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Headshot for Vedna Heywood, LWVUS board of directors 2024 – 2026
Director

Vedna Lacombe-Heywood brings exceptional emotional intelligence, unifying leadership, and a deeply grounded commitment to community-centered governance. A thoughtful listener and trusted connector, she brings people together across differences, an essential strength as the League navigates an increasingly complex and polarized environment.

Her leadership within the League of Women Voters of the United States includes serving as a National Board director, trustee, and Executive Committee member. She serves as chair of the Governance Committee, chair of the Activation and Justice Committee, and UN Observer Liaison, advancing governance practices, shaping strategic direction, and amplifying the voices of women and underserved communities. She also played a key role in helping shape and present the National Program at the 2024 & 2026 conventions.

As an elected School Board Member in Plymouth, she made history as the first African American elected to town government and has focused on improving the health, safety, and well-being of public-school students and families while serving on multiple community and state boards.

As an immigrant, Vedna brings a lived understanding of democracy grounded in personal experience and principled conviction. Her background as an ICU nurse, bereavement specialist, and trauma-informed leader, including a decade co-leading a perinatal/toddler loss group, reflects her deep commitment to supporting others. She is completing her graduate degree as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.

She is also the founder of HELD (Healed, Empowered, Loved, Developed), supporting trauma-exposed young women. Her leadership has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Black Excellence on the Hill Award (2026), the Governor’s Citation for Transformational Leadership (2019), the Massachusetts School Committee All-State Award (2020), the Old Colony Memorial Person of the Year (2021), the Commonwealth Heroine Award (2023), and recognition as a Kurlat Nursing Honoree (2019), reflecting her enduring commitment to service, mentorship, and community impact.