New American and BIPOC candidates won big in last week's elections, including a number of NALpistas! One of them is our alumna, Shahana Hanif, who became the first Muslim woman ever elected to the New York City Council as well as one of the first two South Asians (along with our alum, Shekar Krishnan!) on the council. One of the key things that helped her win is that she succeeded in mobilizing multiple constituencies, our President Ghida Dagher noted:

“She ran a campaign in addition to her normal one that was all in Bangla. It was actually run by her mother. And so these are very deep community ties and they’re meeting their voters where they’re at. Educating them in their own languages. In a way that non-New American candidates do not.”

Along with Councilmember-elect Hanif, we had more than 20 NAL alumni win elections this year:

• Amanda Farías (New York City Council)
• Shekar Krishnan (New York City Council; one of the first two South Asians on the NYC Council)
• Shahana Hanif (New York City Council; the first Muslim woman and one of the first two South Asians on the NYC Council)
• Crystal Hudson (New York City Council; one of the first out queer Black women elected in New York)
• Alexa Avilés (New York City Council)
• Kamal Alsawafy (Dearborn City Council)
• Pierina Sanchez (New York City Council)
• Julie Won (New York City Council; one of the first Korean Americans on the NYC Council)
• Gabriela Santiago-Romero (New York City Council; the first LGBTQ Councilwoman in Detroit and first Latina out LGBTQ woman elected in Michigan)
• Abdullah Hammoud (Dearborn, Michigan's first Arab American and Muslim mayor)
• Coco Alinsug (the first LGBTQ Councilor in Lynn and the first Filipino American City Councilor in New England)
• Dora Rodriguez (Trenton City Council)
• Rami Al-Kabra (Bothell City Council)
• Anne Keke (Aurora Public Schools Board)
• Elsa Mejia (Madera City Council)
• Khemarey Khoeun (Skokie Village Trustee)
• Erin Chan Ding (Barrington Board of Education)
• Karen Colon-Hayes (Malden City Council)
• Vivian Nguyen (Everett City Council)
• Rebecca Chamberlain-Creanga (Troy City Council)
• Theresa Tran (Brentwood School Board)
• Iris Guzman (SeaTac City Council)

We're so proud of all NALpistas who stepped into their power and claimed a seat at the table. We can't wait to see what you do in your first term and how you use your voices to transform politics!

Drumroll please 🥁

We're so excited to introduce our 2021 Ready to Win cohort! Starting today and over the coming weeks, these 27 leaders from 11 states will get the tools they need to run for office and win or lead a successful campaign. Please join us in welcoming and congratulating them!