Celebrating Our Members

From the beginning, 9to5 has been powered by incredible women, and today our members are the heart and soul of 9to5. Among those members, we’re proud to work with incredible community leaders who give their valuable time, energy, and gifts to power 9to5. 

Each of our chapters has selected one member to honor at our 50th Anniversary celebration!

Georgia

Denise King, also known as Ms. Denise, is a native of Southwest Georgia. She grew up in a tight-knit rural community where she got her training ground watching her mother serve families facing food insecurities and homelessness. She joined 9to5 in 2021 as a Lead Canvasser who partners with various entities to engage with and register new voters. Denise is passionate about voting rights, aging, and protecting persons with disabilities. 

Wisconsin

Tracy Jones, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a mother, grandmother, caregiver, and part of the LGBTQ community, and has been involved with 9to5 since 1999, when she had a workplace discrimination case and coordinated efforts with the Wisconsin chapter for support. Since then, she started volunteering with 9to5 and became an organizer for 4-5 years, where she lobbied and worked directly with local Milwaukee members. As an organizer, she lead her first march to the City Hall of Milwaukee to demand workplace justice. Tracy continues to be involved in 9to5 as a member, working towards voting democracy and canvassing during election cycles. 

Colorado

Adela Gonzalez is a committed 9to5 leader and community member from Fort Collins. She has participated in canvassing, and action events and has been an active member of several committees including the climate justice committee, economic justice committee, and water quality advisory committee. She is Latina and a mother of three and believes in the importance of creating change in her community. At the policy level, she is dedicated to keeping low-income and communities of color informed and at the decision-making table. Adela models taking action in her community and empowers women to take action, get informed, and support their families.

Celebrating Our Founders

Fifty years ago, Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy founded 9to5 in Boston, after experiencing firsthand the inequities, unfairness, and outright harassment millions of women like them faced at work. Their courage ignited a movement for working women across the country.

They organized women who joined together to demand better working conditions from their bosses, their companies and policymakers. They staged highly-visible actions designed to confront power and disrupt the status quo; they demanded respect, equal pay, and equal protection in the workplace.

Celebrating Our Partners

Our partners at Family Values @ Work have helped continue the work that Karen and Ellen started back in 1973. Together we have fought for paid leave, paid sick days, and affordable childcare at the national and state levels that have made an incredible difference in the lives of women of color across the country.

Our founders, members, and partners have been an integral part of our 50-year legacy. Join us on 9/25 in Washington D.C. to celebrate together!