In 1999, she started working at UMOS, which had just relaunched a program to help people returning from prison pay child support. She built the curriculum for the program and later became its facilitator. Her manager approached her one day about an open county supervisor position and its potential to allow her to take her community involvement to the political level. “At first, I thought it was ridiculous. I was a single mother of three children at the time, and I’d never considered political leadership.” But after considering her mother’s supportive opinion, Schroder ran for the position and won. She served on the county board for 14 years. In September 2018, after leaving the political arena, Schroder accepted a position as a Southeast Wisconsin coordinator at EXPO. She was later promoted and helped launch Unlock the Vote in June 2019. “We wanted to talk about why people who have prior convictions can’t vote, even though they’re out of jail.” The overwhelming response from community members was in favor of the initiative. In 2020, Schroder and her team worked to introduce the legislation, but the coronavirus pandemic brought amendments to the hearing process and prevented the legislation from reaching a committee hearing. Throughout the recent presidential election, she led a series of webinars that hosted discussions with experts and community leaders on how criminal justice can be integrated into their roles. “We told them that by not advocating for or allowing the 43,000 incarcerated people in the state of Wisconsin to vote, they’re preventing the state from making a change toward criminal justice. The people who were directly impacted by the system should have a say in decisions that are made for that system. We want to make sure we’re providing them with what they need so they don’t return to prison.” Schroder says Unlock the Vote’s campaign team will continue working this year to push the initiative to receive a committee hearing. Political Leadership
We want to make sure we’re providing them with what they need so they don’t return to prison.” - Peggy West-Schroder
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