EMILYs List Launches Ignite Change Fellowship for Fall 2021

For Immediate Release

July 21, 2021

EMILYs List Launches Ignite Change Fellowship for Fall 2021

EMILYs List is now accepting applications for the fall 2021 cohort of Ignite Change fellows.

Today, EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, launched the application for the fall 2021 Ignite Change Fellowship, a nine-week virtual initiative to train deeply engaged community leaders and advocates on developing their political skills, leadership, and confidence in potentially running for office. 

Applications can be submitted now through early September. The program will be capped at 30 fellows. 

“At this critical moment in politics, it is more important than ever to ensure that women of diverse backgrounds and experiences have the skills necessary to run successful campaigns,” said Johanna Silva Waki, vice president of training and community engagement at EMILYs List. “Not only will the Ignite Change fellows learn the nuts and bolts of running for office, but they will also gain the confidence and encouragement to take the next steps.”

“The Ignite Change Fellowship is all about training and engaging women who understand the needs of their communities and equipping them to bring that knowledge to elected offices across the country. Women of color, LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people, women from rural areas, and women with disabilities have been underrepresented in government for too long. It is time for the next group of Democratic pro-choice women to be at the helm of our democracy.” 

Sixty activists, organizers, and community leaders have joined the Ignite Change program so far. One described the experience as an “excellent fellowship to heighten your confidence in running for office and give you the foundational toolkit to begin that journey.” 

Applicants should exhibit the following attributes:

• Experience serving as an organizational leader or advocate in their community
• An eagerness to run for office in the future
• No prior or current history of being a candidate or running for office

Interested candidates can apply here from July 21, 2021 until Sept. 7, 2021, and the program will run virtually from October to December 2021. For more information, read the fellowship FAQ here. Additionally, you can join two informational sessions on August 5th and August 30th.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 158 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.