We’d like to thank each and every NLC alumni who ran. Win or lose, you had the courage to disrupt the status quo and fight for your values. Your grit and love for your community make NLC incredibly proud. And your willingness to run and serve gives us and other alumni the motivation to continue pouring into this movement for progress. You set an example of what a new kind of leader can be and lay the ground work for a brighter future for all of us.
More progress that is worth celebrating includes:
- Abortion rights protected in Kentucky and Michigan because of fierce advocates like NLC alumni sharing their stories,
- High voter turnout among Gen Z voters shows our next generation of NLC Fellows are ready to lead, and
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Safe, secure elections, thanks to folks like NLC alumni who have led election protection efforts.
But we can’t sugarcoat our reality: In states like Florida, Texas, and Ohio, leaders who roll back our rights and restrict our bodies continue to win. We can't move backward in our efforts to make this country more equitable. Our alumni in those states and across the nation won’t give up on progress.
We can’t get complacent.
We must keep running for office. Keep volunteering on campaigns and ballot initiatives. Keep working as poll workers. Keep registering voters.
We also must continue to invest in local leadership movements that work. Those tried and true, scalable movements like New Leaders Council. Because we know that our country can’t rely on one leader, one knight in shining armor, one hero, to save us. We need a movement that can meet this moment.
NLC has a constantly growing pool of local leaders ready to run and win. We start locally, knowing that a one-size-fits-all approach can't meet this moment. Our training goes beyond one weekend, but rather provides a six-month, no-cost training in the skillsets and mindsets needed to make progress permanent. With our 12,000 NLC alumni across 50 chapters, we are the only ones ready to overcome the extremism that threatens our communities. And we’re ready to start now.
Now, we celebrate our wins and learn from our losses. Tomorrow, we continue to dig in to local leadership. Soon, you’ll meet the next generation of leaders, our 2023 Fellows. These folks are the ones who will be running in 2024 and beyond. And with NLC’s training, they’ll be ready to win.
As determined as ever,
Clare Bresnahan English
President and CEO
New Leaders Council
P.S. Check out our growing list of NLC alumni wins! We're so proud of these victories and the work that will be done by these leaders to advance progress in their communities.
