A’shanti F. Gholar is the president of Emerge, the nation’s premier organization that recruits and trains Democratic women who want to run for office. She is a nationally recognized political strategist, who most recently served as Emerge’s Political Director. For over 15 years, A’shanti has been a grassroots organizer and activist for women, communities of color, and progressive causes. Prior to coming to Emerge, she served as the National Deputy Director of Community Engagement and Director of African American Engagement for the Democratic National Committee, as the Manager of National Partnerships for United Way Worldwide, as a political appointee in the Obama Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, and as the Director of Public Engagement for the 2012 Democratic National Convention Committee. A’shanti is also the founder of The Brown Girls Guide to Politics, an award-winning podcast that has been featured as one of the top political podcasts by Time Magazine, Teen Vogue, and Vanity Fair.