• Who We Are
  • Our Mission
  • Our History
  • Senior Leadership
  • Jobs and Internships
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Majority Council
  • Newsroom
• What We Do
  • Our Candidates
  • Senate in 2012
  • Reaching Women Voters
  • Candidates at the Local Level
  • Political Training
  • Multimedia
• Take Action
  • Join Our Online Community
  • Make a Contribution
  • Sign up to Volunteer
  • Ways to Give
  • Attend an Event
  • Blog

EMILY's List Launches We Are EMILY Videos

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- EMILY's List, the nation's largest resource for women in politics, today launched a series of new promotional videos called We Are EMILY, chronicling 25 years of changing the face of power at EMILY's List.

"The We Are EMILY video project is an exciting feature of our new website," said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY's List. "These videos showcase the many original voices in the EMILY's List network from the 'founding mothers' of EMILY's List to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to the young women and men who are EMILY's List members, trainees and the core of our growing community."

"The We Are EMILY project is part of an effort to introduce EMILY's List to women and men across the country who want to elect more pro-choice Democratic women to office but may not have joined yet. Our hope is that folks around the country will share their voices and stories to make the EMILY's List community stronger and expand the We Are EMILY project."

EMILY's List worked with a group of young, New York based comediennes and the indie band Shayna Zaid and the Catch to create We Are EMILY, a promotional video for the We Are EMILY project on EMILY's List new website.

"The opportunity to work on the EMILY's List promotional ad was exciting to me not only as an actor, but as a pro-choice woman of color," said Naomi Ekperigi a comedienne. "For years, EMILY's List has worked to create a world in which I, along with every other woman, is allowed to create, nurture, and defend her values, and I am deeply inspired by and appreciative of their work."

Visit www.emilyslist.org/WeAreEMILY.

80. 15. 9. These numbers represent the incredible impact of EMILY's List. In 1985 when EMILY's List was founded, not one Democratic woman had been elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right and there were only 12 Democratic women in the Congress. Twenty-five years later, EMILY's List has helped to elect 80 pro-choice Democratic women members of Congress, 15 senators, 9 governors, and hundreds of women to state and local office. EMILY's List has truly changed the face of power in just 25 years.

EMILY's List will celebrate this amazing history at a luncheon on April 29th, at the Hilton in Washington DC. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Barbara Mikulski and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will join new EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock and Chair of the Board of Directors, Ellen Malcolm as featured speakers at the celebratory event.

Changing the Face of Power

In 1985, fed up with being underrepresented in American politics, 25 women armed with Rolodexes gathered in Ellen Malcolm's basement to send letters to their friends about a network they were forming to raise money for pro-choice Democratic women candidates. Its name? EMILY's List -- an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast" (because it makes the dough -- campaign funds -- rise).

At the time, no Democratic woman had been elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right, no woman had been elected governor of a large state, and the number of Democratic women serving in the U.S. House of Representatives had declined. That election cycle, the "founding mothers" of EMILY's List recruited 1,155 members and raised more than $545,000 for two U.S. Senate candidates, including Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her own right.

Since then, EMILY's List has raised millions of dollars for candidates, built a top-notch political program, and helped elect record numbers of women to office. Today, EMILY's List is one of the nation's largest and most successful political action committees.

In the 2007-2008 cycle, EMILY's List raised more than $43 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 80 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 15 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices.