FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2022
CONTACT: Becca DeFelice
becca@emergetx.org
Emerge Texas Hires Becca DeFelice as New Executive Director
Washington, DC—Emerge Texas, the state’s premier organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office, announced Becca DeFelice as its new executive director. DeFelice comes to the organization from Moms Demand Action and was most recently a candidate for Texas’s 121st House District. In this role, she will oversee the operations of Emerge Texas: running the organization’s signature training program, supporting alums running for office and helping ensure Emerge women from communities across the state have a seat at the table.
“Emerge is proud to have Becca DeFelice join our team as the next executive director of Emerge Texas,” said A’shanti F. Gholar, president of Emerge. “As an advocate, candidate and organizer, Becca has demonstrated the outsized difference that women can make when they step into politics. Her leadership, experience and insight will help the next generation of women leaders in Texas not only run for office, but win and bring transformative change to their constituents, their districts and their communities. We look forward to working with her to see more women elected at all levels of office.”
“I’m honored to join the Emerge team and help build a women-led future here in Texas,” said DeFelice. “The organization’s work is vital to empowering women to run for office, expanding women’s political power and providing new representation in every seat. As a former candidate myself, I know how tough running can be, but the training Emerge provides and the network it has helps women overcome barriers to entry and shows how effective the organization’s work is. Women are the future of this country and it’s time we get them their seat at the table in the Lone Star State.”
Becca DeFelice is a gun violence prevention advocate/organizer, mom, and former state house candidate living in San Antonio with her husband and daughter. As an advocate, she’s proven she can deliver for Texas families through her years of advocacy with Moms Demand Action and her work with State Senator Roland Gutierrez on SB 1380, a rural mental health bill that passed in the legislature during the 87th session.
A transracial adoptee who grew up on a working farm, Becca’s unique life experience gives her the perspective necessary to build strong relationships across Texas’s diverse communities. She believes that every campaign run by a Democratic woman has value and holds important lessons for us all to learn for future success.
The full bio can be found here.
Since 2020, Emerge Texas has recruited, trained and provided a powerful network of Democratic women including Judge Shannon Baldwin, the first out LGBTQ+ judge serving in Harris County. In 2022, Emerge Texas celebrated a 67% win rate.
Nationally, Emerge has trained more than 5,000 alums since 2002 and currently has more than 1,000 alums in elected office across the country. The organization is committed to reaching 100,000 women of the New American Majority over the next 15 years, fostering a lift as you climb culture for women in politics, and repowering political structures. There are currently 27 state affiliates, and the organization has impacted a total of 45 states, Washington, D.C. and territories.
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