Joyce Luhrs On League of Women Voters Board

Joyce Luhrs, president of the marketing and management firm Luhrs & Associates, has been appointed to the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley's board of directors. The Leonia resident will serve a two-year term from 2010-2012.

The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley is a part of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, a non-partisan political organization. The League of Women Voters was founded in April 1920 as a successor to the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association. Today the League encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Ms. Luhrs has been involved in the League of Women Voters in various capacities over the years, including as a member of the board of directors of the League of Women Voters of Leonia. She served as membership chair and implemented its publicity campaigns. As a member of the League of Women Voters of NJ State Education Committee, she coordinated a conference on issues impacting education in urban areas in the state.

"Joyce Luhrs is creative and certain to be a great asset to the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley's board of directors. Her extensive marketing and management experiences working in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors and being involved in the community will help the League grow and develop," said Ann Moscovitz, president, League of Women Voters of Northern Valley.

Ms. Luhrs brings to the League extensive experience working with businesses and nonprofits to promote and increase their image and name recognition in various markets. Her company, Luhrs & Associates, is a creative marketing, public relations, and management services firm that works with businesses, celebrities, nonprofit organizations and schools.

Under her direction, the company has launched several community projects through its In the Community program, an annual community service initiative for nonprofit organizations. Earlier this year, the company implemented a statewide publicity and community outreach campaign to announce the Hispanic Business Council Scholarship Foundation of NJ, Inc.'s 2010 scholarship program, resulting in a 103% increase in applications received. Other activities include providing pro-bono one-on-one consulting about public relations and publicity to nonprofit leaders attending the Center for Nonprofits 2009 conference; sponsoring linen, school supply and children's book drives to aid the Ramapough Lenape Nation in New Jersey and New York; and undertaking other collections to support domestic violence shelters and arts programs.

She is also active in other community organizations, such as Rotary Club of The Palisades, NJ and Leonia Art and has received numerous awards, including a New Jersey Women of Achievement Award from Douglass College and the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs and several other honors.

Ms. Luhrs holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. She held a Leadership New Jersey fellowship and public policy fellowships from the University at Albany, State University of New York-Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, the City of New York and the Washington, D.C. based Institute for Educational Leadership's Education Policy Fellowship Program.