The Emerge Virginia Board of Directors extends its congratulations to fellow board member Dorothy McAuliffe on the election of her husband, Terry McAuliffe, as Governor of Virginia.
Dorothy was a valuable asset to her husband’s campaign over the past several months, speaking to voters across the state about Terry’s mainstream vision for growing the economy and his commitment to creating more opportunities for women across Virginia.
As a mother of five, Dorothy spent a significant amount of time on the trail discussing ways to increase access to healthy foods from local farms for all Virginia families and fostering greater economic opportunities for children across the Commonwealth, especially those whose families struggle with poverty or near-poverty. We know that her work as First Lady on these issues and her commitment to strengthening our communities will benefit all Virginia families.
Emerge Virginia is honored that Dorothy is a member of the board as our first class of training participants is being assembled. We look forward to working with her to create more opportunities for Democratic women to hold elected office, and to be leaders in both the private and public sectors. Having more women at the table not only will strengthen our economy, it will benefit our daughters, granddaughters, sisters, mothers and all fellow Virginians.
Emerge Virginia is changing the face of Virginia politics by identifying, training and encouraging women to run for office, get elected and to seek higher office. Our intensive, cohort-based six-month training program is unique and will offer a six-month, 70-hour training program to Democratic women who want to run for office.
Emerge America was founded in 2002, and is currently training women in 14 states across the country. More than 1,000 women have been trained to date. 43% of alumni have run for office and 63% of those women have won.
Applications for the 2014 Emerge Virginia class are open now through December 15th. Classes begin in February, 2014.
To learn more about Emerge Virginia, visit www.emergeva.org
The Emerge Virginia Board Members are:
Sandra Brandt, Virginia Beach
Hon. Joan Foster, Lynchburg
Rekaya Gibson, Newport News
Hon. Kate Hanley, Fairfax
Mary Ann Hovis, Fairfax
Liz Howard, Arlington
Gaylene Kanoyton, Hampton
Annie Kasper, Richmond
Maggi Luca, Fairfax
Courtney Lynch, Richmond
Dorothy McAuliffe, Fairfax
Peggy McKee, Winchester
Susan Platt, Fairfax
Jody Wagner, Virginia Beach
Leigh Anne Collier Weinstein, Richmond