The best part of #YoungWomenRun? Meeting a network of young women passionate about political leadership.
If you want to find a room full of inspiring young women from across the nation infused with a passion to serve their communities, then you’ve come to the right place. IGNITE National and Running Start created their inaugural #YoungWomenRun, a training for outstanding college and young professional women who plan to run for office, which took place last month in Washington, DC. Speakers included outstanding individuals such as Former Representative Mary Bono, 43rd Treasurer Rosie Rios, and Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 115th Congress Nancy Pelosi. During this two-day event, participants were not only exposed to leading women within government across the nation but representatives from top-of-the-line organizations like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Solidarity Strategies, and the Op-Ed Project that presented on valuable tools to help a political candidate run for office. In addition, other politically-engaged nonprofits participated on a panel to provide additional training and support for participants, including RightNOW, She Should Run, VoteRunLead, Empowered Women, Representation 2020, Latinas Represent, and Higher Heights.
As a participant who had previously run for public office, who is a Running Start alum, and who currently works for IGNITE as a Program Facilitator, I took on a double role of sharing my story with other young women aspiring to run for office while gaining as many tools and networking opportunities as possible. I shared my story towards political engagement through an online live interview with the The Representation Project, the organization behind the documentary Miss Representation.
I also participated in an impromptu elevator pitch for the training that spotlighted my early advocacy for Nahum’s Law.
But the most impressive part of the entire conference was the ability of participants to interact with one another. The women I met while at #YoungWomenRun have exponentially blown my network into a new, more sophisticated direction full of leading women from across the nation. I met young women who were currently running for local office, some who founded nonprofits focused on political engagement among their communities, news anchors interested in the political sphere, and female student body presidents who made HERstory on their respective campuses. I am honored to have attended this conference and met amazing women and men who have begun inspiring the next generation of female political leaders. Thank you, IGNITE and Running Start!
Brooke López is majoring in Public Affairs and Geography at the University of Texas at Dallas and started her political career at a young age. At 15, she worked with her local congresswoman to propose a bill; at 16, she founded a nonprofit, “Student of Change”; at 18, she ran for Wylie City Council; and at 19, she became the youngest member of the Wylie Public Arts Advisory Board. She’s also involved in the Delta Zeta Sorority, the Gamma Theta Upsilon Geographic Honor Society, the John Marshall Pre-Law Society, the AAUW National College/University Relations Committee, PERIOD: The Menstrual Movement, and more.
