Arena Community,

My name is Lauren Baer, and I am the new Managing Partner at Arena. I’m writing to introduce myself, to share why I’m excited to lead this organization, and to ask you to join us in our critical work to build winning progressive campaigns.

I first found my way to Arena, like so many of you, in the aftermath of the 2016 election. At the time, I was a brand new mom trying to figure out my place in the world after six years working in the Obama Administration. The optimism I’d felt when my daughter was born turned to fear and anger when Trump was elected -- and I knew I had to do something about it.

After a fair amount of soul searching, I felt a calling to run for office. There was just one hitch -- I didn’t know where to begin.

That’s where Arena came in.

I attended the Arena Summit in Detroit, and the experience was life-changing. I left empowered with the skills and confidence to launch my campaign for U.S. Congress in Florida’s 18th District. Later, I was part of Arena’s 2018 Candidate Fellowship program, and with their support, I won more votes in my district than any Democrat ever had during a midterm election. Even though I lost that race, I knew that Arena had laid the groundwork for enduring change.

Will you make a monthly contribution to Arena to keep powering progress?

Lauren on the campaign trail in 2018.

After my election, I decided to turn my loss into a win. As an openly queer woman on the campaign trail, I experienced firsthand some of the biases and barriers that make it harder for diverse candidates to run and win. So I decided to devote my energy to electing people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and women -- folks who are too often overlooked in our political process.

The opportunity to lead Arena is a chance to double down on this mission to make our politics look more like America. That’s why I’m so proud to be at the helm of this organization, building a robust, diverse talent pipeline that will shape the country we all want to live in.

Between now and the 2022 midterms, we have big plans.

🎓 We're hosting seven Arena Academies and training 1,500 new campaign staffers.
💼 We’re expanding our Arena Careers program to place our Academy graduates on critical races around the country.
🛠️ We're growing the free Arena Toolbox so candidates and staff can run first-class races.
🗳️ And we’re launching innovative programs to support the new generation of candidates, starting with an effort to pay staffing costs for key state legislative races in Virginia this year -- more on this soon!

This work is only possible with your support. As I step in to lead this powerful community, can I count on you to make a monthly contribution to help sustain our work?

Change doesn’t happen overnight. And it doesn’t happen in the few months before an election. It takes sustained, long-term investment in the people -- both staff and candidates -- to win. Arena understands this. It’s why, in the face of continued assaults on our democracy, we’re starting early and going big.

I hope that I can count on you to help us as we build winning campaigns that are as diverse as our incredible country. Chip in to support Arena’s critical work between now and the 2022 midterms.

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