January 3, 2025

Happy New Year

Good afternoon, and happy New Year.

We at Drive US Forward are grateful for your support over the last year, and can’t wait to get started on this new one together. But before we move on, I’d like to take a moment to remember our work and wins from 2024.

First, in advocacy. In May, we worked with the office of Senator Deb Fischer to introduce the bipartisan She DRIVES Act (S. 4299). Then, from June to December, we met with dozens of U.S. Senate offices to secure their support – and succeeded. In total, S. 4299 now has 12 cosponsors, including Senators Murray, Blackburn, Duckworth, Warnock, Brown, Capito, Collins, Wyden, Cornyn, Welch, Britt, and Hickenlooper.

These new cosponsors didn’t join by accident, either; many of them signed on after their constituents urged them to. In August, we launched our Contact Your Legislators tool so that people across the country could call their Senators to tell them why the She DRIVES Act is critical legislation. To date, the tool has been used over 700 times.

In September, we brought together a group of transportation safety and Gen Z leaders to officially endorse S. 4299. For the first time, Joan Claybrook, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the National Safety Council, the FIA Foundation, and many more, called on Senator Cantwell and Senator Cruz to bring the She DRIVES Act to a Commerce Committee vote.

That’s not all we advocated for. Early in 2024, we advised Appropriations Committee leaders in both the House and Senate to include our Report Language in the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bills. In July, both chambers’ Appropriations Committees officially agreed to do just that. Lastly, in October, we worked with Congresswoman Pingree and 55 of her Democratic Women’s Caucus colleagues on a letter encouraging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make cars safe for women.

Second, on awareness. This year, we reached new audiences; Good Morning America, Politico, the Kelly Clarkson Show, StreetsBlog USA, iHeart Radio, and others, featured us. On TikTok, our videos went viral – our biggest from the year has over 750,000 views. In February, I presented on Drive at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. In April, we partnered with Robin Bell to project our message on the Department of Transportation’s headquarters in Washington, DC. In September, I spoke on our work at NOYS’ National Youth Transportation Equity Convening in Denver and the National Association of Women Highway Safety Leaders’ Annual Conference in Indianapolis. Our message is growing, and people are listening.

2024 was challenging and rewarding; it presented us with new opportunities to grow, learn, and contribute. We could not have made the progress we did without all of you. And, I know that 2025 will require the same. I’m looking forward to another year of fighting to make our country a better one for women and girls, and I hope you are too.

Before I close out, I wanted to share a brief personal note. This January and February, I will be volunteering on farms in South America – first in Patagonia, then in the Andes. Access to the internet and email will be limited. In the time that I am out of the country, most of Drive’s work will be behind the scenes. Accordingly, the monthly newsletter will be paused until my return. Thank you for understanding, and I am looking forward to reconnecting with you in March.

Warmly,

Maria