The Story of Us

Vote Run Lead trains women to run for office and win, reaching over 55,000 women across America. Our alumni serve on city councils, county boards, state houses, supreme courts, and Congress. We unleash the political power of women as voters, candidates, and leaders to create and sustain an equitable democracy.

Launched in 2014, today, Vote Run Lead is four times the size of our start, reaching tens of thousands of women—nearly 60% of whom are women of color and 20% of whom are from rural America.

2005-2012

Over 15,000 women were trained by Vote Run Lead, the political training program of The White House Project.

2014

Vote Run Lead was created in response to increased demand for training from across the country.

2015

Vote Run Lead launches weekly webinars reaching thousands of women over the course of eleven months.

2016

“Dare To Lead: a historic conference for women’s leadership” takes place online and in seven cities, and more than 1000 women registered for online training “This is How You Run for Office.”

2017

The “Run As You Are” Tour is launched in response to over 300 requests from Alaska to Puerto Rico.

2018

Hundreds of Vote Run Lead alumnae are elected to serve: from City Councils to the U.S. Congress

2019

Vote Run Lead makes history with the largest single day of training, reaching 3,000 women in 20 cities and online.

2020

Vote Run Lead sees 400% growth in alumnae since 2015, and “Your Kitchen Cabinet,” a virtual gathering place for women leaders to discuss issues and build community with political experts, is launched.

2021

Vote Run Lead launched RUN/51 to move our state legislatures to 51% women’s representation.

2022

Vote Run Lead launched the interactive State of My Democracy tool to understand the representation of women and women of color in your state house and senate.

2023

Vote Run Lead launched VRLHQ, our expert-curated website that empowers women to run for office and win on their terms, and hosts its first-ever Campaign Leadership Lab, which brought women together to become a new cohort of campaign managers for the future.

Vote Run Lead is rooted in a solid foundation of unwavering values that guide our work and shape our organization. Discover the core of our mission and values.

Meet the Team

Vote Run Lead staffers are dreamers, activists, strategists and movement leaders — each of whom brings a unique perspective to our fight to advance women’s representation across all levels of government.

Our focus includes national, statewide and local government, and we encourage women and gender-expansive folks from all backgrounds to embrace the “Run As You Are” philosophy, because our communities and our democracy work best when we all participate.

Staff members work remotely most of the time but also gather for team-building and professional development events several times a year. We also travel periodically to support our colleagues, speak at industry events, or host trainings or networking events for candidates, campaign managers, alumnae and members of our community. Sometimes we’ll even just throw a great party — because finding joy is an important part of sustaining the fight for justice!

Join The Team

Working at Vote Run Lead means being part of a dynamic team dedicated to advancing women’s representation and shaping the future of democracy.

We foster a collaborative and inclusive environment where your ideas are valued, providing opportunities for growth and making a real impact in the pursuit of equitable and diverse leadership.

Join us to inspire change, empower women, and create a more reflective democracy.

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