VoteRunLead


VoteRunLead is a 501 nonprofit organization that trains women to run for office in the United States. Founded in 2014 by Erin Vilardi with co-founders Rhonda Briggins, Shannon Garrett, Pakou Hang and Liz Johnson, it is nationally recognized as the largest, most diverse candidate training program for women.
VoteRunLead is non-partisan and focuses on state and local offices. The organization has trained more than 33,000 women to run for office and is planning to train another 30,000 women by 2020.

History

VoteRunLead was first launched in 2004 by Marie C. Wilson and Erin Vilardi as a program of The White House Project, establishing the largest national political training program readying women for public office and training more than 15,000 women to run for office and seek out leadership opportunities in their civic life. After The White House Project closed, VoteRunLead was founded as a standalone organization in 2014 by Erin Vilardi with Rhonda Briggins, Shannon Garrett, Pakou Hang and Liz Johnson.
In 2018, Jehmu Greene became Board Chair and Erika Alexander, Piper Perabo and Bre Pettis joined the Advisory Board.
A photo of Representatives Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at VoteRunLead's Women & Power: National Town Hall went viral after Ocasio-Cortez posted it on her Instagram page. The photo, captioned "Squad," served as a reminder that the incoming 116th Congress is the "most female, most diverse ever, both racially and ideologically."

Notable Alumnae