Nan Stearns introduces Barack's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng.
Amherst resident Nan Stearns learned the importance of having a strong support network during her husband’s 30-year career in the U.S. Army. She lived all over the world, from Taiwan to Germany to Alaska, and during those travels learned to quickly put down roots and reach out to her new community. Nan has put those skills to use in the past few years, founding Women Making a Difference in New Hampshire and working to organize the Souhegan Valley for Barack.
Nan and Peter have been married for nearly 50 years. During Peter’s time with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Stearns family lived at duty stations across the country and the world. During these travels, Nan taught school and volunteered for organizations like the Girl Scouts and the Red Cross. This volunteering did not extend to politics until recently.
Until the 90s, both Nan and Peter considered themselves Republicans. They changed their affiliation to “undeclareds” when they concluded that the Republican Party had changed over the past and party had left them behind. Nan and Peter became active grassroots supporters in the Dean campaign, and that experience convinced them to continue to engage in New Hampshire politics.
In 2005, Nan helped found Women Making a Difference, a network of like-minded women advocating for change on issues including election integrity, childhood obesity, fair taxes, and global warming.
“It seemed to me that many women in the state felt their voices weren’t being heard,” she recalls, “and I have always felt that there is tremendous power to be found in networks of people who are willing to merge their voices with others.”
Nan met Barack at a house party and shortly after Labor Day decided to devote her abilities to building networks in her own community to support the campaign. Her reason for supporting Barack is simple. She said:
He is the only candidate who can bring the country together again at a time when unity is desperately needed. After eight years of division, he won’t waste this opportunity to heal the country by polarizing the electorate.
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