Running Start, a national organization dedicated to educating and inspiring girls and young women to run for political office, completed two successful regional Young Women’s Political Leadership Programs (YWPL) for high school girls this fall. The programs took place in Los Angeles, California on September 24, and in New York, New York on October 22. Each daylong conference brought together high school girls from the regional areas to learn political skills and hear inspiring stories and advice from young women political leaders.
The California Edition program brought together 75 high school girls from acrossCalifornia to the campus of University of Southern California (USC). Dan Schnur, Director of the Unruh Institute for Politics stated, “The program co-sponsored by Running Start and the Unruh Institute of Politics we hosted at USC succeeded far beyond my greatest expectations. It’s clear to me how much of an impact that Running Start can have on the lives of high school girls: the young women who attended our program were clearly inspired to become even more involved in public service.” Speakers included California State Senator Mimi Walters, Pasadena City Councilmember Jacque Robinson and Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel, among many other fantastic women leaders.
Just this past weekend, Running Start partnered with the Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College where they trained 40 high school girls from the New York area about why this country needs them to be the next political leaders. “It is so inspiring meeting young women who are so interested in politics, and determined to use their lives to make a difference,” stated Susannah Shakow, President of Running Start. “Our program is long – it runs from 8am to 7pm, but the girls were still sitting on the edge of their seats and asking questions during our final session.” The New York Edition program presented participants with an impressive lineup of speakers including Councilmember Julissa Ferreras, White House Project President Tiffany Dufu, and political fundraiser Cathy Blaney. The program reception ended with an inspiring speech by Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, who represents Brooklyn, New York in the United States Congress.
Running Start is thrilled by the success of these regional programs. These new program models are bringing together more young women to hear the message that they are needed in politics today.
Running Start is a nonpartisan non-profit organization dedicated to educating young women about politics and inspiring them to run for elected office. Our 501(c)3 was founded in 2007, and in a few short years has a following of thousands of high school girls, college women, and supporters from small towns to the halls of Congress. We are encouraging the next generation of young women to become political leaders in our states and in the nation. Visit Running Start atwww.runningstaronline.org
