By Katie Usalis
Originally published in TheWrap, 3/23/2022
Elections within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and in U.S. politics have striking similarities. The Academy has one major leg up on our politics, though: its readiness to update its rules to meet 21st-century needs and values.
Read moreBy Alisha Saxena and Kaycie Goral
Originally published in Ms. Magazine, 3/21/2022
Thirty years ago, the world’s largest country dissolved: The Soviet Union broke apart into 15 new and independent states, leaving a region comprised of some of the world’s youngest nations and democracies to date. The roots of today’s crisis in Ukraine grew from said breakup, becoming a flashbulb for the growth of authoritarianism across the globe.
Read moreBy Katie Usalis
Originally published in The Fulcrum, March 9th, 2022.
March 8 was International Women’s Day, established by our foremothers in 1910 as a day for women to join together and fight for equal rights. Although it has essentially evolved into International Virtue Signaling Day by governments, corporations and groups across the globe that aren’t actually doing much for women’s rights, I think it is an important opportunity to reflect on the status of women.
We at RepresentWomen are, of course, honoring this day by reflecting on the status of women in politics.
Read moreBy Alisha Saxena and Kaycie Goral
Originally published in The Fulcrum, Sept 13, 2021
The American Immigration Council reported that roughly 44.7 million first-generation Americans lived in the United States earlier this year. Within this population, there were approximately 2 million more women than men. Despite making up about 14 percent of the U.S. population, first-gen Americans, specifically first-gen women, are hardly represented as a community within our political bodies.
Read moreSabrina Khan is a senior staff attorney and Deputy Director of the Voter Protection program at Advancement Project in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Advancement Project, Sabrina advocated a wide array of civil rights issues at the City of Chicago Department of Law, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Project Vote. She initially developed a passion to for civil rights during law school while interning at the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section and Special Litigation Section. Previously, Sabrina taught in New York City through Teach For America. The educational inequities she witnessed on a daily basis inspired her to combat the school-to-prison pipeline.
Sabrina is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her B.A. from Georgetown University in Government with minors in English and Sociology. She received her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.
Donna Brazile is an adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator, Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation at the Democratic National Committee, and former interim National Chair of the Democratic National Committee as well as the former chair of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute.
Aside from working for the full recovery of her beloved New Orleans, Ms. Brazile’s passion is encouraging young people to vote, to work within the system to strengthen it, and to run for public office. Since 2000, Ms. Brazile has lectured at over 125 colleges and universities across the country on such topics as “Inspiring Civility in American Politics,” Race Relations in the Age of Obama, Why Diversity Matters, Women in American Politics: Are We There Yet.
In August 2009, O, The Oprah Magazine chose Ms. Brazile as one of its 20 “remarkable visionaries” for the magazine’s first-ever O Power List. In addition, she was named among the 100 Most Powerful Women by Washingtonian magazine, Top 50 Women in America by Essence magazine, and received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s highest award for political achievement.
She is currently on the board of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.