Vedna Lacombe-Heywood is the vice president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, serving the 2026–2028 biennium. A multi-award-winning transformational leader, advocate, clinician, and elected official, she brings more than two decades of experience in civic engagement, public health, governance, and community leadership. She is recognized for her collaborative leadership, emotional intelligence, and ability to build bridges across differences while strengthening democratic institutions and communities.
Before her election as vice president, Vedna served on the League's National Board of Directors as a board director, trustee, executive committee member, chair of the Governance Committee, chair of the Activation and Justice Committee, chair of Program Planning, and United Nations observer liaison. In these roles, she helped strengthen governance, shape organizational strategy, and elevate the voices of underserved communities. She also helped develop and present the League's National Program at the 2024 and 2026 national conventions. Earlier, she served on the Board of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and in leadership roles with the League of Women Voters of Plymouth Area.
As an elected official in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Vedna made history as the first African American elected to town government. She has championed policies that promote the health, safety, and well-being of students and families while serving on numerous local, state, and national boards, including as the immediate past Chair of the Plymouth Town Diversity Council.
An immigrant, Vedna brings a lived understanding of democracy shaped by resilience and public service. Her career spans more than two decades as a critical care clinician, bereavement specialist, certified thanatologist, and trauma-informed leader. Following the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, she helped implement one of Massachusetts' first Stop the Bleed programs in public schools, later adopted by high schools across the Commonwealth. She also spent more than a decade supporting families experiencing pregnancy and early childhood loss and holds a graduate degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing.
Vedna is the founder of HELD (Healed, Empowered, Loved, Developed), an initiative supporting trauma-exposed young women through healing, leadership development, and community.
Her leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Black Excellence on the Hill Award (2026), the Commonwealth Heroine Award (2023), the Massachusetts School Committee Association All-State Award (2020), and the Governor's Citation for Transformational Leadership (2019). Across every role she has held, Vedna remains committed to advancing equity, strengthening communities, and protecting the democratic principles that empower people to shape their future.