Send Valerie to Emerge PA 2018!

In January 2017, a week after road tripping to the awe-inspiring Women's March in Washington, D.C., I joined a Facebook event to write postcards to our legislators. Little did I know that hauling my 6-year-old to the local Panera at 7am on a cold Saturday morning would be one of the best decisions of my life.

That event sparked 412 Resistance, a group of more than 750 grassroots activists that I am honored to help lead. Over the past year, our members have fought for progressive values and held our representatives accountable at every level of government.

Through this work, I have found my voice and my strength to lead. I have found what it takes to balance a passion for social justice with the pragmatism needed to get things done. I now hope to be part of a sweeping change that ensures we have progressive women leading in local, state, and congressional offices at every level in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania ranks 49th out of 50 states for gender parity in elected office. In my county alone, we have just 1 woman in the state's General Assembly out of 28  representatives. Pennsylvania has never elected a woman to the U.S. Senate or Governor’s Office, and there is not a single female representing our 18 Congressional districts. The time is now to invest in bold leadership and build the pipeline of women running for office.

I am raising funds to cover tuition and travel expenses for Emerge Pennsylvania, a 7-month program that seeks to address this inequity by training Democratic women to run for office. I hope that I can count on your support!