I’d heard it all before, John. 

When I told people about my ambition to run for office, the responses were all the same:

“You’re too young to win.”
“People won’t take a woman your age seriously.”
“You don’t have enough experience.”
“Wait your turn.”

My potential as a leader didn’t seem to matter to them. All the good I could do for my community seemed to pale in comparison to my age. For a while, there didn’t seem to be anything I could do but sit and wait my turn.

But lucky for me, I found IGNITE and attended their 2019 Young Women Run California conference. And believe me when I say it changed my life.

I learned that I wasn’t too young to make a difference. My ambition wasn’t just a nagging voice in the back of my head; it was an asset that I could use for my community. I learned that young women could be taken seriously as candidates for office, and nothing should hold them back from running.

So I ran for a seat on the Petaluma City Schools Board of Education. And John, I won.

On the School Board, I worked to open my district’s first dual immersion school, seated student board members for the first time in our district's history, got menstruation products on each campus before the state law required it, and initiated the creation of ethnic studies coursework before the state required it.

I’ve made a difference, and I’m just getting started. And it’s all thanks to IGNITE.

Too many ambitious young women are being told they have to “wait their turn” before entering politics. IGNITE was there to teach me and so many other young women that our turn is NOW. If you’re with us, if you’re ready to empower the next generation of young women leaders, can IGNITE count on you to chip in anything you can right now?

Thank you for helping young women own their ambition, John.

Caitlin Quinn, 

IGNITE Alum 

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IGNITE is for all cis and trans women, as well as non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers the experiences of young women.