University-level training online
Learn to run successfully and govern effectively.
Curriculum
Our curriculum prepares you from your first moment of curiosity about running, all the way to governing. Through six course series, we address fundamental questions and challenges you face:
- Demystify Your Run: What is the process for running and where do I start? Is running right for me?
- Run With Your Community: How do I authentically and confidently represent both my community and myself?
- Get Local on Policy & Governance: How do I get and stay smart on the top policy issues for my community and my ability to impact them?
- Build Your Case: What is my pitch to voters and how do I communicate it?
- Develop Your Campaign: How do I create and execute a winning campaign strategy?
- Prepare to Govern: How do I effectively make progress in office on issues impacting my community?
Each course increases your EDG. We help you empathize with the community members you will be representing, on your way to developing the substance of your campaign: what you are running for and how to authentically communicate it. You will gain confidence and critical skills for the race and job ahead.
Current Courses
When you run for office, you are running for the opportunity to represent the interests of the people of your district: your future constituents. In this course, we teach you industry best practices for engaging with your community, to better understand its challenges, hopes, and needs. You will learn the priorities of voting blocks, the root causes of problems they experience, and personal stories that exemplify these issues. This effort will not only immediately help you build authentic connections with constituents you speak with, it will give you the material to build a winning campaign and to be an effective representative once in office.
Prepare yourself to run and govern by learning the context around the biggest policy issues impacting your constituents, the stories and language your constituents use to speak about these issues, the governing authorities you will have access to once in office to affect these issues, and experts you can consult to dig deeper when needed. This course is generously supported by The Heinz Endowments and The Pittsburgh Foundation.
The summer pilot went really well!
Next session coming soon!
Future Courses
Navigate Policy & Governance
State policy series: Prepare yourself to run and govern by learning the context around the biggest policy issues impacting your constituents, the stories and language your constituents use to speak about these issues, the governing authorities you will have access to once in office to affect these issues, and experts you can consult to dig deeper when needed.
Which state course we should develop next?
Alumni testamonials
Reactions to previous Empowered To Run courses
This is amazing! I cannot even begin to explain how much pressure this takes off of me trying to figure this out on my own… I honestly loved it and I’d do it again in a hot second! It’s put me on the best start I could have asked for.
State legislature candidate, IL
This is an awesome program! As someone who works on a lot of local (and often first time candidates’) campaigns, I can tell you that this is a solid model and will be sure to recommend it.
Political program director, DE
I can’t imagine figuring all of this out on my own; and given I am starting from scratch, it would have taken me a lot longer to find a mentor who could have helped me… The Empowered to Run course certainly has given me more confidence and shortened my timeline in running for office.