Co-founder & President, Run for Something · Author · Speaker
Amanda
Litman.
Author of When We're in Charge — named a best business book by the Financial Times. Co-founder of Run for Something, which has helped elect 1,650+ candidates since 2017. Speaker who leaves people with something to do.
I'm not waiting
for someone else
to fix it.
I co-founded Run for Something in the weeks after the 2016 election — because the system wasn't going to fix itself, and enough people were finally ready to do something about it. We built the largest progressive candidate pipeline in the country. We've helped elect more than 1,650 candidates to city councils, school boards, and state legislatures. That number goes up every election cycle.
I've also written two books: Run for Something (2017), a practical guide to running for local and state office that I wrote because people kept asking how to do it, and When We're in Charge (2025), a leadership guide for the next generation built on interviews with more than 100 leaders across politics, business, media, and tech. Before any of this, I served as National Email Director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign — one of the largest digital fundraising operations in political history.
I live in Brooklyn with my husband, two daughters, and their rowdy rescue dog. I write on Substack about politics, leadership, books, and whatever I can't stop thinking about.
The books.
Two books. One argument.On Substack
What I'm actually
thinking about.
Politics, leadership, the books I can't stop recommending, and the occasional rant about something that's making me insane. Free to read.
Subscribe free →I will not waste
your audience's time.
On running for office, building organizations under pressure, next-gen leadership, and what civic engagement actually requires of individuals right now. I've keynoted conferences, led executive roundtables, and spoken at universities. I'm direct, I don't do platitudes, and I leave people with something to do.
