collaborative platform for those see ...

. The

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

named her the Most Influential Central Floridian of the Year the same year. In 2013, she was recognized by La Prensa Florida as a Community Champion during their annual Mujeres Destacadas Awards. She was recognized for her leadership and placed in the Congressional Record in 2014. In 2015, Audubon Florida honored her with the Women in Conservation award.http://audubonoffloridanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Audubon_AssemblyProgram_2015.pdf In 2021 Winter Park Magazine honored Macnab as a
"Influential"
due, in part, to her legacy of inspiring other strong women to follow her lead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macnab, Deirdre Living people People from Florida American women's rights activists American political activists 1955 births