The White House Project

The White House Project is an American nonprofit organization. The project develops and promotes leadership skills for women by involving them in all levels of the American political system. [ The project is notable for its involvement in the "Vote, Run, Lead" project. Vote, Run, Lead is designed to engage women in the political process as voters, activists, and candidates.] [cite web|url=http://www.businessnorth.com/exclusives.asp?RID=2437|title=Creating a political network of/for women|author=Beth Bily|date=2008-05-07|accessdate=2008-05-19|publisher=Businessnorth.com]

President and Founder

An advocate of women’s issues for more than 30 years, Marie C. Wilson is founder and President of The White House Project, co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work ® Day and author of Closing the Leadership G

About Marie Wilson

In 1998, Wilson founded The White House Project in recognition of the need to build a truly representative democracy – one where women lead alongside men in all spheres. Since its inception, The White House Project has been a leading advocate and voice on women’s leadership.

Before she took the helm at The White House Project, Wilson was, for nearly two decades, the President of the Ms. Foundation for Women. She is an honorary “founding mother” of the Ms. Foundation. In honor of her work, the Ms. Foundation has created The Marie C. Wilson Leadership Fund.

Over the last thirty years, Wilson’s accomplishments span becoming the first woman elected to the Des Moines City Council as a member-at-large in 1983, co-authoring the critically acclaimed Mother Daughter Revolution (1993, Bantam Books), and serving as an official government delegate to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995.

Wilson has been profiled in The New York Times “Public Lives” column, has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, National Public Radio and other national programs and is quoted widely for her expertise. Born and raised in Georgia, Wilson has five children and four grandchildren. She resides in New York City.

Mission

The White House Project, a national, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization, 501(c)(3), aims to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors, up to the U.S. presidency. By filling the leadership pipeline with a richly diverse, critical mass of women, we make American institutions, businesses and government truly representative. Through multi-platform programs, The White House Project creates a culture where America’s most valuable untapped resource—women—can succeed in all realms.

To advance this mission, The White House Project strives to support women and the issues that allow women to lead in their own lives and in the world. When women leaders bring their voices, vision and leadership to the table alongside men, the debate is more robust and the policy is more inclusive and sustainable. By supporting women and the values that allow women to succeed—the full range of health options, security platforms that utilize all our resources, economic stability for all—we work to create an equitable culture.

Vote, Run, Lead

Vote, Run, Lead is a dynamic program of The White House Project designed to engage women in the political process as voters, activists and candidates through trainings, inspiration and networking.

Go Vote

Go Vote - is the first stage of Vote, Run, Lead™ and a perfect place to begin your path to political empowerment.

There are three core steps to maximizing your political voice through voting: registration, education, and mobilization.

1. Register to Vote Registering to vote is easy, but registration forms vary by state. Click here to register in your state or to find out about absentee ballots. 2. Get Educated Check out the laws on voting in your state. Learn polling place hours, primary dates, and new ways to vote before Election Day. Learning these easy makes easy and allows you to be a resource for others. 3. Mobilize Others Congratulations! If you’ve made it through the registration and education process your ready to take a step further; click here to learn why it’s so important and fun to get other people to the polls with you. Get our PSA on your local radio station! Join a phone bank!

Go Run

Go Run is a weekend long training dedicated to equipping you, the future candidate, with the skills to run and win. The training aims to demystify the political process and inspire a richly diverse group of women in to the leadership pipeline. Go Run provides the nuts and bolts of running for political office by focusing on areas like communications, fundraising, and campaigning - skills you can use in your work and in your community up to the day you decide to run!

Go Lead

Go Lead sessions encourage you to lead a political life – voting is just a start. The White House Project offeres a variety of ways for you to get involved. The Vote, Run, Lead program engages and invites thousands of women into the political process in 2007 through...

* Voter education and registration * Community forums and events * Political leadership trainings * Issue briefings * Networking events * Movie Screenings * Sign up for our newsletter to find out about all of our Go Lead Opportunities. * 18 Ways to Stand Out in a Crowd

EPIC Awards

The EPIC Awards pay tribute to culture changers who use the immense power of the media and popular culture to influence the public's vision to help normalize women's leadership across sectors. The event recognizes culture changers who have used the platform of culture, including film, television, sports and advertising, to celebrate images of women leaders in American public life.Fact|date=May 2008

2007 Honorees

The 2007 honoree was Jean King, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award; Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentary Films. She was recognized for conceiving of the EPIC Awards; Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck were honored for “Shut Up & Sing” and KeKe Palmer and Nancy Hult Ganis received an award for their contribution to the production of “Akeelah and the Bee.” Geena Davis and Liz Smith were among the presenters, and Indra K. Nooyi, President and CEO of PepsiCo delivered keynote remarks on the theme of the evening, “Add Women, Change History.

2006 Honorees

The 2006 honorees included Academy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Geena Davis for her portrayal of President Mackenzie Allen on ABC’s Commander In Chief; Rod Lurie for creating this television program; Participant Productions, producers of the critically acclaimed film North Country with Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron; and three extraordinary leaders who are working to make women a more integral part of corporate culture: Carolyn Buck-Luce of Ernst & Young, Joann Heffernan Heisen of Johnson & Johnson and Deborah Elam of General Motors.Fact|date=May 2008

2005 Honorees

The 2005 honorees included Hearst Magazine for their 2004 Election Year articles; CHISHOLM '72 - Unbought & Unbossed; Oscar winner Born Into Brothels, directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman; and TV's The West Wing.

2003 Honorees

The 2003 honorees included many different areas of popular culture that normalized women leadership. The films Bend It Like Beckham, Blue Vinyl, Frida, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Rabbit Proof Fence, Real Women Have Curves, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, and Whale Rider all received EPIC Awards. Commercials from MasterCard International and McCann-Erickson WorldGroup, Reebok International Ltd. and Berlin Cameron Red Cell and the Girls Scouts and Kaplan Thaler Group all received Advertising awards. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charms for the Easy Life, Damaged Care, Homeless to Harvard, and The Division received the film and television EPIC awards. The EPIC Awards also presented an award to Julie Foudy, the Captain of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. Eve Ensler performed at the event.

2002 Honorees

The 2002 EPIC Awards, in its inaugural year, honored those who presented positive images of women leaders in pop culture venues. Dr. Renee Poussaint and Camille Cosby from the National Visionary Leadership Project were honored for a series of interviews on the power of African-American women leaders. Geraldine Laybourne and Ted Nelson of Oxygen Media and Mullen Advertising were honored for an advertising campaign that challenges stereotypical concepts of femininity. Walter Anderson from Parade Magazine was honored for introducing Parade's 80 million readers to women with the credentials to serve as President of the United States. Actress Jenifer Lewis and executive producer Tammy Ader accepted an award on behalf of Lifetime Television's show Strong Medicine that features strong women doctors battling for their patients' lives. Val Ackerman, from Women's National Basketball Associated, was given an award for showcasing top women athletes as persistent, tough, and effective. Guests also paid tribute to Geraldine Ferraro, a trailblazer for women in politics for her historic bid for the Vice Presidency in 1984. Melissa Etheridge performed at the event.

References

External links

* [http://www.TheWhiteHouseProject.org The White House Project Official Website]
* [http://www.VoteRunLead.org Vote, Run, Lead Official Website]