By Kathy Groob, Publisher

If you’re a female political candidate, chances are you’ve heard of The White House Project and maybe even attended one of their campaign trainings – Vote, Run, Lead.  Behind this 10-year-old women’s power movement stands Marie Wilson, businesswoman, entrepreneur and most of all, leader.  A bright vibrant woman, Marie Wilson and the White House Project are focused on a single mission – to elect more women and change politics.

Once a candidate and elected city official, Wilson believes she is making a bigger impact on the women’s movement “outside of politics rather than serving in office.”  “People need to understand this is permanent change we are working on at The White House Project,” added Wilson.

The White House Project is working to build a critical mass of female candidates running for public office.  The organization’s pioneering grassroots initiative – Vote, Run, Lead – offers a real life experience into leading a political life.  The United States currently ranks 71^st in the world in terms of women holding political office.

Wilson believes we in the United States haven’t been thinking big enough.  “We need a massive effort to recruit, train and support women running for office,” said Wilson.  “All the groups need to be there, to work together to build awareness of how far behind we are and to prepare women to run.”

Marie Wilson describes the problem as three-fold:  1) Not enough awareness of women’s dismal statistics in the political arena; 2) Lack of awareness of the huge positive impact women make when they are elected; and 3) It takes many, many female candidates to make an difference, not just a few.

Wilson recognizes that although her organization is filling a 12-year pipeline and is expected to train 36,000 women in 15 states by 2013, they can’t possibly reach every area of the United States.  She encourages other organizations to work together to provide resources and training.  “We need the equivalent of armies of women running; we can’t just send in one battalion,” states Wilson.

Prior to founding The White House project, Marie Wilson was the co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work ® Day and author of Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World.

In 1998, while President of the Ms. Foundation for Women, Wilson founded The White House Project in recognition of the need to build a truly representative democracy; one where women lead alongside men in politics, media and business. She left the Ms. Foundation in 2004 after two decades, to devote her full energy to the Project.  The White House Project has trained more than 6,000 women to lead a political life since the inception of the Vote, Run, Lead Program.

Born and raised in Georgia, Wilson has five children and seven grandchildren. She resides in New York City.

The White House Project is a non-partisan, nonprofit 501c(3) organization. To support and contribute to The White House Project, visit: http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org.