Rep19 is a community for elected women and activists. We exist to serve the needs of the women who serve us all. Women face more primary and general election challengers than men and a much larger volume of threats. To help women retain their seats, we provide curated networks and educational opportunities. We help women advance their agendas and build long-lasting political power.
Rep19 connects state and local women officeholders to share experiences, solve problems, and ultimately find ways to become the best public servants possible. From seminars on how to advance legislation, to facilitating interactions with allies and key leaders, Rep19 helps elected women build long-lasting political power. Rep19 also engages women activists in support of elected women.
Through online gatherings and statewide events in person, Rep19 facilitates meaningful connections among elected women with one another and also their supporters. In these closed session meetings, Rep19 women are able to share best practices and find solutions on how to create meaningful change.
Much of the amazing work happening in local communities by elected women is siloed. Rep19 surfaces these achievements and shares them with the world. By sharing best practices, we also help elected women solve problems and advance their agendas.
There is no playbook for public office. Rep19 amplifies on- the-job learning by providing members with access to panels led by nationally recognized thought leaders, elected officials and experts. Examples include seminars on how to combat online harassment and best practices for the first 100 days of office.
Rep19 and Vote Run Lead are proud to present the Power Through Education webinar series. This free series features our country’s top thought leaders, elected officials and political experts. Feel free to register for as many webinars as you would like. The webinars are for elected women and self-identifying women activists. Information will be sent out one week prior to the event. Below, you will find the schedule, followed by more details about the speakers for each event. Keep scrolling down!
Policy Resources for Elected Officials, with Councilmember Helen Gym and Lauren Popper Ellis - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at Noon EST; Register here.
Social Media for Electeds with Cheryl Contee, Tuesday July 16 at 1pm EST; Register here
Time Management for Electeds and Candidates with Former Georgia State Representative Deborah Gonzalez, July 24th at 3pm EST; Register here
Technology Resources at For Candidates at the Local and State Level with Genevieve Thiers, July 30th at 2pm EST; Register here.
Reproductive Rights Legislation, Outlook and Strategy with Senator Nikema Williams (In August, date TBD ) Pre-register here and we’ll let you know the August date soon!
Council-member Helen Gym
Philadelphia
Seated in 2016, Councilmember Helen Gym is the first Asian American woman elected to the Philadelphia City Council. She chairs the Council’s Children and Youth Committee and helped to end the 17-year state takeover of Philadelphia’s school system. She introduced and passed the nation’s most expansive Fair Workweek law, guaranteeing advance notice of schedules, a pathway to more hours, and protections from retaliation for 130,000 workers at retail, food service, and hospitality corporations. She established the city's first legal defense fund for tenants facing eviction and the first budget fund to specifically address youth homelessness. She has also expanded the city’s living wage laws, requiring disclosure for businesses accepting city subsidies. She is Vice Chair of Local Progress, a network of progressive municipal leaders.
Lauren Popper Ellis
Director, Policy and Programs, Future Now
Lauren has worked on law and policy at the state level in the Attorney General’s Office, the Governor’s Office and the State Senate in New York and also has campaign experience at the local, state, and national levels. She is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. With deep experience in state elected office and supporting those in state government, Future Now is a national organization focused on helping state lawmakers achieve goals for the common good. Future Now offers a robust support system to provide lawmakers with innovative policies and a national network of peers and experts.
On this webinar, you’ll hear about the policy resources of Local Progress and Future Now from Councilwoman Gym and Lauren Popper Ellis. You’ll also have the opportunity for Q&A. Register here.
Cheryl Contee
CEO, Do Big Things
Cheryl Contee is the CEO of Do Big Things. She is the award-winning CEO of the digital agency Do Big Things, a diverse team that is using new narrative and new tech to create global change in a new era. Previously, Cheryl was CEO of Fission Strategy, which brought Silicon Valley startup culture to the world’s leading causes and campaigns. She’s the co-founder of Attentive.ly, the first tech startup with a black female founder to be acquired by a NASDAQ company, the National Board Chair for Netroots Nation, an affiliate of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, and a proud co-founder of #YesWeCode. Cheryl is the author of Mechanical Bull, How You Can Achieve Startup Success. Learn more at www.dobigthings.today.
Join us to hear from industry veteran and social media expert Cheryl Contee. She’ll share cutting edge social media strategy and top tips. Register here
Deborah Gonzalez
Former GA State Representative
Deborah Gonzalez is an attorney, mother, published author and advocate for social justice. She is also a former GA state representative having won a special election (and flipping a seat from red to blue) in 2017 that gained national media attention (including from Michael Moore, CNN, Telemundo, etc.) as it was on the crest of a blue wave in 2017 that continues now. During her legislative tenure, Gonzalez served on the Judiciary Non-Civil House Committee where she made a name for herself as a skillful questioner, earning her the nickname “The Cross Examiner.” Gonzalez has a reputation as a no-nonsense, people-first legislator seen in the community every day. Gonzalez has been a leader in getting women to run and sharing her knowledge and experiences to help them be successful whether campaigning or serving in office. She is a graduate of Emerge America, PCCC, and GA Win List candidate training and others. And is a proud recipient of endorsements from Emily’s List and Eric Holder’s Fair Districting organizations.
Genevieve Thiers
CEO, New Founders
Genevieve Thiers is a disruptor, entrepreneur, speaker, and investor that lives in the Chicago area. Her first company, Sittercity.com, is America’s first company to take caregiving services online. Sittercity.com now has millions of users and new locations in the UK and Canada. Genevieve was recognized by President Bush at the White House as the Small Business Administration Young Entrepreneur Champion of the Year for 2006, and her companies have won over 18 major awards. Genevieve is also the founder of NewFounders, which is a political TED-like conference for builders to solve political problems, and she is the author of three books including TechYourself, a digital framework guide for candidates running for office. She is the tech trainer on RUN the series, a new TV show that helps women running for politics rock and win their campaigns.
Genevieve Thiers will introduce you to a brand new resource for candidates and electeds at every budget and staffing level and answer your technology questions. Register here.
Senator Nikema Williams
Senator Nikema Williams currently serves as a member of the Georgia State Senate for District 39. She currently serves as Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, and was a delegate to the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Democratic National Conventions. Prior to being elected as state senator, Senator Williams served as vice-president of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast.
Pre-register here and we’ll let you know the August date soon.
How to Build Coalitions with Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer and Heidi Sieck
Media Strategy with Jehmu Greene
Combatting Online Harassment with Soraya Chemaly (elected women only)
Trends from the Field with Celinda Lake
How to Build a Grassroots Army with Amanda Litman and NY State Senator Jessica Ramos
Yvonne Spicer
Mayor of Framingham, MA
Heidi Sieck
CEO & Co-founder #VOTEPROCHOICE
Mayor Yvonne Spicer is Mayor of Framingham, MA. Mayor Spicer was previously the Vice President for Advocacy and Educational Partnerships at Boston’s Museum of Science. She started a teaching career in Framingham and rose to department chair before accepting a leadership position in the Newton district where she led initiatives to involve business leaders, colleges and universities in new programs. She earned a Doctorate of Education in 2004 at UMass Boston, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree by the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Heidi L. Sieck is the CEO and Co-founder of #VOTEPROCHOICE, Previously, Heidi was the founding Chief Operating Officer of Civic Hall and Democracy.com and interim Chief Operating Officer of Rock the Vote in Washington, D.C. She served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (formerly NARAL New York). She is an Advisory Board Member of MarchOn Sister March Network, VoteRunLead and Emerge New York. Most recently, Heidi was a partner of the Women’s March on Washington and a member of the Policy Table responsible for writing the intersectional Unity Principles.
This webinar will explore how to build successful partnerships and get involved fighting for progressive causes. Open to women activists and elected women. Register here now.
Jehmu Greene
Fox News Contributor
Jehmu Greene is an evangelist for social good, Fox News Political Analyst, and political strategist. Throughout her career she has worked to build high impact social justice movements. A widely sought-after speaker, Jehmu's commentary has been featured on The Daily Show, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Rolling Stone, Essence Magazine, and others. Prior to Fox News, Jehmu served as President of the Women's Media Center and President of Rock the Vote. Jehmu has worked on more than twenty political campaigns at the local, state, and national levels, including serving as an advisor and surrogate for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
This webinar will explore the nuts and bolts of creating and executing a successful media strategy. Open to elected women and women activists. Register here now.
Marilyn Mosby
State’s Attorney for Baltimore
Soraya Chemaly
Writer and activist
Marilyn Mosby is the State's Attorney for Baltimore, and is among the youngest chief prosecutors of any major city in the US. An avid public servant, Mosby served as Assistant State's Attorney for Baltimore City from 2005 to 2012, before being sworn into office in January 2015. She has lobbied local and state lawmakers to bring Maryland sexual assault law into line with federal law – legislation that would allow prosecutors in sexual assault cases to use any previous sex crimes of the accused as evidence. Mosby is also an active member in her community, and has set up several initiatives of her own, including 'Aim to B’More', which provides nonviolent drug offenders an alternative to serving time in prison.
Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning writer and media critic whose writing appears regularly in national and international media. She speaks frequently on topics related to inclusivity, free speech, sexualized violence, data and technology. She is the director of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project and organizer of the Safety and Free Speech Coalition, an international civil society network dedicated to expanding women’s civic and political participation. Most recently, Soraya released her latest best seller "Rage Becomes Her.”
This webinar will explore how to handle online harassment and intimidation. Open to elected women only. Register here.
Celinda Lake
President, Lake Research Partners
Celinda Lake is one of the Democratic Party's leading political strategists, serving as tactician and senior advisor to the national party committees, dozens of Democratic incumbents, and challengers at all levels of the electoral process. She is one of the nation's foremost experts on electing women candidates and on framing issues to women voters. Her interviews and statistics have been quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal as well as a variety of magazines, including Newsweek, Glamour and Marie Claire, and Celinda has appeared on numerous television and radio news programs, discussing her work and providing expert commentary.
This webinar will explore what is going on with the political landscape in 2019 and how it’s shaping up for 2020. Open to elected women and women activists. Register here.
Alessandra Biaggi
New York State Senator
Alessandra Biaggi is a member of the New York State Senate representing District 34. Biaggi earned her B.S. in communication studies from New York University in 2008 and her J.D. from Fordham Law School in 2012. She also graduated from Women’s Campaign School at Yale University in 2014.
Her professional experience includes working in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Counsel’s Office as the lead counsel to the NYS Council for Women and Girls, as the deputy national operations director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, as the assistant general counsel for Governor Cuomo’s Office of Storm Recovery, and as a legal fellow for New York State Homes and Community Renewal.
Amanda Litman
Co-founder and CEO, Run for Something
Amanda Litman is the co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, a PAC which recruits and supports young, diverse progressives running for down-ballot office — since 2017, they’ve elected more than 200 people across the country. She's also the author of Run for Something: A Real Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself, published by Simon & Schuster in 2017.
This webinar will explore how to build a grassroots army and how to manage one. Open to elected women and women activists. Register here.
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Efforts to build women’s political power have historically ended at the ballot box. After the votes are counted, elected women are left alone to figure out how to succeed within opaque, antiquated, male-dominated political systems. Worse, these women often face sexist environments and sexualized harassment.
Rep19 curates networks that enable elected women and their supporters to connect, share best practices and ultimately build long-lasting political power.
Whether you are a women elected official, activist or male ally who understands the importance of equality in our electoral system, Rep19 has a place for you. See below for ways that you can get involved. We hope to hear from you.
Are you a woman officeholder in the United States? We would love to hear from you. Join our amazing community today.
Marilyn Mosby is the State's Attorney for Baltimore, and is among the youngest chief prosecutors of any major city in the US. An avid public servant, Mosby served as Assistant State's Attorney for Baltimore City from 2005 to 2012, before being sworn into office in January 2015. She has lobbied local and state lawmakers to bring Maryland sexual assault law into line with federal law – legislation that would allow prosecutors in sexual assault cases to use any previous sex crimes of the accused as evidence. Mosby is also an active member in her community, and has set up several initiatives of her own, including 'Aim to B’More', which provides nonviolent drug offenders an alternative to serving time in prison.
Marya has founded several successful organizations that advance women’s power. She is a co-founder, Founding Executive Director and Board Chair Emeritus of Emerge America, the premier training program for Democratic women who want to run for public office. She is also an Advisor to Wellville, which works with communities to improve the social determinants of health through stronger civic coalitions.
Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning writer and media critic whose writing appears regularly in national and international media. She speaks frequently on topics related to inclusivity, free speech, sexualized violence, data and technology. She is the director of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project and organizer of the Safety and Free Speech Coalition, an international civil society network dedicated to expanding women’s civic and political participation. Most recently, Soraya released her latest best seller "Rage Becomes Her.”
Zoe has a background in democratic politics with a focus on content creation and relationship management. She served as Governor Martin O’Malley’s first-ever Digital Director, was the online voice for the Democratic Party and was a digital consultant on the Maryland Marriage Equality campaign. Most recently, Zoe helped establish operations for Emerge in New York.
