FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOV. 30, 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Allison Abney
(202) 670-7994; allison@emergeamerica.org
Emerge America Names Kinsey Casey as Chief of Staff
Washington, D.C.—Emerge America, the nation’s premier organization for recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office, announced today it has named Kinsey Casey as its first chief of staff. In this newly created role, Casey will lead the Emerge America’s staff and operations during a time of rapid and strategic growth. She brings years of experience in management, organizational development and political campaigns, which will be an invaluable asset to the organization as it works towards a goal of having a presence in 50 states by 2020.
“Emerge America is lucky to have Kinsey joining our team as our first chief of staff,” said Andrea Dew Steele, president and founder of Emerge America. “Since the 2016 election, our organization has been undergoing unprecedented growth. Several of Emerge America’s affiliates doubled their programs to accommodate all the women who want to get trained to run for office. We’ve also launched affiliates in six new states and hosted six regional boot camps across the country for women planning to run in 2017 or 2018. We’ve become the most strategic and effective organization when it comes to recruiting and training Democratic women to run and win. Kinsey’s expertise in management and operations, as well as her experience with political campaigns will further enhance our work and help our organization reach even more Democratic women. We are proud to add her to our amazing team and know she will be a great fit for our organization, which is at the heart of a powerful movement led by women that is sweeping the country.”
“I’m very excited to be joining the Emerge America team and work with a team of professionals who are committed to providing superior quality training and support to Democratic women,” said Casey. “Emerge America’s enthusiasm for increasing the number of women in political leadership and their passion for training women through comprehensive programs is contagious. I’m looking forward to contributing to their vision of equal representation for women in government.”
Prior to joining Emerge America, Casey was deputy chief of staff to the chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, a state-related research university with five campuses, where she managed a team that oversees the day-to-day operations including executive communications, scheduling and events. Previously, Kinsey served in the Obama Administration for seven years, namely as chief of staff for Secretary John Kerry’s Office of Global Partnerships at the U.S. State Department, where she served as a key advisor, and as the primary liaison for collaboration between the State Department, the public and private sectors and civil society. Before her time at State, Kinsey was the national security director for presidential personnel at the White House and worked at the Department of Homeland Security, where she managed domestic and international travel logistics for Secretary Janet Napolitano. Kinsey has held leadership roles in a number of large-scale events, including President Obama’s 2009 Inauguration and the 2008 Democratic National Convention. A veteran of two presidential races, Kinsey has worked on political campaigns in New Hampshire, Louisiana and New York.
Emerge America, which currently has affiliates in 23 states, has cracked the code on how to get more women to run for office. Since 2002, Emerge America has recruited, trained and provided a powerful network to over 3,000 women. In 2017, 150 of the 206 Emerge alumnae that have appeared on general election ballots won their races—a 73 percent win rate. Emerge alumnae running for the Virginia House of Delegates helped Democrats take back a significant amount of power in the state’s legislature when 11 of the 18 alums running for the body won their races. In fact, of the 15 seats that flipped from red to blue, nine were won by Emerge alumnae. This includes Danica Roem, the first out transgender state legislator in the country, Elizabeth Guzman and Hala Ayala, the first Latinas in the House of Delegates, Kathy Tran, one of the first Asian American woman in the House of Delegates and Dawn Adams, the first out lesbian in the House of Delegates. What’s more, Emerge alumna Deborah Gonzalez won her race for the Georgia State House, flipping a conservative seat.
To learn more about Emerge America and its team, please visit their website at http://www.emergeamerica.org.
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