| Vote Run Lead | |
| Founder: | Erin Vilardi |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Vat Id: | (for non-profit org) --> |
| Leader Title: | Co-founders |
| Leader Name: | Rhonda Briggins, Shannon Garrett, Pakou Hang, Liz Johnson |
| Board Of Directors: | Stephanie Berger, Vanessa Cooksey, Jehmu Greene, Crystal Patterson |
Vote Run Lead is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that trains women to run for office in the United States. Founded in 2014 by Erin Vilardi with co-founders Rhonda Briggins, Shannon Garrett, Pakou Hang and Liz Johnson, it is nationally recognized as the largest, most diverse candidate training program for women.[1]
Vote Run Lead is non-partisan and focuses on state and local offices.[2] The organization reports it has trained more than 55,000 women, nearly 60% of whom are women of color and 20% of whom are from rural areas.[3]
Vote Run Lead was first launched in 2004 by Marie C. Wilson and Erin Vilardi as a program of The White House Project, establishing the largest national political training program readying women for public office and training more than 15,000 women to run for office and seek out leadership opportunities in their civic life. [4] After The White House Project closed, Vote Run Lead was founded as a standalone organization in 2014 by Erin Vilardi with Rhonda Briggins, Shannon Garrett, Pakou Hang and Liz Johnson.
The organization's Board of Directors has included Jehmu Greene, Crystal Patterson, Rhonda Briggins and Shannon Garrett.[5]
The organization's Advisory Board has included Erika Alexander, Piper Perabo and Bre Pettis[6] as well as former Republican Congresswoman Susan Molinari, co-founder of Black Voters Matter LaTosha Brown and New York City's Commissioner for International Affairs, Penny Abeywardena in 2020.
Melinda French Gates included Vilardi in her article "5 of the most interesting conversations she had in 2020"[7] and again in a 2023 article for Fortune about "5 women who inspire me."[8]
A photo of Representatives Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at Vote Run Lead's Women & Power: National Town Hall went viral after Ocasio-Cortez posted it on her Instagram page. The photo, captioned "Squad", served as a reminder that the incoming 116th Congress is the "most female, most diverse ever, both racially and ideologically."[9]
In 2023, the organization introduced training programs for campaign managers, as well as candidates.