VRL10: A Decade of Daring, A Future That’s Ours

NEW YORK, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In the face of significant setbacks and losses in the 2024 national election, women and gender-expansive leaders still have reason to celebrate important individual wins and historic gains across the country. Notably, women have achieved majority representation in the state legislatures of Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. At the forefront of this movement to build women’s political power, especially in our statehouses, is Vote Run Lead, the largest and most diverse nonprofit dedicated to training women to run for office, which is proudly marking its 10-year anniversary with an undaunted vision for what’s to come.

“We’ve spent the past decade daring for a better future, and now through tremendous hard work, we are closer than ever,” noted Erin Vilardi, founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead. “Vote Run Lead was born out of a bold dream of training women to lead in public office. In the 10 years since launching Vote Run Lead, we’ve grown into a vibrant, powerful community of women and gender-expansive leaders reshaping government at all levels. The historic gains we are celebrating today — and the thousands of leaders we’ve trained — show how far we’ve come and the bright future we’re building together.”

Since 2014, Vote Run Lead has trained women and gender-expansive individuals from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and two U.S. territories. In 2016, just one week after the November election, a record-breaking 1,000+ individuals signed up for Vote Run Lead’s trainings. In 2019, Vote Run Lead held its largest-ever one-day training — simultaneously in 20 cities across the United States. In 2021, Vote Run Lead launched its landmark initiative, Run/51, which focuses on transforming key state legislatures to achieve 51% representation with women and gender-nonconforming leaders. In 2023, Vote Run Lead launched its affiliate organization, Vote Run Lead Action, and tripled its reach throughout the U.S.

“We are very proud that in the November 2024 election, we had 541 Vote Run Lead Action alumni on ballots across 42 states and Washington, D.C. — the highest number in our history,” Vilardi said. “With a 68% general election win rate, these victories continue to shape a government that is more reflective of the population it represents.”

Some Vote Run Lead alumni who have spearheaded transformative work over the years include:

• Alicka Ampry-Samuel, former New York City council member, addressed the housing crisis and advocated for working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She now continues her affordable housing focus as a regional administrator for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

• Kim Schofield, serving in the Georgia General Assembly since 2017, has legislated on protecting healthcare access, women’s rights, and safe, affordable housing across the state.

• Nikema Williams, U.S. representative and former Georgia state senator, champions voting rights, reproductive justice, social justice, economic justice and healthcare.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, Vote Run Lead is celebrating its alumni and milestones on its Vote Run Lead website (voterunlead.org), and launching a campaign to raise $1 million in new donations and pledges to continue the hard work of achieving equal representation and a women’s majority. There is also an opportunity to meet some of the voters, candidates and leaders blazing a trail to achieve a truly reflective democracy. Some examples are alumni Athena Hollins, Minnesota state representative and majority whip, and Allie Phillips, a 2024 candidate for Tennessee state representative, who both share their experiences training with Vote Run Lead.

To learn more about Vote Run Lead’s impact and to support the VRL10 anniversary, visit www.voterunlead.org. To sign up for Vote Run Lead’s free resources and campaign training modules, visit vrlhq.org. To see how close (or how far) your state’s representation to being reflective of its population, visit stateofmydemocracy.org. To learn more about training events and to get help running for office, visit voterunleadaction.org.

Vote Run Lead trains women to run for office and win. Vote Run Lead is a nonprofit training powerhouse focused on improving women’s representation in America’s statehouses. Vote Run Lead, founded by Erin Vilardi, seeks to unleash the political power of women as voters, candidates and leaders to create an equitable and reflective democracy. Vote Run Lead’s training and partner programs have touched more than 56,000 women and gender-expansive individuals. To learn more, visit  voterunlead.org or follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @VoteRunLead.

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• Vote Run Lead celebrates 10th anniversary – a decade of daring. A future that’s ours.

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