Women's Action for New Directions

In the early 1980s, anti-nuclear activist Helen Caldicott founded the Women's Party for Survival which then gathered around a kitchen table in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

[1][2] With the help of thousands of volunteers, the group began educating the public and policymakers about the threat of the arms race and potential policy solutions, eventually opening a second office in Washington, D.C. in 1985.

Students Take Action for New Directions (STAND) was founded by 13 young women at WAND's 1999 biennial WAND/WiLL national conference.

In order to achieve a safer and more secure world, WAND's focus included, but was not limited to (1) eliminating the threat of nuclear war; (2) ensuring women's voices are integrated into peacebuilding agendas; and (3) advocating for a federal budget that promotes diplomacy and rejects defense spending that comes at the expense of everyday Americans.

The Handbook aims to empower women to hold their elected officials accountable and build a grassroots movement to end the threat of nuclear war.

Training workshops, policy briefings, and professional development programs help legislators to become more effective at home and to strengthen working relationships with their Congressional colleagues.

In the PAC's early years, WAND endorsed and donated to non-members that supported the organizations goals.