EMILYs List Launches Ignite Change Fellowship for Fall 2022

For Immediate Release
July 21, 2022

EMILYs List Launches Ignite Change Fellowship for Fall 2022

EMILYs List is now accepting applications for the Fall 2022 cohort of Ignite Change fellows.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, launches the application for the Fall 2022 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. Selected participants will make up the fellowship’s fifth cohort. 

Applications can be submitted now through Sept. 9, 2022. The program will be capped at 30 fellows. 

“After the United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, more than 500 women reached out to EMILY's List to see how they could get involved and run for office. At EMILY's List, we pride ourselves on being the nation's largest resource for women in politics, and that includes supporting rising political stars from the beginning of their careers. As well as committing to recruiting and training women from various backgrounds to run for government at all levels,” said Johanna Silva Waki, vice president of training and community engagement at EMILY's List.” 

“As state and local elected officials become prominent leaders in the fight for reproductive freedom, it is more important than ever to train, equip, and empower women to run for office. Our Ignite Change Fellowship is an opportunity to connect with diverse activists from all over the country and prepare them to turn their lived experiences into a plan to run for office. Our goal is to ensure that the voices of women often underrepresented in government, like women of color, LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people, women from rural areas, and women with disabilities, are given the best opportunity to develop their political skills and confidence.” 

So far, EMILY's List has trained more than 90 diverse fellows through the Ignite Change Fellowship. 72% of fellows are under the age of 35, 67% identify as POC, and 33% identify as LGBTQ+. We look forward to inspiring and working with even more fellows this session.

Applicants for the Ignite Change Fellowship 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. Applications are due on Sept. 9, 2022. The program will run virtually from October to December  2022. For more information, read the fellowship FAQ here. Additionally, interested applicants can join one of two informational sessions taking place on Aug. 4  at 1 PM ET and Aug. 25  at 4 PM ET.

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, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40% 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.