FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2022
CONTACT: Kaleb Harmon
Washington, DC – Today, Emerge, the nation’s premier organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office, announced it was awarded a grant from the Gender Equity Action Fund to expand the organization’s judicial training in key target states. Currently, women hold only 34% of judgeships across the country. The funds will be used to build upon Emerge’s existing boot camp training program and provide participants with specialized knowledge around judicial elections and appointments. Key target states include: Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
“Emerge is proud to partner with the Gender Equity Action Fund to continue our work in training the next generation of women judges,” said A’shanti F. Gholar, president of Emerge. “We’ve seen firsthand during Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings this week that women judges are both an essential voice on judicial benches and a severely underrepresented one. By providing specialized training around seeking judgeships, we’re building the next generation of judicial leaders who will go on to repower traditional political structures and promote equity and justice in our legal system.”
Emerge recently spoke to Emerge Kentucky 2014 alum Chief Judge Denise Brown, Jefferson County Family Court of the 30th Judicial Circuit as part of the organization’s Leading from the Bench interview series.
“Once I went through the Emerge program, I could see how much support you have in taking this really big step,” said Brown. “And after I completed the Emerge program and was successful in my run for the bench, I wanted to tell everybody ‘You need to go through the Emerge program and hear all the things that it will prepare to do and here’s how others will be ready to step up and help you as you’re making your decision to run.”
Emerge has a strong track record with judicial candidates:
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Emerge has trained more than 5,000 alums since 2002 and currently has more than 1,000 alums in elected office across the country. The organization is committed to reaching 100,000 more women of the New American Majority over the next 15 years. There are currently 27 state affiliates, and the organization has impacted a total of 45 states, Washington, D.C. and territories.