Founding Pioneer, NWPC Contra Costa Chapter - Visionary Leader Who Sparked a Movement
"I did this not because I believed a woman was better than a man in the political arena but because I wanted women to have an equal opportunity to serve in an elected public office."
A daughter of the post-war era, Paula Schiff came of age during the transformative decades that would reshape American society and women's roles within it.
Growing up in mid-20th century America, Paula Schiff witnessed firsthand the constraining expectations placed on women of her generation. Born into an era when women were largely expected to channel their talents into traditional roles of teaching or nursing, Paula's formative years coincided with the stirrings of social change that would eventually become the women's liberation movement.
The daughter of a generation that had weathered the Great Depression and World War II, Paula inherited both the pragmatic determination of her parents and an emerging awareness that the post-war promises of prosperity and opportunity were not equally distributed. Her undergraduate years in the 1950s and early 1960s positioned her at the intersection of traditional expectations and revolutionary possibilities, watching as the civil rights movement demonstrated that organized citizens could challenge and change entrenched systems.
The political and social upheavals of the 1960s—from the civil rights movement to the anti-war protests—created a context where questioning traditional power structures became not just acceptable but necessary. Paula's keen observation of these movements would prove foundational to her later understanding that political change required organized effort, strategic thinking, and the courage to challenge the status quo.
By the early 1970s, as the women's movement gained momentum nationally, Paula found herself in Walnut Creek, California—a rapidly developing East Bay suburb that epitomized both the promise and the challenges of post-war American growth. Here, surrounded by new developments and growing communities, she would discover that local politics offered a concrete avenue for creating the changes she believed were necessary.
Paula's political awakening came through environmental activism in the early 1970s when she joined a grassroots coalition fighting for open space preservation in Walnut Creek. This successful campaign to place an open-space bond issue on the ballot—and win—demonstrated to her the power of organized citizen action. Standing in her living room just two years later, surrounded by thirty women ready to form the Contra Costa NWPC chapter, she would draw directly on these lessons about coalition-building, strategic planning, and the importance of persistence in the face of entrenched interests.
Her belief in women's economic independence wasn't just philosophical—it was deeply practical, rooted in her understanding that financial security provided the foundation for political participation. This conviction would shape not only her own activism but also the broader mission of the NWPC chapter she would help establish, ensuring that women's political empowerment included attention to the economic policies that affected their daily lives.
Paula's evolution from concerned citizen to movement founder illustrates the classic trajectory of grassroots leadership—observation, engagement, skill-building, and ultimately, institutional creation.
Paula's first taste of political activism came through environmental issues in early 1970s Walnut Creek. Witnessing rapid suburban development threatening the natural landscape she valued, she joined a citizen coalition working to preserve open space. This campaign taught her fundamental lessons about organizing, coalition-building, and the persistence required to move from citizen concern to policy change. The successful passage of the open-space bond issue provided both validation and practical experience in grassroots political organizing.
The success of the environmental campaign opened Paula's eyes to broader questions of representation and equality. As she gained confidence in political settings, she began noticing how few women held positions of real decision-making power. Her growing awareness of women's systemic exclusion from political leadership coincided with the national emergence of the women's movement, providing both personal motivation and a broader framework for understanding the need for organized women's political participation.
Through her environmental work and growing involvement in community issues, Paula began connecting with other women who shared similar concerns about representation and equality. These conversations, often informal but increasingly strategic, created the foundation for what would become organized political action. She developed relationships with women across different backgrounds and interests, building the diverse coalition that would be essential for effective political organizing and sustainable institutional change.
By 1973, Paula's combination of organizing experience, network of relationships, and clear vision for change culminated in the decision to establish a Contra Costa chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus. Her living room meeting that July, attracting thirty women ready to commit to organized political action, represented the transformation from individual concern to collective power. This step required not just passion but also practical skills in meeting facilitation, organizational structure, and strategic planning.
Paula's work in founding the NWPC chapter established infrastructure and processes that would outlast her individual involvement. By creating systems for recruitment, fundraising, endorsements, and campaign support, she built an organization capable of sustaining itself and growing over time. Her emphasis on practical politics—supporting viable candidates regardless of party affiliation—established principles that would guide the organization for decades, ensuring that her initial vision would continue influencing local political participation long after the founding generation stepped back from active leadership.
Paula Schiff's journey from environmental activist to political pioneer spans over five decades, marked by groundbreaking achievements in women's political organizing and sustained commitment to expanding democratic participation.
Paula joined a grassroots coalition working to preserve open space in rapidly developing Walnut Creek. Citizens overturned a proposed Shell Ridge development through a referendum, then organized a formal committee to create a preservation plan. In June 1974, voters approved Contra Costa Service Area R-8, a $6.75 million bond measure that ultimately protected 2,726 acres including Shell Ridge, Acalanes Ridge, Lime Ridge, and Sugarloaf Hill. This successful campaign taught her essential organizing skills and demonstrated the power of citizen action. The publicly owned open space that still surrounds Walnut Creek today marked her first major political success and established her credentials as an effective community organizer.
Building on her environmental organizing success, Paula began focusing specifically on women's representation in politics. She recognized that despite women's active participation in community issues like her open space campaign, they remained largely absent from formal political leadership roles. This period of growing political consciousness coincided with the national women's liberation movement, providing both inspiration and practical models for organized political action. Her commitment to women's economic independence became central to her political philosophy, recognizing that financial security was essential for meaningful political participation.
In a historic gathering in Paula's Walnut Creek living room, thirty women came together to establish the Contra Costa County Chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus. Paula's leadership in organizing this founding meeting demonstrated her ability to translate individual concern into collective action. The diverse group elected co-chairs and immediately began planning strategic interventions in local politics. This founding moment represented not just the creation of a new organization, but the establishment of institutional infrastructure for women's political participation that would last for decades. The choice of co-chair leadership structure reflected Paula's commitment to shared power and collaborative decision-making.
As one of the founding co-chairs of the Contra Costa NWPC chapter, Paula helped establish the fundamental operating principles and strategic direction that would guide the organization for decades. She developed systems for candidate evaluation, endorsement processes, and member recruitment that balanced practical politics with principled advocacy for women's representation. Her leadership emphasized the importance of supporting viable candidates across party lines, establishing a pragmatic approach to political change that prioritized results over ideological purity. This early organizational work created the foundation for sustained political impact throughout the county.
Paula led a committee effort to establish publicly funded childcare in Walnut Creek. The timing was strategic—the sole woman member of the Walnut Creek City Council had just returned from a League of Cities meeting where it was declared that publicly funded childcare should be a responsibility of individual cities. Paula's committee developed a detailed questionnaire that was distributed to Walnut Creek residents to assess childcare needs. Although the initiative was not successful due to lack of budget allocation, Paula valued the experience: "It was an experience, although not successful in the outcome." This campaign demonstrated her ability to identify policy opportunities, build coalitions, conduct research, and advocate for working families' needs.
Paula was asked to chair the fundraising auction for the NWPC state convention in Southern California. Working alongside Dorothy Dorsett, Paula organized an ambitious effort that collected over 50 items from political officeholders and candidates. Many Contra Costa NWPC chapter members helped address envelopes for the solicitation letters. The auction raised $1,500—the largest amount ever raised by the California NWPC to that date. Paula later reflected, "All in all, it was a great experience." This success demonstrated Paula's exceptional organizational and fundraising abilities while establishing new standards for NWPC fundraising that influenced the organization's approach for years to come.
Paula was appointed to serve on the Family and Child Services Advisory Committee (FACSAC) for Contra Costa County. This appointment brought her decades of community organizing experience and childcare advocacy expertise into formal government decision-making processes. Her service on FACSAC represented the fruition of her mid-1970s childcare advocacy work—transitioning from grassroots organizing to policy influence within county government. The appointment also demonstrated growing recognition of women's community leadership expertise in local government.
Paula Schiff's activism and community leadership continued for decades after 1987. Additional details about her ongoing work are being documented for a future update to this page.
These detailed narratives illuminate Paula's innovative approach to organizing and her ability to create lasting change through strategic thinking and collaborative action.
On a warm July evening in 1973, Paula Schiff opened her Walnut Creek living room to thirty women who would make history. The meeting wasn't just another social gathering—it was a carefully orchestrated political organizing session designed to bring the National Women's Political Caucus to Contra Costa County. Paula had spent weeks reaching out through her networks from environmental activism, community organizations, and personal relationships, identifying women who shared her frustration with the lack of female representation in local politics.
The diversity of women who gathered that evening reflected Paula's sophisticated understanding of coalition-building. There were Democrats and Republicans, longtime activists and political newcomers, working mothers and community volunteers, professional women and full-time homemakers. What united them was Paula's compelling vision: women deserved equal opportunity to serve in elected office, not because they were inherently better than men, but because democracy required the full participation of all citizens.
Paula's opening remarks set a tone that would define the organization for decades. She emphasized practical politics over ideological purity, explaining that their goal was to support viable women candidates regardless of party affiliation. This pragmatic approach—revolutionary in an era when women's organizations often faced pressure to choose sides in partisan battles—established a unique political space where women could unite around shared commitment to expanded representation.
The meeting's structure demonstrated Paula's organizing skills. Rather than simply discussing problems, they moved quickly to solutions: electing co-chairs, establishing meeting schedules, and beginning to identify potential candidates for upcoming elections. By the evening's end, they had created not just an organization but a functioning political operation ready to engage in the practical work of changing Contra Costa County's political landscape.
The choice to use co-chairs rather than a single president reflected Paula's commitment to shared leadership and collaborative decision-making. This structural decision would influence the organization's culture for decades, preventing the personality-driven splits that had destroyed other political organizations and ensuring that leadership development remained a continuous priority.
Within months of that living room meeting, the Contra Costa NWPC had established itself as a serious political force, conducting candidate interviews, making endorsements, and providing campaign support. Paula's vision of practical women's political organizing had created an institution that would outlast her individual involvement, supporting hundreds of women candidates over the following five decades.
The organizational structure and operating principles established at Paula's living room meeting in July 1973 provided the foundation for over five decades of women's political organizing in Contra Costa County. The NWPC chapter's continued vitality and influence today directly traces to the collaborative leadership model and practical political approach Paula championed from the organization's inception.
When the California NWPC asked the Contra Costa chapter to handle fundraising for the 1976 state convention in Southern California, most organizations might have organized a bake sale or membership drive. Paula Schiff had bigger ideas. Working with Dorothy Dorsett, she designed an innovative auction-based fundraising operation that would become legendary in NWPC circles and establish new standards for political fundraising across the women's movement.
Paula's strategy was ambitious: systematically contact every political office-holder and candidate in California, asking for donated items that could be auctioned at the convention. This required not just initial outreach but sophisticated follow-up systems, careful tracking of commitments, and coordination with the state convention planning committee. The scope of the operation was unprecedented—over fifty politicians ultimately contributed items ranging from signed photographs to private lunch meetings to exclusive event invitations.
The logistical complexity was staggering. Paula organized teams of volunteers to address hundreds of envelopes for request letters, each personalized to specific officeholders and candidates. She created tracking systems to monitor responses, send follow-up communications, and coordinate with donors about timing and delivery. The operation required coordinating across multiple counties, managing relationships with politicians' staff members, and ensuring that all donated items arrived safely at the Southern California convention site.
Convention night proved Paula's vision correct. The auction generated enormous excitement, with NWPC members bidding enthusiastically for unique political memorabilia and access opportunities. The energy in the room reflected not just competitive bidding but genuine appreciation for the unprecedented variety and quality of items Paula's team had assembled. Politicians who had donated items attended the auction, creating networking opportunities that extended the event's impact beyond simple fundraising.
The final tally—$1,500—represented more than money. It was the largest amount ever raised by the state NWPC, demolishing previous fundraising records and establishing new expectations for what women's political organizations could achieve. More importantly, the success demonstrated that women's organizations could operate at the same sophisticated level as traditional political institutions, contradicting persistent stereotypes about amateur "ladies auxiliaries."
Word of the Contra Costa chapter's fundraising innovation spread throughout the NWPC network, with other chapters adapting Paula's auction model for their own events. The techniques she developed—systematic politician outreach, volunteer coordination systems, and event logistics management—became standard practices in women's political organizing, influencing fundraising approaches far beyond California.
For Paula personally, the auction success provided validation of her organizing abilities and strategic thinking. The project required skills ranging from relationship building to project management to event coordination, demonstrating her capacity to operate effectively in complex political environments. The success opened doors to additional leadership opportunities and established her reputation as someone who could deliver results under pressure.
Paula's auction innovation became a template replicated by NWPC chapters nationwide and influenced fundraising strategies throughout the women's movement. The success helped establish women's political organizations as serious players capable of sophisticated operations, challenging stereotypes that had limited their credibility and effectiveness for decades.
Paula's childcare advocacy campaign in Walnut Creek represented groundbreaking policy innovation that was decades ahead of its time, addressing the fundamental connection between family support services and women's economic independence. The campaign began when Paula identified a strategic opportunity created by the League of Cities' declaration that publicly funded childcare should be a local responsibility—a pronouncement that most saw as a burden but Paula recognized as an opening for municipal innovation.
Her approach demonstrated sophisticated policy analysis and political strategy. Rather than simply advocating for childcare in abstract terms, Paula assembled a research committee that developed a comprehensive questionnaire to document specific community needs. This data-driven approach provided concrete evidence for policy discussions and demonstrated the professional competence that was essential for credibility in male-dominated city government.
The decision to approach Walnut Creek's sole woman council member showed Paula's understanding of political dynamics and the importance of identifying potential allies within existing power structures. She recognized that the council member would face unique pressures as the only woman and needed to provide her with political cover through comprehensive research and organized community support.
The questionnaire distribution operation required substantial volunteer coordination, with Paula organizing teams to distribute surveys throughout Walnut Creek neighborhoods. The effort involved mapping residential areas, recruiting and training volunteers, establishing collection systems, and analyzing returned surveys to produce policy-relevant findings. This grassroots research operation demonstrated that citizen organizations could conduct sophisticated policy analysis without expensive consulting contracts.
Although the campaign ultimately faced budget constraints that prevented implementation, it established important precedents for family policy advocacy and municipal innovation. The research documented community childcare needs that would inform future policy discussions, while the campaign itself demonstrated that citizens could organize around complex policy issues requiring sustained advocacy and professional-level research.
The campaign's emphasis on economic analysis—connecting childcare availability to women's workforce participation and family financial stability—anticipated policy frameworks that would become mainstream decades later. Paula's understanding that childcare was fundamentally an economic development issue, not just a social service, represented sophisticated policy thinking that was far ahead of contemporary political discourse.
For the women involved in the campaign, the experience provided valuable training in policy analysis, research methodology, and advocacy strategy. Many participants went on to engage in other policy campaigns, multiplying the campaign's impact beyond its immediate childcare focus. The collaborative research and advocacy model Paula developed became a template for future citizen organizing efforts.
Paula's childcare campaign established innovative models for citizen-led policy research and advocacy that influenced decades of family policy organizing. The campaign's emphasis on data-driven advocacy and economic analysis anticipated contemporary approaches to childcare policy while providing practical training for multiple generations of policy advocates.
Perhaps Paula's most profound impact lies not in any single campaign or organizational achievement, but in her sustained commitment to building intergenerational leadership that could outlast individual involvement. From the NWPC's earliest days, Paula recognized that lasting political change required more than electing individual women to office—it demanded creating institutional infrastructure that could support multiple generations of women leaders across changing political circumstances.
Her approach to leadership development was both systematic and personal, combining formal mentoring relationships with informal guidance and support. Paula made herself available to women considering political involvement, offering practical advice about campaign strategy, fundraising techniques, and the realities of political life. Her mentoring went beyond encouragement to include specific skill development: how to analyze policy proposals, how to build coalitions across ideological differences, how to manage volunteer organizations, and how to sustain motivation through inevitable setbacks and defeats.
The impact of this mentoring became visible over decades as Paula's protégées moved into leadership positions throughout Contra Costa County. Women she had guided in the 1970s and 1980s became city council members, school board trustees, and county officials in the 1990s and 2000s. These second-generation leaders, in turn, mentored their own successors, creating networks of mutual support and knowledge transfer that extended Paula's influence far beyond her direct relationships.
Paula's commitment to institutional sustainability showed in her attention to organizational processes and documentation. She insisted on maintaining meeting minutes, preserving endorsement records, and creating systems for candidate evaluation that could continue regardless of leadership changes. This emphasis on institutional memory ensured that hard-won lessons from early organizing efforts wouldn't be lost when founding leaders stepped back from active involvement.
Her work to preserve NWPC history through oral history projects and historical documentation reflects her understanding that social movements require not just action but also reflection and learning. By sharing detailed accounts of organizing strategies, fundraising innovations, and coalition-building techniques, Paula ensured that contemporary activists could build on previous achievements rather than starting from scratch with each new generation.
The intergenerational vision Paula championed has proven remarkably successful. The NWPC chapter she founded continues operating over five decades later, adapting to changing political circumstances while maintaining core commitments to women's political representation. Current NWPC leaders regularly acknowledge the foundation Paula's generation built, while Paula continues learning from newer approaches to organizing and advocacy, creating genuine intergenerational dialogue rather than simple reverence for past achievements.
This sustained institutional impact represents Paula's most significant contribution to women's political advancement. While individual elections come and go, the organizational infrastructure and leadership development systems she created have supported hundreds of women's political careers and influenced thousands of election outcomes across five decades of changing political circumstances.
Paula's intergenerational leadership development approach created institutional sustainability that has supported women's political participation for over fifty years. The mentoring networks, organizational systems, and institutional memory preservation she championed continue influencing contemporary women's political organizing, ensuring that foundational achievements support ongoing progress rather than being lost to historical amnesia.
Paula Schiff's lasting impact spans multiple areas of civic engagement, from institutional creation to policy innovation to leadership development, establishing foundations that continue supporting women's political participation today.
Paula's establishment of the Contra Costa NWPC chapter in July 1973 created institutional infrastructure that has supported women's political participation for over five decades. Her strategic decision to use collaborative leadership structures and focus on practical politics rather than ideological purity established organizational principles that have proven remarkably durable. The chapter has endorsed and supported hundreds of women candidates, contributed to fundamental changes in local political culture, and provided training and networking opportunities for multiple generations of women leaders. The organization's continued vitality fifty years after its founding represents the ultimate validation of Paula's foundational vision and organizational skills.
Paula's development of the systematic politician-outreach auction model revolutionized fundraising approaches throughout the women's movement, demonstrating that women's organizations could operate at the same sophisticated level as traditional political institutions. Her 1976 state convention auction raised $1,500—the largest amount ever raised by the California NWPC—while establishing techniques that were replicated by chapters nationwide. The innovation required complex logistics coordination, relationship building with dozens of politicians, and volunteer management across multiple counties. Beyond the immediate financial success, the project challenged persistent stereotypes about amateur "ladies auxiliaries" and established new expectations for what women's political organizations could achieve through strategic planning and professional execution.
Paula's successful campaign for open space preservation in Walnut Creek during the early 1970s created lasting environmental protection that continues benefiting the community today. Her coalition-building work brought together diverse community members around shared environmental values, demonstrating the political power of citizen organizing. The campaign's success in placing and passing an open-space bond issue established important precedents for environmental protection in rapidly developing suburban areas. The publicly owned open space that still surrounds Walnut Creek represents a tangible, permanent achievement that protects natural resources while providing recreational opportunities for multiple generations. This environmental work also provided Paula with essential organizing experience that she later applied to women's political organizing.
Paula's groundbreaking childcare advocacy campaign in Walnut Creek anticipated contemporary policy frameworks by decades, establishing innovative approaches to citizen-led policy research and advocacy. Her systematic questionnaire distribution to document community childcare needs demonstrated that citizen organizations could conduct sophisticated policy analysis without expensive consulting contracts. The campaign's emphasis on economic analysis—connecting childcare availability to women's workforce participation and family financial stability—represented sophisticated policy thinking that was far ahead of its time. Although budget constraints prevented immediate implementation, the research documented community needs that informed future policy discussions while providing valuable advocacy training for participating women. The collaborative research and advocacy model Paula developed became a template for future citizen organizing efforts around family policy issues.
In 1987, Paula was appointed to serve on the Family and Child Services Advisory Committee (FACSAC) for Contra Costa County. This appointment brought her decades of community organizing experience and childcare advocacy expertise into formal government decision-making processes. Her service on FACSAC represented the fruition of her mid-1970s childcare advocacy work—transitioning from grassroots organizing to policy influence within county government. The appointment also demonstrated growing recognition of women's community leadership expertise in local government.
Paula's development and implementation of a practical politics approach focused on supporting viable women candidates regardless of party affiliation established operational principles that have guided women's political organizing for decades. Her emphasis on electability over ideological purity created unique political space where women could unite around shared commitment to expanded representation while maintaining diverse partisan affiliations. This pragmatic approach proved remarkably effective in changing local political culture, contributing to fundamental shifts in how women's candidacies were perceived and supported. The philosophy prevented the partisan splits that had destroyed other political organizations while maintaining focus on the concrete goal of electing women to office. Current NWPC operations continue reflecting Paula's practical politics principles, demonstrating the lasting value of strategic thinking that prioritizes results over ideological consistency in the pursuit of systemic political change.
Paula's reflections on women's political participation and economic independence
"I became involved in women's issues not because I believed a woman was better than a man in the political arena but because I wanted women to have an equal opportunity to serve in elected public office. I was not convinced that a woman would be more moral or that a woman would be more responsive to women's issues."
"I have always believed that women need to be economically independent. Having a say in the government is one way to determine how laws affect wages, insurance, benefits."
"Be knowledgeable about the issues and be prepared to respond to the needs of the community. Be involved in community actions. The struggle is not over. We need to be consistent in our involvement in politics."
"But can she type?"