Membership Monthly – March 2026

Updates from the NGA Membership Team for March 2026. For more about the programs below and a list of upcoming events please email NGA at: membership@nga.org.

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March Spotlight

NGA Holds 2026 Winter Meeting

NGA hosted the 2026 Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., February 19-21. NGA welcomed more than 40 Governors and other experts to the meeting for solutions-driven conversations on pressing national issues including affordability, energy, economic growth, artificial intelligence and more. NGA Chair Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Vice Chair Maryland Governor Wes Moore closed out the 2026 NGA Winter Meeting with a press conference where they offered thanks to their fellow Governors for a week of collaboration on the issues that matter to Americans. View the closing press conference here.

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FIRST SPOUSES

First Spouses Convene at NGA Winter Meeting

At the 2026 NGA Winter Meeting, First Spouses met with Second Lady Usha Vance, the Special Olympics (meeting pictured below), Hope Awareness Training and the University of Oklahoma. The meetings with Hope Awareness Training and the University of Oklahoma served as an extension of Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt’s ongoing efforts to raise hope among all communities, particularly the most vulnerable. As part of her work, Mrs. Stitt co-founded Hope Rising USA as an initiative to empower people, families and communities to better their lives through the Science of Hope. Read more here.

NGA Holds Youth Mental Health Action Lab

NGA hosted First Spouses and state policy teams from across the country for the 2026 Youth Mental Health Action Lab. Held in Ashville, North Carolina, the Action Lab included a series of discussions with subject-matter experts on actionable steps states and territories can take to improve youth mental health outcomes. More details about the meeting can be found here. Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt (pictured below) was one of the First Spouses who participated in the meeting.

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RECENT NGA ACTIVITIES

Governors Applaud Progress on Housing Affordability

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, co-chairs of the NGA Workforce and Community Investment Task Force, released a statement on congressional consideration of the “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.” The statement notes Governors have been on the frontlines of housing affordability and are pleased that Congress is now working to deliver the bold, supply-side leadership that states have pioneered. Read the full statement here

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NGA and Blue Star Families Launch Do Your Part State Toolkit to Support Military Families

At the 2026 NGA Winter Meeting, Blue Star Families, the nation’s largest nonprofit serving military and veteran families, launched the Do Your Part State Toolkit, a first-of-its-kind, policy resource designed to highlight and advance state-level actions that support military-connected families.

The Do Your Part State Toolkit is a practical resource for states to learn from one another, identify easy-to-implement opportunities, and deliver real impact through proven, straightforward efforts.

The Do Your Part State Initiative is a national, bipartisan initiative co-chaired by NGA Vice Chair Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Utah Governor Spencer Cox to help states strengthen their support of military families.

States and territories that have already joined the Do Your Part State Initiative include Alabama, American Samoa, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet participated in a conversation held at the NGA Winter Meeting to highlight ways Governors are working to help military families and veterans achieve the American Dream. Watch the discussion here.

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NGA and C-BEN Partner to Strengthen Public Talent Infrastructure

The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) launched Powering Trust in Skills, a new national initiative supported by the Walmart Foundation, and released the Governing Talent Marketplaces: A Guide for State Leaders, developed in partnership with NGA. Together, this initiative and guide provide Governors’ offices and state agencies with practical tools to move from skills-based vision to durable, scalable implementation. Read more here.

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NGA Releases Policy Brief on Outdoor Recreation and Public Health Policies

NGA hosted an event last year where Governors’ health advisors, directors of state and territory offices of outdoor recreation, academics, and non-profit stakeholders discussed opportunities for state and territory innovation at the nexus of health and outdoor recreation policy. NGA released an overview of the meeting to explore ways Governors are advancing health policy and outdoor recreation opportunities in their states and territories. Read more here.

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NGA Commentary Highlights Governors’ Infrastructure Policies

NGA released the commentary “The State of Infrastructure: Governors 2026 Priorities” to highlight infrastructure policies Governors are advancing across the country, focusing specifically on programs Governors have highlighted in their 2026 State of the State addresses. Read the commentary here.

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March in Photos

NGA routinely shares photos of Governors at work. Highlights from the past month follow. Governors and First Spouses visiting summer fairs.

Pictured Above:

Top Row (L to R): Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, Hawai’i Governor Josh Green, M.D., and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey
Middle Row (L to R): Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKeeBottom Row (L to R): U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. and North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp, and Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero and American Samoa Governor Pula Nikolao Pul