Ms. President US, a nonprofit, nonpartisan program that encourages and prepares girls to aim for civic leadership positions, is kicking off another year in Wilton, with its first meeting scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Wilton Library.
The organization is inviting girls in grades 4-8 to register for the program to “learn the important skills of public speaking, diplomacy and listening; explore the inner workings of local, state and federal government; and uncover women’s history, all while having the opportunity to meet and greet exemplary female leaders.”
The program also includes a field trip to tour the state capitol and culminates with a campaign and election for Ms. President US in Wilton. The program also welcomes Wilton High School students to serve as mentors to the younger participants.
“There has been tremendous research that shows girls lose their confidence and voices in middle school,” said Wilton’s Alison Smith, head of Ms. President US Lower Fairfield County Chapter.
The result, she says, is fewer women in leadership roles.
“There are just not enough women who put their hands up,” Smith said.
Ms. President US is designed to change that, so young girls connect with civics and politics and begin to see themselves as part of the process.
“What we’re trying to do is just get [them] to recognize that they should be involved, they should be vocal,” Smith said.
She noted that the Ms. President US program is a safe, supportive environment, without a political slant.
“We are nonpartisan,” Smith emphasized. “If we have one Republican speaker, we have one Democrat speaker, we always have both. We actually had [both Republican and Democratic committee representatives] at the same meeting talking about how the primaries work.”
In fact, such events often showed more common ground than political differences, Smith said.
“It’s really good for the girls to see that, because they’re young enough that they don’t come in with those partisan filters yet,” Smith added.
Smith believes strongly in the confidence-boosting benefits of the program, as participants develop a platform for a local initiative and run for “Ms. President” of the town.
“We see girls who come in with an interest in any of the things we do — government, politics, civics, activism — and at the end, they stand in front of their peers and run for president of their town, and not only in front of their peers, but in an auditorium of hundreds of people. That unlocks a level of confidence that’s hard to get any other way,” she said.
“I can’t imagine a reason why you wouldn’t want your daughter in this [program],” she said. “It checks all the boxes.”
As enthusiastic as Smith is about the young participants, she also raves about the Wilton High School girls who participate as mentors. Last year, more than a dozen WHS students took part, helping the younger participants prepare for speeches, leading team activities, helping to coordinate guest speakers and assisting Smith in other ways.
“There’s nobody better qualified to help me. I mean, those young women can run the world. They’re fantastic,” Smith said, adding that the mentors also get “a lot of exposure” to elected officials and other leaders.
Smith is a role model in her own right. In addition to chairing the local chapter of Ms. President US, Smith is an entrepreneur and WildBloom skincare business owner, a member of Wilton’s Economic Development Commission, vice chair of the Westport Country Playhouse board of trustees, and active in other nonprofit groups.
She’s passionate about the next generation of leaders.
“The more that we grow leaders and motivate them to run [for office], not only does that help our town long term but [it] also helps all of the communities that they will live in down the road,” Smith said.
Last April, Middlebrook then-eighth-grader Anaya Uttamchandani, whose campaign focused on school security AI, was voted Ms. President in Wilton along with her running mate for vice president, Namya Chouhan.
Registration is open for the 2025-2026 school year. Except where noted on the meeting dates below, workshops will be held at the Wilton Library from 4:15-5:45 p.m.:
- Sept. 26
- Oct. 17
- Nov. 7
- Dec. 12
- Jan. 15, 2026: Federal Leaders Session via Zoom
- Feb. 27
- Mar. 10: Field trip to Connecticut’s Capitol
- Mar. 27
- Apr. 26: Campaign and elections
The program fee is $250 and includes program materials and field trip to Hartford. Sibling discounts and financial assistance are available to anyone upon request.
