Amanda Litman
Co-founder of Run for Something. Author of two books. Still somehow an optimist.
Introducing myself
Hi, I’m Amanda!
I’m the co-founder and president of Run for Something, a organization I helped start after the 2016 election to recruit and support young, diverse progressives running for down-ballot office. Since we launched, we’ve built the largest candidate pipeline in politics and helped elect more than 1650 candidates to city councils, school boards, state legislatures, and everything in between. It’s the work I’m most proud of.
I’m also the author of two books: Run for Something: A Real-Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself (2017) and When We’re in Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership (2025). I wrote them because I believe the next generation of leaders — in politics and beyond — need a new playbook for how to lead well in this moment.
Before Run for Something, I was an operative deep Democratic politics, most recently as the national email director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. My full resume is on my LinkedIn.
Finally, I’m a public speaker — I’ve talked to groups as big as 5,000 and as small as 20, on everything from civic engagement and running for office to leadership and what it means to show up authentically (but with boundaries). It’s one of my favorite things to do.
I’m based in Brooklyn with my husband and two daughters.
