Independent Women’s Forum is delighted to announce that Corrin Rankin, founder of Legacy Republicans Alliance, which aims to expand the Republican Party’s black membership, is the latest in our popular series of Champion Women profiles.

Corrin was one of the people former Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington reached out to when he was wrestling with the decision as to whether to become a Republican. “When Isaiah was going through this, I had the opportunity to be a sounding board and to hear him out,” Corrin says. “When I went through it, I didn’t have anybody. I call it a journey because that is what it felt like to me.”

Rankin’s journey began after she voted for President Barack Obama in 2008. A small business owner in Redwood City, Ca., she found herself questioning if Democratic policies were helping blacks or the small business community. “I started doing some research,” Rankin, 45, recalls. “When I read the Republican Party platform, I thought ‘Oh, my God, I think I am a Republican.’ I clicked off my computer. I thought there was no way that could be true.”.

After a period of denial, Rankin threw herself into Republican Party activities. She was a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention last time. LRA was founded earlier this year. It not only seeks to recruit black membership to the Republican Party but already has a PAC and endorses candidates. It already has endorsed several candidates, including a challenger to veteran California Rep. Maxine Waters.

We know you’ll enjoy meeting this determined and compelling woman. You might even find yourself believing that Corrin isn’t kidding when she promises to make inroads in the blue California. Stranger things have happened.