Platform

In city halls, state capitols, and the chambers of Congress, elected officials are making decisions about young women’s bodies, lives, and futures- without listening to our voices. With Platform, I am working to change that. Platform is a new training and lobbying organization dedicated to amplifying young women’s voices in the rooms where decisions are made. After hosting what was intended to be a one-time national convention in July 2016, the founders took a year to focus on finishing undergrad and then hit the ground running as this new organization in July 2017. The team has since created a space for members, young women ages 18 to 28, to blog about social justice and politics; hosted a number of events in Washington, D.C., NYC, LA, on Capitol Hill, and on college campuses; launched a weekly political newsletter that makes the week's headlines understandable and engaging; wrote seven policy packs—from disability rights to immigration rights to gun violence prevention—that break down critical issues with a gendered lens and guides readers on how to move forward; provided lobbying training through workshops and webinars; and, outside of our champions in Congress, co-led the effort to introduce a Congressional Resolution elevating the voices of underserved and disenfranchised survivors in the effort to end sexual violence.