7News has learned that some of the very people fired by the Trump administration are now considering elected office. Emerge –- an organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for public office – just wrapped up its first series of free training sessions for women recently let go from their government jobs. “We immediately knew that these would be great people to run for elected office. They are already civil servants. They are servant leaders," said Emerge President and CEO A’shanti Gholar. Gholar runs Emerge, an organization that guides Democratic women on how to run for any form of public office, from the federal to the local level. “And we have over 1,200 serving in elected office across the country at all levels. That includes governors, secretaries of state, Members of Congress," added Gholar. Emerge alumni include Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Abigail Spanberger and Virginia State Senator Danica Roem. The organization is now holding free virtual training sessions for women recently separated from their federal jobs, like Shernice Mundell. “It was like surreal. It still is. I have never been fired from a job in my life, and especially to be fired knowing that it wasn’t my performance," said Mundell.
Mundell worked for the Office of Personnel Management and is now contemplating a run for Congress. “Democracy is at stake right now. You fired me. I’m going to figure out a way to course correct because it can’t keep going the way it’s going," Mundell concluded. “This is an inflection point nationwide. This is a crisis in the DMV area," said Virginia State Senator Danica Roem. Roem went through an Emerge training program back in 2017. She addressed women attending this week’s virtual training session. “You are the ones who are stepping up to do something," Roem stated emphatically. Emerge believes these highly educated and now highly motivated women are perfect for public service. “Well, the federal government’s loss can be our gain at city councils, on school boards, on boards of supervisors," concluded Roem. We’re told most of the recent trainees are interested in running on a local or state level, and that they come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are new to public service, while others are from leadership positions within government.
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Mundell worked for the Office of Personnel Management and is now contemplating a run for Congress. “Democracy is at stake right now. You fired me. I’m going to figure out a way to course correct because it can’t keep going the way it’s going," Mundell concluded. “This is an inflection point nationwide. This is a crisis in the DMV area," said Virginia State Senator Danica Roem. Roem went through an Emerge training program back in 2017. She addressed women attending this week’s virtual training session. “You are the ones who are stepping up to do something," Roem stated emphatically. Emerge believes these highly educated and now highly motivated women are perfect for public service. “Well, the federal government’s loss can be our gain at city councils, on school boards, on boards of supervisors," concluded Roem. We’re told most of the recent trainees are interested in running on a local or state level, and that they come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are new to public service, while others are from leadership positions within government.
