She Should Run

These are the first names of the women in this fall’s Local Leader Lab cohort, our largest yet. It spans a small town in Alaska, neighborhoods in Miami, Atlanta, and Chicago, and dozens of places in between. This is what it looks like when leadership shows up in communities all across the country.

Since before She Should Run had its name, I've been trying to describe a part of this work that doesn't describe itself. When people talk about the political pipeline, they talk about outputs. Who filed. Who won. Who got appointed to what. It's countable, so it's what gets counted. Almost nobody asks how those women got there, which is a longer and stranger (sometimes beautiful, sometimes messy) story than the outputs suggest. She Should Run's Local Leader Lab exists for that part. Women come in caring about something and do something about it, inside a national network of women doing the same in their own towns and asking each other how it's going. We just published a partial list of what Lab members are actually doing. Here are 3 from it: Abby went looking for a site for a neighborhood fridge and found out her park district has an advisory committee for every location. She joined hers. She's one meeting away from a voting seat. Monika set out to save the oldest building in her town. Her first grant was close and ultimately the wrong fit. She's mid-application on a second one now, with contractors donating time, and she got elected to the town association along the way. Carrie wrote the voter registration plan for her sorority's alumnae chapter, got it approved, and set a calendar of tables running monthly through November. Since joining the Lab she was also appointed to the Virginia Board of Veterans Services. She's still doing both. That last one is the output anyone would, of course, count. We count and celebrate it, too, and we count what led up to it and what comes after. Which brings me to....applications for the fall cohort are open through August 25! Maybe you should join? Or please share with someone in your orbit who should. https://lnkd.in/gbB2zzzG

This Thursday, August 13 at 5 PM ET, join Erin Loos Cutraro, Founder & CEO of She Should Run, to learn more about the Local Leader Lab, a virtual civic incubator for women ready to take action in their communities. You'll hear what to expect, from live sessions to your own civic activation project, and get your questions answered. No political experience required. Just the belief that something needs to change, and the willingness to do something about it. Save your spot: https://lnkd.in/ehuVktFR Local Leader Lab applications close August 25: https://lnkd.in/dSR_Wj7n

Applications are now open for the Fall 2026 Local Leader Lab. This six-week virtual program helps women turn civic concern into a real, community-based project, with guidance on how local power actually works and a peer cohort building alongside them. Sessions run Wednesdays, September 16 through October 21. Applications close August 25. Apply or share with a woman in your network who's ready to lead locally: https://lnkd.in/dSR_Wj7n

Our summer Local Leader Lab cohort is officially underway. Here is something we did not plan for. We opened a group chat for this cohort, the way we do for every one. Before the first live session opened on July 1, these women had already made it their own. They were introducing themselves, trading book recommendations, and naming exactly what they came to work on. Data centers. Food pantries. Community gardens. A small town in rural Kansas that needed someone to show up. This is our accelerated format, the full Lab compressed from ten weeks into six back-to-back sessions. Less runway between naming why you care and figuring out where power actually sits. These women did not wait for the program to get going. They were all in before we ever hit record. Over the next six weeks, they will map where power sits in their communities, where they can get in, and what one real thing they can do about it. To the women in this cohort: we are glad you found each other here. Our fall cohort opens for applications in August. https://lnkd.in/dSR_Wj7n

A few weeks ago in New York City, we filled a room with women from across the country for the first-ever Local Leader Lab National Summit. They came with a job to do. Design strategies to increase voter participation before the midterms. These are women who get things done, and they got to work. Here is the part that really stood out. They knew each other from months together on screen, but most had never met in person. And what they built in that room went way beyond a voter plan. They built relationships, trust, and accountability. The things that hold a democracy together, and the things that hold us together. The country is about to mark 250 years. A room full of women already in motion, ready to bring others with them, feels like exactly the right way to meet the moment. Watch what the day looked like: https://lnkd.in/e5eSTsug This is what the Local Leader Lab builds. Our summer cohort kicks off this week, and applications for fall open in August. If you have been looking for somewhere to put your energy, get on the waitlist. https://lnkd.in/dSR_Wj7n

The 2026 Local Leader Lab National Summit was made extraordinary by the voices who took the stage. A heartfelt thank you to the incredible speakers who shared their wisdom, stories, and passion with our community. Your words moved us, challenged us, and reminded us why this work matters. We are so grateful you brought your brilliance to this space. Deja Foxx, Jess Weiner, Erica Teti-Zilinskas, Jill Frutkin, Crystal Hudson, Deidra C. Towns

Yesterday, women from across the country gathered in New York City for our first-ever Local Leader Lab National Summit. They didn't come just to be inspired. They came to build. Together, these leaders built voter participation plans for their own communities ahead of the midterms. They mapped who they could reach. They set real goals. And they showed up big time. The energy and love in that room is hard to put into words. What's easy to say is this. We are grateful to every leader who said yes to being there and our incredible speakers who added so much to the day. Not pictured: everyone who had to hustle out early for planes, trains, and traffic. We see you too. More photos and a full recap are coming soon. For now, thank you to the women who reminded us what it looks like when people refuse to sit this one out.

We did not plan a summer cohort. The waitlist made the case. Women across the country are paying attention to what is happening in their communities and feeling the pull to act. They just needed a structure that fit their lives right now. So She Should Run built an accelerated one. Six weeks. Wednesdays, 7 to 8:30 pm ET. July 1 through August 5. Women leave with a civic activation plan, a clearer map of how local power works, and a cohort of women doing the same work in communities across the country. No prior experience required. Applications close June 7. https://lnkd.in/dSR_Wj7n If you work alongside women who have been thinking about stepping up in their communities in any sector, at any level, this is worth a share.

Two cohorts down. Erin Loos Cutraro wrote up what we learned.