Vote Run Lead Announces New Board Members, Expanding Commitment to Train Diverse Women to Run for Office and Win!
23 Mayo 2024 - 12:02PM
Vote Run Lead, the nonprofit on a
mission to create a truly reflective democracy with women holding
at least 51% of U.S. legislative seats, is excited to announce the
appointment of new members to its board of directors.
Jillian Hanlon and
Lulete Mola
have joined as board members effective immediately. These
appointments play a crucial role in advancing Vote Run Lead’s
mission to train more women to run for office and win — increasing
female representation in government, specifically in targeted state
legislatures.
“I’m thrilled to have Lulete Mola and Jillian Hanlon join our
Vote Run Lead board of directors,” said Board Chair Munawar
Ahmed. “Vote Run Lead has quietly accomplished so much
these past 10 years. I am ready for this organization to become a
household name. In the same way that Planned Parenthood is
synonymous in people’s minds for reproductive health, Vote Run Lead
has been doing the work to become synonymous with women in
politics. Expanding the board with these two new excellent leaders
will help achieve that.”
Erin Vilardi, CEO and founder of Vote Run Lead,
noted that Mola and Hanlon’s visionary leadership and
uncompromising standards for quality and efficiency make them ideal
additions to the board to help steer Vote Run Lead towards new
horizons.
“With 2024 as both the 10th anniversary of Vote Run Lead and an
election year, we are ready to catapult our organization to new
heights,” Vilardi said. “Lulete has been a highly valued team
member, advisor and confidante to Vote Run Lead since its inception
— we are thrilled to extend our collaboration with deeper
engagement. Jillian brings a unique perspective to the Vote Run
Lead board with her demonstrated dedication to public service and
safety through her groundbreaking work as a transgender woman in
law enforcement. We continue to sharpen our focus on empowering
women to run for state legislature seats, and our goal of achieving
women’s majorities in our statehouses. Lulete and Jillian are some
of the smartest, most politically savvy women I know, and they will
certainly help us chart those paths to a women’s majority with
strategy and speed.”
Lulete Mola is co-founder and president of the Black Collective
Foundation MN and is a trailblazer in philanthropy and a proven
change strategist. She brings a wealth of experience in community
organizing, movement building and advancing women’s political
leadership to the Vote Run Lead board. Previously, she was the
chief strategy and innovation officer at the Women's Foundation of
Minnesota, where she led community investments, strategic
communications and bold fundraising that enabled large-scale
systems change. In that role, Mola also led the Young Women’s
Initiative of Minnesota, a $10M public-private partnership to
achieve equity in opportunities and improve the lives of Black,
indigenous and young women of color. Mola’s innovative approaches
to philanthropy and community investment have significantly
impacted Minnesota and beyond. She has been published in the
Huffington Post, For Harriet, Candid’s Philanthropy News Digest,
and the Star Tribune. She is a 2023 Minneapolis/St. Paul Business
Journal Women in Business honoree, recipient of the 2020 SOAR
fellowship with the Aspen Institute, and awardee of the 2022 Facing
Race Award. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of
Minnesota, where she recently received the College of Liberal Arts
Emerging Alumni Award. Based in Twin Cities, Minnesota, her
profound dedication to equity and justice is invaluable to Vote Run
Lead's mission to empower women in the political arena.
Jillian Hanlon has led a storied 37-year career in public
service, with roles spanning emergency medical services, law
enforcement, and as a pioneer in crisis intervention and community
safety programs. Hanlon’s experience and leadership qualities also
help her play a pivotal role in guiding Vote Run Lead’s strategic
direction and enhancing its initiatives to support aspiring women
leaders. Hanlon is currently a program manager with Oswego County
Opportunities, Inc., working as a homeless services program manager
and supervising the youth shelter and independent living programs.
In previous roles, Hanlon was the deputy sheriff for Duchess County
— and was the first transgender woman to run for sheriff in New
York State; she also has held roles as a correctional officer,
director of operations and security for the New York State Bridge
Authority and a political consultant. Previous roles included
photojournalism, fine art and design. She received her bachelor’s
degree in Organizational Leadership and Communication from Marist
College. She is based in Dutchess County, New York.
In 10 years of sharing the Vote Run Lead curriculum, the
organization has trained more women than any similar training
organization, including partisan ones, and with high win rates for
alumni (in 2023, a remarkable 74% of Vote Run Lead trained
candidates who were on the ballot in their general elections won
their races!). Vote Run Lead knows leadership presents itself in
different ways and new perspectives must be brought forth if our
democracy is to be truly inclusive. Vote Run Lead maintains a
commitment to nonpartisan inclusion while holding true to its
values of training anti-racist, pro-democracy feminists.
To learn more about Vote Run Lead and its initiatives, please
visit voterunlead.org.
About Vote Run Lead
Vote Run Lead envisions a future where women hold the majority
of U.S. legislative seats and has reached more than 55,000 with its
training and programming since its founding in 2014. Vote Run Lead
is the largest and most diverse nonprofit training and campaign
leadership program in the country and has a clear plan for
increasing women’s representation to 51% or greater in all of
America’s statehouses. Vote Run Lead was founded by Erin Vilardi,
formerly of The White House Project, and the organization seeks to
unleash the political power of women as voters, candidates and
leaders to create an equitable democracy. To learn more, donate, or
get involved, visit voterunlead.org or vrlhq.org, or follow on
X/Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram, all at @VoteRunLead.
Jenifer Howard
Vote Run Lead
203-273-4246
jhoward@jhowardpr.com