WHO’S ATTENDING
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Representation
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A’shanti F. Gholar is the President & CEO of Emerge, the nation’s largest network of women elected officials and candidates. In February 2020, she became the first Black woman to lead the organization, though her journey with Emerge began much earlier. A Las Vegas native, A’shanti co-founded Emerge Nevada in 2006, helping build the first majority-woman state legislature in the U.S., a legacy she proudly links to her family’s future.
She became Emerge’s national political director in 2016, expanding its reach into the South and laying the groundwork for stronger Democratic representation. As president, A’shanti has championed the New American Majority—Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, young, and unmarried women—making them central to Emerge’s mission and political strategy.
Under her leadership, Emerge has grown significantly, now with affiliates in over two dozen states, more than 1,200 alums in office, and 6,500+ Democratic women trained to run and win. Her vision has made Emerge a formidable political force.
Prior to Emerge, A’shanti spent over two decades organizing for women, communities of color, and progressive causes. She held senior roles at the DNC, the Obama Administration’s Department of Labor, United Way Worldwide, and the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
A’shanti’s leadership has earned national recognition, including features in CQ Roll Call, The Guardian, and honors from She The People, GAIN Power, and others. She is also an Aspen Institute SOAR Fellow, an Oxfam Sisters on the Planet Ambassador, and an Equity Advisor for Sephora. She founded The Brown Girls Guide to Politics and its award-winning podcast, described by The Guardian as a “practical guide to progressive activism.”
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Alec Gewirtz is a writer and the CEO of Nearness, a cooperative business fostering spiritual community for nonreligious people. He’s also Editor and Publisher of Kismet, a new literary magazine of spirituality, religion, and mysticism.
His work has been featured in The New York Times and The Atlantic and on BBC and NPR. A graduate of Princeton University, where he studied religion, and a former Fulbright Research Fellow in theology at the University of Toronto, he lives in New York City.
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Anathea Chino (Acoma Pueblo) is a powerful advocate, queer feminist leader, and champion for Native voices in U.S. politics and democracy, advancing Indigenous representation through investment in infrastructure development, strategy, research, relationships, and Native joy. With over 20 years as a political strategist, fundraiser, and operative, Anathea is dedicated to fighting for our collective liberation by creating pathways to leadership that will change our world. She has co-founded a number of state and national organizations including Women’s Democracy Lab, Indigenous Women Rise, and Emerge New Mexico. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Americans for Indian Opportunity, California Native Vote Project, and Emergent Fund. She is a recipient of the 2024 Inaugural Vanguard Legacy Award from Groundswell Action Fund.
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Canyon was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of rural North Carolina and the North Cascades of Washington. He is the Co-Founder, with Chloe Maxmin, of Dirtroad Organizing, an organization dedicated to empowering the next generation of rural organizers, staff, electeds, and candidates. Canyon is co-author (with Chloe) of Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It. He earned an honors degree in social studies from Harvard College, where the bulk of his education took place outside of the classroom co-coordinating (with Chloe) Divest Harvard, a 70,000+ person movement that succeeded in pressuring Harvard to divest its $53 billion endowment from fossil fuels. Canyon is also a professional trail runner with a deep love for wild places.
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Hailing from rural Maine, Chloe is the Co-Founder of Dirtroad Organizing alongside her best friend, Canyon Woodward. She also runs Begin Again Farm with her partner, Bill Pluecker, growing organic vegetables for her community. Chloe received an honors degree from Harvard College, where she co-founded Divest Harvard. Chloe served in the Maine House of Representatives in 2018 and the Maine State Senate in 2020. She was the youngest woman ever to serve in the Maine Senate. Chloe is also the Co-Founder/Advisor at JustME for JustUS--a Maine-based organization focused on rural youth civic engagement and climate justice--and the co-author (with Canyon) of Dirt Road Revival.
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Debbie Cox Bultan has more than thirty years of experience in center-left politics, public policy, and non-profit leadership. As CEO of NewDEAL, she oversees both strategy and day to day operations for the organization. She is a frequent commentator about trends in, and the importance of, state and local government, and co-hosts the award-winning podcast, An Honorable Profession, where she speaks with exceptional state and local leaders about their work and path into public service. Debbie previously served as Executive Director for the Civic Leadership Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit that prepares underserved youth for college, career, and civic life. Prior to helping launch NewDEAL, Debbie spent fifteen years at the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) where she served in a number of capacities, including National Political Director and Chief of Staff. Among her accomplishments at the DLC was developing a network of, and policy tools for, state and local elected officials across the country. Debbie is also a veteran of numerous political campaigns in California, where she currently resides with her husband and two children.
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Ghida Dagher, President and CEO of New American Leaders, leads the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering immigrants, refugees, and their allies. Their mission is to provide the necessary tools for these individuals to realize their full potential and contribute to a more inclusive democracy. Whether through running for and holding elected office or engaging in civic action, Ghida and her team amplify immigrant voices, bringing them to the forefront of American politics.
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Mandara Meyers, Executive Director Mandara has driven the strategy and expansion of The States Project's electoral, policy, and governance work since 2020. In 2006, she left her career as a government relations attorney to help start a political training organization and develop hundreds of new state and local political leaders across six key swing states. She then designed and led initiatives to increase political engagement and advance policy changes across a network of 40,000 members for nearly a decade as a Vice President at LEE. An alumna of Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Mandara started her career as a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs and serves as a founding board member of the Michigan Vision Fund and on the advisory board of Govern for America. She has also worked with and consulted for The Management Center, the Women’s Law Project, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, More in Common, and Next100, a project of The Century Foundation. When she’s not in a state capital, Mandara lives in Oakland, CA with her partner.
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Maria Perez grew up in 1980’s Latin America, where concepts of social justice seeped through narratives of Liberation Theology. She immigrated to the US as a young adult to pursue her education. Maria began her career as a healthcare practitioner, which led her to health advocacy and later health equity work. She turned her attention to small “d” democracy after the 2016 election. After spending some years working on electoral reform, Maria co-founded and is co-Executive Director of Democracy Rising, where she is weaving together a national network of civic leaders to dream, plan, and implement a democracy that works for all of us. In her civic role, Maria serves in Santa Fe, NM’s Charter Review Commission, and generally aims to support her elected representatives post-election. Maria is the mother of a college student, an avid gardener, and an artist.
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SARA JAMEEL HADAD is working for a better version of America — empowering diverse voices, and fighting for a reflective democracy centered on equity, inclusion and humanity.
An appreciation for the opportunities this country afforded her Syrian and Irish grandparents, who immigrated to New York, Sara has spent her career turning that inheritance into action. All people should have access to dignity and protection, which is achievable when leadership truly understands the needs of their communities.
As Chief Strategy Officer for Run for Something, Sara oversees programs and communications teams, developing initiatives to recruit and support passionate, diverse, young progressives running for local office across all fifty states – with over 1,600 winning campaigns to date. Before that, she served as Chief Operating Officer and Interim President of New American Leaders, where she guided the organization's day-to-day operations while advancing its mission of elevating immigrant and refugee voices to every level of government. In Washington, D.C., she helped propel Latino Victory from start-up to prominent political force as Vice President — building the teams and systems needed to thrive in a highly rapid response environment.
Sara holds an M.S. in Global Affairs from New York University, earned while working in the office of philanthropist and global financier George Soros. She also completed an Executive Program in Nonprofit Management at Georgetown University and a B.A. in International Relations from Syracuse University.
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Zach is the Executive Director of Country First Academy (C1A), an identification and training program for pro-freedom, pro-democracy leaders around the country. Aligned with former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, C1A is part of a broader Country First network that is building an ecosystem to support pro-democracy reforms. Prior to leading Country First, Zach spent over a decade working on Capitol Hill and at various party committees and outside groups.
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