Emerge Kentucky

Three women who work for the Kentucky legislature have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment by an elected official. Some reports claim that the women’s complaints have been ignored or minimized.

Allegations of sexual harassment should not be taken lightly. No one in the workplace should be made to feel intimidated or threatened by unwanted advances.

May 7 2012

Program works to elect more Democratic women in Kentucky

Louisville Courier-Journal

Unhappy that Kentucky politics continues to be dominated by men, a group of Democratic women has been working for three years to change things.

Emerge Kentucky, an offshoot of a 6-year-old national political training organization, has graduated 46 women — one of whom has been elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives — and is a few weeks from graduating 20 more.

Jun 26 2011

24 Women Graduate from Democratic Leadership Program

Lexington Herald-Leader

FRANKFORT — Kentucky voters might not know the names Wanda Hammons or Brenda Mannino now, but they might someday.

They were among 24 women who graduated Saturday from Emerge Kentucky, a political leadership training program that aims to prepare Democratic women to run for public office.

"I feel like I can make a difference and a change," Hammons, of Dry Ridge, said after the graduation ceremony, which was held at the Kentucky Democratic Party's headquarters in Frankfort.

Mar 25 2011

Emerge Kentucky Adds Two New Board Members

Kentucky Enquirer

Emerge Kentucky, a non-profit organization established in 2009 to recruit and train Democratic women to run for public office, announces two new members to the Board of Directors of Emerge Kentucky. Mary Ellen Wiederwohl of Louisville, Assistant Director of Government Relations with MMLK Government Solutions in Frankfort, joined the board last fall. A more recent addition, Peggy Kennedy of Ryland Heights in Northern Kentucky, serves as a marketer and speaker for Kento

Blog Posts

Apr 4 2017

Little Girls by Lilith McGhee, Class of 2017

Sep 15 2016

DNC Recap by Jacqueline Coleman, Emerge KY Class of 2011

Sep 1 2015

Emerge Kentucky Accepting Applications for the Class of 2016

From Tuesday, Sept. 1st-Tuesday, Nov. 8th, Emerge Kentucky will accept applications for the Class of 2016. After the Nov. 8th application deadline, Emerge Kentucky's Board of Directors will review completed applications, schedule interviews, and select the next 20-25 women who will change the face of Kentucky politics.

Mar 14 2015

Emerge Kentucky Seeks New Executive Director

Nov 3 2014

A personal note from alumna LeTonia Jones

This has been the adventure of all adventures!

So many people have said to me, "Gosh, what you’re doing is scary. I can't imagine running for office."

Apr 3 2014

Emerge Kentucky alumnae and program members running for office in 2014

Elisabeth Jensen - US Congress, District 6

Kathy Ryan - State Senate, District 12

Ashley Miller - State House, District 32

Debbie Barber - State House, District 36

Gretchen Hunt - State House, District 48

Audrey Haydon - State House, District 50

Jacqueline Coleman - State House, District 55

Mar 13 2014

You can go home again. By Jackie Weathers

Writing a blog entry is a new thing for me. But, here goes!

Feb 13 2014

Legislative Shadow Day Reflection by Sarah Stewart Holland

Feb 2 2014

Meet My Emerge Kentucky Classmates by Gretchen Hunt

The beginning.

Twenty-three women. A businesswomen, a lawyer, a farmer, one who grew up desegregating the schools in the south, a world traveler, a home birthing advocate, an advocate for children with disabilities, a public health expert, a future jailer, a Circuit Court Clerk, a daughter, a mother, an advocate for educational equality, two beauty pageant stars, an artist, a veteran, a singer, an equestrian, a teacher, a prosecutor. Hailing from east, west, north and south.

Feb 2 2014

Twenty-nine women from Emerge Kentucky file for the 2014 Primary Election

Press Releases

Jan 12 2018

Emerge Kentucky 2018 Participants Selected

Louisville, KY: Emerge Kentucky, a non-profit organization that has recruited and trained over 165 Democratic women to run for public office since 2010, has announced the participants for its 2018 training program.

Thirty Democratic women from across the Commonwealth will acquire 70 hours of candidate training over the next six months to prepare them to run effective and winning campaigns for local, state, and federal office.

Dec 7 2017

The Future is Female Shirt

The future is clearly female! Get your super soft, women's relaxed fit vneck shirt today and show your support for emerging women leaders across the Commonwealth!

Feb 2 2017

Emerge Kentucky 2017 Participants Selected

Nov 9 2016

Emerge Kentucky Alumnae Win Big on Election Night

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Alexis Hebert

Sep 1 2016

Emerge Kentucky Accepting Applications for 2017 Candidate Training Program

Emerge Kentucky Accepting Applications for 2017 Candidate Training Program ____________________________________________________________________________

Organization Recruits and Trains Women for Elected Office

Jul 5 2016

The 2016 class graduates!

On Saturday, June 25^th, the 2016 Emerge Kentucky graduated its 7^th class. 19 more women from Paducah to Pikeville graduated Kentucky’s premier training program with the skills and tools they need to run for office.

After completing their final training session on value based messaging, over 50 people filed into the Kentucky Democratic Headquarters and were welcomed by Founder and Board Chair Jennifer A. Moore to celebrate the accomplishment of these women.

Jun 5 2016

Emerge Women Wins at 2016 State Convention

Emerge Kentucky's network of Advisory Board members, Board members, and alumnae had more than 50 representatives at the 2016 Kentucky Democratic Party State Convention.

Our congratulations to the following Emerge Kentucky women who successfully won leadership positions and delegate spots for the national convention.

May 18 2016

Emerge Kentucky Women Win Big in Democratic Primary

May 18 2016

Emerge Kentucky Women Win Big in Democratic Primary

Apr 18 2016

Emerge Won BIG This Weekend

Since 2009, we have recruited and trained 140 women from 34 counties across the Commonwealth. One element of our training is to encourage these Democratic women to take active roles within the leadership of the Kentucky Democratic Party.

Following this past weekend's County/Legislative District Conventions, we are proud to announce that our women are truly changing the face of Kentucky politics, county by county.