FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Danielle Noel
202-780-5953; danielle@emergeamerica.org
Washington, D.C. — Emerge, the nation’s premier organization for recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office, announced today that it has hired Anne Wakabayashi as its national political director. Wakabayashi previously served as the organization’s first national alumnae director and was the founding executive director of Emerge Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2018, where she led the affiliate’s efforts to recruit, train and provide a powerful network to Democratic women in the Keystone State. In 2018, eight Emerge alumnae won their campaigns for the Pennsylvania State Legislature and seven of those seats were flipped from red to blue.
In her new role as Emerge’s Political Director, Wakabayashi will oversee the organization’s political strategy and execution, manage relationships with national partners and identify new opportunities for collaboration. She will also coordinate with Emerge’s 27 state affiliates across the country to target key seats up and down the ballot.
“The promotion of Anne to political director illustrates the strength of talent within the Emerge network and the organization’s commitment to ensuring that Democratic women are set up for success this year and beyond,” said A’shanti F. Gholar, President of Emerge. “Anne knows firsthand what it takes to help women run and win, and I am confident that her experience inside and outside Emerge will be an asset to our network. She has a deep understanding of our nation’s political landscape and she will be able to work alongside our state affiliates to ensure that our alumnae can win at every level of government.”
“I am thrilled to rejoin the Emerge team in this new role, and continue the important work of changing the face of politics with our affiliates and partners,” said Wakabayashi. “Democratic women have already changed the nation’s political ecosystem, but this is only the beginning, and I cannot wait to continue supporting Emerge’s goal of achieving a more representative government.”
Wakabayashi returns to Emerge after recently serving as Pennsylvania Senior Strategist for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign. In this role, she helped to establish and oversee the campaign’s Pennsylvania operation and coordinated efforts to secure the state’s 153 delegates during the Democratic primary. Before joining the Emerge network, Wakabayashi worked at the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Campaign Committee (SDCC) for two election cycles as the Communications Director and Political Director, respectively. Anne currently serves as the chair of the Pennsylvania Governor’s LGBTQ Advisory Commission, the first of its kind in the nation.
Emerge also announced that Laila Mohib will now serve as Director of Special Projects and Tyler Kerce will move into the new role of Operations Manager. Mohib, an alum of the Democratic National Committee and EMILY’s List, previously served as the organization’s Expansion Director, overseeing Emerge’s growth into new states and regions, as well as launching new affiliates. In her new role, she will support the organization’s work on equity and justice and serve as the lead for Emerge’s D.C. and east coast events, among other initiatives. Kerce previously served as executive assistant to the president.
To learn more about Emerge and its team, please visit their website at emergeamerica.org.
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