“I believe that electing more women and improving representation is vital to our democracy. Running for Attorney General as an historic candidate, I relied on both the practical tools and passionate network of Emerge Vermont. My success was due not only to my strength as a candidate but also the strength of my campaign — and that is where Emerge made a truly meaningful difference.” — Charity Clark, Emerge Vermont Class of 2022, Vermont’s first elected woman Attorney General
“Emerge was invaluable in my preparation for running for office. Not only did I get a wealth of technical and practical resources, but I gained a network of women committed to helping each other lead. The Emerge experience gave me the confidence to run hard and win.” — Sarah Copeland Hanzas, Emerge National Bootcamp Class of 2022, Vermont’s third woman Secretary of State
“Being a part of Emerge Vermont was an investment I made in myself and the program connected me to knowledge and people with a plethora of experience.” — Izzy Gogarty, Class of 2023 and member of the Middlebury, VT Selectboard
“Emerge Vermont made me feel better prepared to run for office, but more importantly I felt supported in running for office.” — Olivia Taylor, Class of 2023
“If you have ever thought, ‘Should I run for office?’ or ‘Can I do it?’, take an Emerge Vermont training. It gives you an incredible toolkit AND confidence to run for office and make a change.”—Audrey Grant, Class of 2023
“I strongly believe we need more women in government if we are going to solve our big problems such as the climate crisis, income inequality, and our racial issues. We need women at the table at every level of government. Emerge trains and empowers women so they are ready to lead.” —Mary Sullivan, Former State Legislator and DNC National Committeewoman, Recipient of the 2020 Kunin Achievement Award
“The Emerge Bootcamp was a transformational three days for me. I started the weekend with the vague hope of running for office someday. I ended the three day training armed with the knowledge, tools, confidence, and sisterhood to make that hope a reality. I would enthusiastically recommend the program to any woman considering a future in Vermont politics.”—Kate Maclean, 2020 Candidate Boot Camp alum, candidate for State Representative for Orange-1 in 2020
“The skill-building with experts, networking, and solidarity with my sisters was transformative. Emerge Vermont played a huge part in my success in fundraising, in engaging voters through strong messaging, in building a highly capable campaign team, and ultimately winning ‘this woman’s’ election by flipping a male, red incumbent seat blue.” —Mari Cordes, 2018 Candidate Boot Camp alum, elected State Representative for Addison-4 in 2018
“Emerge Vermont [was] a tool that helped [me] gain the skills needed to run [my] campaign for state representative….having mentorship and support from [my] fellow Emerge peers made running for office possible.”—Becca White, Emerge Vermont class of 2016, elected State Representative for Windsor-4-2 in 2018, elected to the Vermont Senate for Windsor County in 2022