Seated in the dimly lit LBJ auditorium, Amy Kroll's eyes beamed as Hillary Clinton strolled onto the stage just days after the 2018 midterm elections to receive a public service award and share her experiences as a woman in politics. With eyes glued to the glowing stage, Kroll began to imagine helping women launch political careers.
"Women were running for office in record numbers (in 2018)," Kroll, LBJ Women's Campaign School founder and executive director, said. "But women were still only about a quarter of elected officials nationwide. … I saw that happening, and I (knew) we had an opportunity to take action."
In 2020, after two years of organizing, Kroll welcomed the inaugural class of UT's LBJ Women's Campaign School — an eight-month program designed to give women the tools and training needed to campaign for public office. With eight graduates currently running in the Texas 2022 primaries, the program's success in its first two years earned the support of valuable partners, including the Texas Woman's University's Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy. For the second year in a row, 50 accepted participants in the Campaign School's third cohort will attend the program for free, thanks to an $87,500 grant from Texas Woman's Center.