Newark, New Jersey —Emerge New Jersey, the state’s premier organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office, announced today it has named Anjali Mehrotra as its new Executive Director. In this role, Mehrotra will work with the Emerge New Jesey Advisory Board and alumnae to recruit and train Democratic women to run for office and win at all levels of government.  Mehrotra brings years of experience in political campaigns and advocacy work, including serving as the President of the National Organization for Women of New Jersey, running for office, and serving as the Chair of the Mountainside Democratic committee.

“Emerge New Jersey is pleased to have Anjali joining our team as Executive Director,” said Shawn Laurenti, Board Chair. “Our organization is seeing an unprecedented amount of interest from women who want to run for office, so Anjali joining Emerge New Jersey couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Anjali’s expertise in advocating for women and running for office herself will certainly be a value add to our goal of changing the face of power in our state. We are proud to add her to our amazing team and know she will be a great fit for our organization, which is at the heart of a powerful movement led by women that is sweeping New Jersey and the country.”

“I am committed to the cause of electing more Democratic women at all levels of government”, said Mehrotra. “In New Jersey, women make up about 55% of registered voters, yet we are poorly represented at the state-wide and federal levels. In our 237 years, we have had one Governor, two Lieutenant Governors, seven Congressional representatives and zero Senators. With the help of the board members, the resources of Emerge America, and the networks I have created within the state, as Executive Director of Emerge New Jersey, I will work to change those statistics.”

Emerge New Jersey is a state affiliate of Emerge America, which has trained more than 4,000 women to run for office since 2002. Emerge alumnae across the country have won more the 1,000 elections to date and hold office at every level of government. Women who graduate from Emerge New Jersey’s training program are plugged into both the state network of Emerge New Jersey alumnae, as well as the national network of Emerge America alumnae across the country.

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