Our next Boot Camp is being held in person in August 2025 in New Orleans for those who are planning to run for office in 2025 or 2026.
Emerge 2025 Southern Regional Boot Camp Boot Camp
The 2025 Southern Regional Boot Camp will be held in person in New Orleans on August 8-10, 2025, concurrent with Netroots Nation. Eligibility for this Boot Camp includes full program participation, meaning 100% attendance and full participation.
The application period for the 2025 Southern Regional Boot Camp is now open. The deadline to apply is Monday, June 30 at 11:59 PM EST – no exceptions.
Program Tuition
Tuition for the 2025 Southern Regional Boot Camp is $350 and it is due by August 1, 2025.
Tuition may be paid by personal or campaign committee accounts. Due to campaign finance regulations, Emerge and its state affiliates cannot provide scholarships or fee waivers to Boot Camp program members.
Boot Camp Curriculum
Emerge’s Boot Camps have been developed to give program members the skills they need as they launch their campaigns. Top political strategists and trainers will share expertise on critical elements of campaigning, including:
Program Eligibility
These eligibility requirements are meant to create and deliver the best possible learning environment for cohort members, and to ensure we are training in alignment with our vision, mission, and core values. We ask that applicants understand, acknowledge and respect these program eligibility requirements.
Applicants eligible for the 2025 Southern Regional Boot Camp are those who:
Who You Are: Ideal Applicants for the 2025 Southern Regional Boot Camp
As Emerge Boot Camps are designed specifically for those who are planning to run for office in this election cycle, we are seeking leaders who are ready to run (or already are), who reflect their communities, and who have a proven track record of community engagement, public service, and leadership.
Specifically, ideal applicants for the 2025 Southern Regional Boot Camp are those who:
This means that you have already begun your campaign or are currently developing a plan to run for a specific seat in the 2025 – 2026 Election Cycle. As a candidate (or soon to be candidate), you have a strong sense of why you want to serve in that elected seat specifically, and have already begun doing the work necessary to understand what it will take to run for this seat.
Examples of this include a plan and/or progress in: assembling your team, understanding how much money you will need to raise to be competitive, developing a sense of how many votes you will need to win, planning which endorsements you will be seeking, etc.
Equally as important, you have a strong sense of “your why” – or, your motivation or source of inspiration – that drives your commitment to public service.
At Emerge, we center our work on women of the New American Majority – Black, Brown, and Indigenous women, women of color, LGBTQ+, young, and unmarried women. In building a reflective democracy, we know the value of developing leaders who have the passion and skills to bring their community’s voice to the decision-making table.
Ideal applicants also have a demonstrated track record of advocating for and on behalf of their communities, and possess a deep understanding of their communities as well as a passion and plan to empower their communities in elected office.
Emerge is a candidate training program. Emerge cohort members have already found ways to lead in their community. They demonstrate a desire to learn, grow and build their skills and network for the specific goal of running a successful campaign for elected office. To this end, ideal applicants have a proven track record- whether this be in the form of community engagement, advocacy, public service and/or leadership positions within their families, communities, professional circles and social networks.
Examples include: caretakers, parents, CEO of their households, parent teacher organization board members, neighborhood association leaders, volunteering to run an issue campaign, advocating on behalf of a group or community, serving on municipal committees or commissions, leading a local or statewide nonprofit board, running a family business, etc.
At Emerge, we believe that elected leaders are public servants and must build and develop core attributes necessary to serve successfully. These include: adaptability and resilience, the ability to navigate adversity, and an openness to correction and redirection. Leadership is more than the title or position one holds and we believe these attributes are ones that set leaders apart.
We are an organization driven by our vision and mission, and we are deeply committed to our core values. This is why every person within the Emerge organization – from our employees, board members, and alum to our volunteers, partners and current program members – are expected to commit to them via our Emerge Code of Conduct.
Ideal applicants are aligned with Emerge’s vision, mission and core values, and most importantly, are committed to representing these values as a potential program member and future alum.
Our vision, mission and core values are as follows:
Vision
Emerge’s vision is to change the face of power, politics and leadership in this country in order to have policies that are responsive to all.
Mission
Emerge’s mission is to increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training and providing a powerful network.
Core Values: Our Desired Culture
Emerge Alum Status
Program members who complete a Boot Camp will be considered an Emerge alum and will have access to alum resources, such as Emerge continuing education training and national networking opportunities.