TAP Wins WBASNY’s President Award

Women's TAP Fund Receives President's Award from Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, Western Chapter

The honor recognizes more than three decades of supporting pro-choice, pro-children women for office across Western New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BUFFALO, N.Y., [October 2 2026]: The Women's Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY), Western Chapter, has given its President's Award to the Women's TAP Fund. TAP is a nonpartisan political action committee that backs pro-choice, pro-child women running for office in Western New York. The award was presented on October 1, 2026 at the Barrel Factory in Buffalo, NY.

The President's Award goes to a person or organization whose leadership is a role model for others. Its ideals and work must match WBASNY's mission: raising the status of women in society and the legal profession, and the fair and equal administration of justice.

"Women's leadership is ultimately about self-determination: having the freedom to choose, the opportunity to lead, and the ability to help shape the world around us," said Gabrielle Markle, president of the chapter, as she presented the award. "The Women's TAP Fund believes in that same principle."

The TAP steering committee vets candidates on their platforms and positions, endorsing women willing to put in the work, no matter the outcome. From her first campaign, TAP has endorsed current New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Other politicians TAP has endorsed are: Crystal Peoples Stokes, Zenetta Everhart, Leah Halton Pope, Judge Amy Martucci, Judge Susan Eagan, Karen McMahon, April Baskin, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin. During her remarks, Markle also pointed to Erie County Legislator Taisha St. Jean Tard, a TAP-supported official. St. Jean Tard has pushed for bars and nightclubs to offer drink covers to patrons who ask for them, as a safeguard against drink spiking.

"TAP's greatest legacy may not be any single elected official," Markle said. "It is the idea that women belong in all places where decisions are being made, and that our communities are stronger when they are there."

Laura Kirkpatrick, co-chair of the Women's TAP Fund, accepted the award with co-chair Dr. Molly Carr.

"Our two organizations are bound by the same conviction: that rights are only as strong as the people willing to protect them," Kirkpatrick said. "TAP's mission is to put women in the seats where laws are made, to protect the rights of women and children. Yours is the tough part: enforcing those laws, defending them, and making sure they hold when they're tested. To be recognized by the people on the front lines of this fight is an honor we don't take lightly."

Kirkpatrick noted that threats to women’s rights, the impetuses to TAP’s founding, have grown over the last decade. "Even though more women than men vote, women receive significantly less funding," she said. "From the 2 TAP-endorsed women serving on Buffalo’s City Council to the 13 percent of global leaders, women do not hold a majority."

Carr gave the credit to the women who built the organization. "Laura and I were privileged to step into the role of co-chairs, but we stand on the shoulders of amazing women," she said. She named TAP president Emerita Barbara Schifeling, Margot Glick and Jackie Rushton, among others, and called them "the true recipients of the President's Award."

"Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 and overturned in 2022. It took less than 50 years to overturn one of the most important decisions protecting women's rights to their own bodies," Carr said. "We cannot stop to take a breather, let our guard down, or begin to think our work is close to being done."

About the Women's TAP Fund
The Women's TAP Fund is a nonpartisan political action committee founded in 1992. It supports pro-choice, pro-child women candidates across Western New York and works to close the fundraising gap that women running for office face.

About WBASNY, Western Chapter
The Western Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York works to raise the status of women in society and in the legal profession and to promote the fair and equal administration of justice.

For more information: Info@Womenstapfund.com