Blog: Service First Women Celebrate Launch

In front of a crowd of nearly 200 people in Washington last night, U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan, Elaine Luria, Mikie Sherrill, Elissa Slotkin, and Abigail Spanberger celebrated the launch of the Service First Women’s Victory Fund, part of their first-of-its-kind initiative to elevate the collective voice of new women servant leaders. Less than two months after launching this coalition with us, more than $230,000 has been committed to the Congresswomen’s joint effort, signaling strong support for service-driven leaders.

“We’re thrilled by the outpouring of support and interest that we’ve seen in just a short period of time,” the five Representatives said jointly. “It’s clear that people are hungry for service-driven leadership that understands we’re more powerful when we work together than when we go it alone. This early support is critical to helping us build momentum for our movement as we work hard every day for the people we serve.”

Our Founder and Executive Director Emily Cherniack shared the excitement of the candidates, saying that “we’re excited to amplify the voice of service leaders in office and build the next generation of political leadership. The women leading this coalition are showcasing the potency and commitment of servant leaders as political leaders, and they are inspirations to women servant leaders who look to run in the future.”

Reps. Luria and Sherrill are both U.S. Navy Veterans and Naval Academy graduates, while Rep. Houlahan is a former U.S. Air Force Officer. Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Abigail Spanberger are former officials in the Central Intelligence Agency. The new joint effort builds on the powerful impact these service leaders had on last year’s midterm elections, changing the face of Congress and helping bring servant leadership back to politics.