This hour on Disrupted, we talk to Connecticut Kid Governor Ellie Mendez. The Kid Governor program teaches civics to 5th graders who elect one of their peers to the office. Ellie was elected on a platform that focuses on anxiety and depression. She is joined by her teacher, Mr. Michael Rinn. Then, we talk to Patricia Russo from The Campaign School at Yale University. The Campaign School seeks to increase the number of women holding political offices. Also part of the conversation is Earnestine Dawson, an alumna of the school who most recently served as the Digital Director and Advisor to the Chairman for the House Democratic Caucus Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in the U.S. House of Representatives.

You can read more about the Penn State panel ‘Politics Unequal: The State of Women in Elected Office’ here: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/politics-unequal-state-women-elected-office, and you can listen to the panel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNrK2HCfd00. To learn about The Campaign School at Yale University's training options, you can click here: https://www.tcsyale.org/about-trainings.

GUESTS:

• Ellie Mendez: Connecticut Kid Governor, 5th grader at Monroe Elementary School
• Mr. Michael Rinn: Ellie's 5th grade teacher
• Patricia Russo: Executive Director of The Campaign School at Yale University.
• Earnestine Dawson: recently served as the Digital Director and Advisor to the Chairman for the House Democratic Caucus Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in the U.S. House of Representatives, 2017 alumna of The Campaign School at Yale University.

Special thanks this week to Meg Fitzgerald.

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