Higher Heights Leadership Fund, a 501(c)(3), is building a national civic engagement infrastructure and network to strengthen Black women’s leadership capacity. Higher Heights Leadership Fund is investing in a long-term strategy to expand and support Black women’s leadership pipeline at all levels and strengthen their civic participation beyond just Election Day.

Higher Heights Leadership Fund and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, released a new report, Reaching Higher: Black Women in American Politics 2021. This update outlines the status of Black women in American politics as of fall 2021 and provides an outlook for the 2022 election, which offers an immediate occasion for harnessing Black women’s political power both at the ballot box as voters and on the ballot as candidates.

Since our founding in 2011, Higher Heights has demanded the world invest in and uplift Black women leaders. In true form, we are answering our own call by elevating our investment through the inaugural cohort of this Fellowship program. We established this 7-month fellowship program as a way to highlight the expertise of Black women in senior civic leadership while challenging each participant to serve their professional goals and commit to personal wellness. 30 Black women have answered the call and we are proud to introduce you to our inaugural cohort of the Higher Heights Senior Civic Leadership Cohort.