Kelly Keenan Trumpbour - Running Start

Insight into why we need to care about high school and college women showing interest in politics, and how the Running Start model can help any minority lacking representation inside government. For instance, did you know that , on average, it takes seven invitations from seven separate individuals for a woman under the age of 40 to consider running for office? Or that despite a high success rate on Election Day when they do run, most young women list feeling under qualified or a fear of losing as the top reasons not to become candidates? Combating a lack of confidence and a fear of the unknown is a concern for every minority group seeking a place in our country’s government. But the path to top offices is made so much easier when we identify, prepare, and cheer on the next generation. If Election 2008 left you asking “aren’t there women besides Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton to vote for?” the answer is a resounding “yes,” but they need a little help to get there. The audience will be asked to consider nominating any high school girl they know for our annual, full-scholarship Young Women’s Leadership Retreat and handouts will be made available for those who would like to learn more.
Kelly Keenan Trumpbour has been many things in life: the first female captain of her men’s high school fencing team, a law school graduate voted most likely to give a closing argument on Broadway, and most recently a passionate advocate for young women to run for public office. As co-founder of the nonpartisan nonprofit Running Start, Kelly has had the opportunity to work with an amazing team of women who have developed programs for high school and college women hungry to learn how a campaign works and why they should already consider themselves qualified candidates.

In addition to being the Associate Director of Running Start, Kelly Keenan Trumpbour is the author of the book Working at Interest Groups and Nonprofits a book praised by former White House Social Secretary under Jacqueline Kennedy, Letitia Baldrige as “a walking primer of information, easy to read, and even inspiring in its message.” She was recently featured in the October 2008 issue of Redbook magazine, in the article “Hit the Streets for America!” She was also an invited columnist for Lifetime Television’s Hot Button ’08 Election Coverage, and is featured in a video interview on the blog CitizenJanePolitics.com. Kelly has also been a guest on Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio to discuss women running for office.