Yuriko Doku and Katie B Temple

By Sarah Wengert
Photo by Ron Coleman, C4 Photography

Yuriko Doku and Katie B {sic} Temple are not billionaires, well-heeled professional lobbyists or executives running powerful corporations.

Yet in 2025, after meeting through the Women’s Fund’s Circles leadership group, Doku and Temple helped plan and lead the Circles inaugural lobby day. What they lacked in experience, they made up for in enthusiasm—and their blend of personal talents made for a strong engine.

“I’m pretty passionate about public policy and gender equity,” said Doku, assistant director of the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS), where she’d had some previous experience working with senators through civic engagement grants.

Doku is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in public administration at UNO. She’s of third-generation Japanese descent, originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, and has been living in Omaha for 22 years.

Doku believes authentic storytelling is an important part of policy advocacy.

“I think my voice has to be heard when it comes to the issues I care about,” she said.

Temple, an Ohio native who’s called Omaha home for more than 10 years, joined the project helm at the request of Circles staff liaison and Women’s Fund Education and Training Director Lisa Schulze.

“I didn’t have any previous experience in this arena, but the skills I brought were gathering and leading people and bringing my energy and my spirit, which I do in my day job,” said Temple, who’s a Program Director at Completely Kids and a full-time visual artist.

“I decided to help lead [lobby day] because this subject was outside my comfort zone. I wanted to learn more about advocacy, policy, the legislature, and how to really make a difference in that arena. Yuri has experience there, so we tag-teamed our skills and knowledge together, and I think we made a really good team,” she said.

Circles is a diverse network of leaders who support the mission of the Women’s Fund. Its members cultivate authentic relationships and leverage a community that supports and empowers each other. The popular group is nearly 15 years old and offers leadership opportunities, project work, relationship-building and more.

Organizing the first Circles lobby day, which was themed “Ignite Change,” was 2025’s public policy group project. To bring Circles’ inaugural lobby day to fruition, Doku, Temple, and 13 other group members worked with Schulze and other Women’s Fund staff, including Policy Director Erin Feichtinger, Ph.D.

“This was a really big project, and we were fortunate to have a great cluster of team members and Women’s Fund staff working together,” said Doku. “Before lobby day, our group also hosted a webinar called Legislative 101 with Dr. [Feichtinger], and that helped participants prepare for lobby day.”

The Legislative 101 session, held on February 18, 2025, educated participants and other Circles members on the basic structure and rules of the Nebraska Unicameral. The webinar also outlined how attendees could best engage their representatives and advocate for policies that mattered to them.

As a 501(c)(3) organization, the Women’s Fund of Omaha does not lobby for nor encourage its Circles members to lobby for specific political candidates. Rather, the Circles lobby day encouraged participants solely to advocate for policies that support women and girls and align with the Women’s Fund mission, as well as other issues that matter to them.

The project group worked with Women’s Fund staff to create and share a handout listing bills that could impact women in Nebraska and where each was in the legislative process. Participants also got information about relevant committees and committee members.

“This way, everyone had the chance to do their homework ahead of time on the process and what bills they would prioritize,” Doku said.

The Ignite Change Circles lobby day, on April 8, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., had more than 55 attendees, including current Circles members and alumni, Women’s Fund staff and community members. The group first gathered at a conference room across the street from the Nebraska State Capitol.

“We had some welcome remarks, and then Dr. Feichtinger gave us a crash course on what to do and what to expect for the day,” Doku said. “I think for the majority, and I can include myself, you have to learn how to do it. It was also good for us to gather, talk and get energized.

Temple said the preparation in February and the practical lobbying tips the morning of were essential and served to empower attendees to participate.

“Learning what to expect and how to proceed was

an important part of the project. For example, we learned how to put a note in to the Senator and how to talk to them,” said Temple. “Then we walked over to the Capitol and did it! It can be intimidating at first if you’ve never [lobbied], even for people who are into policy. It’s like, wait, you literally just take this note card and write down who you want to talk to, then give the ca rd to the guy in the red suit? Yeah, that’s it. You just feel like it’s going to be more complex or difficult.”

Doku said participants were able to speak to senators individually and in groups. While she’s accustomed to working behind the scenes at events, she was proud to also participate at lobby day.

“Some of us were interested in the Education Committee and we talked together with the state senators on that committee, and then I was able to talk with my own state senator. The senators were very approachable, and it was an empowering experience,” she said.

Temple also noted the importance of facing any potential intimidation, fear or imposter syndrome, and just engaging with your representatives.

“I was certainly intimidated at first, but they’re just human and we’re human, too. You don’t need some big political background,” she said. “It was beautiful to see that anyone can do this. And it was inspiring to see all these women join together and get really into the process. Having that support with other women was just so empowering.”

Temple said that in a pure coincidence, the pre-planned Circles lobby day ended up being the day LB3 was voted on. The bill, also dubbed the “winner take all” bill, would have adjusted the way Nebraska awards its Electoral College votes, but it failed to overcome a filibuster.

“[LB3] was a bill many of us were talking to our senators about. I got to speak with my senator, Merv Riepe. He really does talk with his [constituents], and tends to vote on what his people want, so it was a very interesting day for us to be there,” Temple said. “The Women’s Fund does have its core bills that we wanted to hit on, and values we align with, but they were open to the group lobbying about what’s important to each of us personally. I really enjoyed that openness.”

Doku and Temple said that even when representatives expressed opposition to their policy goals, the process still felt productive.

“Even if a senator was against something we advocated for, we were still able to provide information and potentially continue that conversation and provide more knowledge in the future,” Temple said. The feedback on the first Circles lobby day was overwhelmingly positive, leaving participants fired up to continue and expand their advocacy efforts, Temple said.

Doku said one person telling their story can be very impactful.

“When testifying, you have to be strategic but also authentic. Sometimes it’s not easy, but it’s important that the person who faces a specific challenge is the one to talk, because it is more impactful if they do it. It’s our voice and we are the constituents, so we have to show up.” W