Andrea Dew Steele is an American activist who co-founded

Emerge California Emerge California is a non-profit organization and affiliate of Emerge America, created by Andrea Dew Steele, that seeks to identify and help more women and minorities in California be elected to public office. It was praised in 2017 by Hillary Cli ...

in 2002, and founded Emerge America in 2005 which now has affiliates in 27 different states of the U.S., with the goal of having an affiliate in all 50 states by 2020. The goal of Emerge affiliates is to increase the number of Democratic women in all areas of the government. Steele spent her career in Democratic activism and has been a director at Human Rights Watch. She is also a regular contributor to the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''.

Biography

Steele earned a Political Science B.A. at Tufts University and an International History M.A. from the London School of Economics.Steele was a policy analyst for several years in Washington, D.C., on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

, where she helped fundraise for Democratic causes and candidates. Steele was friends with Kamala Harris and helped her in her first race for District Attorney. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and spent eight years as advisor to Democratic activist and

Esprit Clothing Esprit Holdings Limited () is a publicly owned manufacturer of clothing, footwear, accessories, jewellery and housewares under the Esprit label. The company is headquartered in North Point, Hong Kong, and Ratingen (near Düsseldorf), Germany. In ...

co-founder

Susie Tompkins Buell Susie Tompkins Buell (née Russell; born 1943) is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and a donor to progressive causes. Tompkins Buell co-founded the Esprit clothing and The North Face brand with her first husband, Doug Tompkins whom she met ...

. Steele co-founded

in 2002, which uses classes and training programs to prepare Democratic women in California to successfully run for office. In 2005, Steele founded Emerge America, a national umbrella organization, and continues to open Emerge affiliates in more states. Steele's short-term goal with Emerge America is to achieve 30% representation of women in politics, as she believes that achieves a critical mass for change. Although the population is 52% women, less than a quarter of government officials are women. In addition to writing for publications such as the ''

'', Steele has appeared on television and radio, including Al Jazeera America and MSNBC to discuss campaigns, current events and politics. She has been a director for Human Rights Watch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dew Steele, Andrea Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American political activists Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics