ABOUT WOMENRUN
Mission
To identify and support center-right Republican women to run for federal elected office. This support includes: 1) promoting structural changes which increase the opportunities for women candidates, 2) encouraging institutions that help develop successful national candidates, 3) developing a deep understanding of the policy priorities of candidates we endorse, and 4) maintaining a consistent presence to ensure the continued success of our endorsed candidates.
Vision
A more representative and inclusive Republican Party based on the core principles of free-markets, individual liberties, personal responsibility and limited government; a Party that works to ensure every citizen the freedom of self-determination, to make their own choices for their livelihood, their families, and themselves. We envision a Party that works toward a bipartisan solution to address our country’s most pressing economic and social problems.
Core Values
Conservative: committed to free trade; minimal, smart and flexible regulation; lower and less complicated taxes; and an emphasis on private over public economic control
Respectful: mindful of each individual’s right to make decisions about their private life
Inclusive: committed to delivering on the principle of equal opportunity for all
Innovative: leaders in generating and promoting novel solutions
Positive: supportive of the good people who make up the pillars of our country and our communities
Passionate: true believers in the virtues of moderation
OUR FOUNDERS
Martha Ehmann Conte
CO-FOUNDER
Martha first got involved in politics with the College Republicans at Princeton University. She organized the groundswell of youth support at the Republican Convention in Dallas in 1984 and volunteered on several presidential campaigns after college while working in advertising in New York. She moved to San Francisco in 1995 and began work as a Brand Strategist and marketing consultant. After a long hiatus to start and nurture her family, she restarted her active political engagement with the Romney presidential campaign in 2010.
Dedicated to the classic Republican value of limited government, Martha felt increasingly left behind by the more extreme aspects of the Party platforms over the years. She developed a growing determination to work to return the Party to its core principle of limited but effective government in all respects. She decried the once Party-loyalists who left to become Independents or Democrats and urged them to reengage with their Party and fight from within. After the conclusion of the 2016 Presidential primary, she began to develop the ideas that would become WomenRUN. She firmly believes that the inclusion of more women in the political process will lead to greater collaboration, increased bipartisanship and more effective government. Martha is civic leader, active philanthropist and investor and has four children.
Jennifer Fonstad
CO-FOUNDER
Jennifer began her political career in high school as a page in the US House of Representatives. She attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she worked on the PBS program ‘Foreign Interests’ and studied international policy. After spending a year teaching high school in sub-Saharan Africa, she joined Bain & Company where she worked on trade policy for the Mexican government. In 1991, she joined former Bain colleagues in Eastern Europe working with the Polish, Czech, and Russian governments’ transitions from communist toward capitalist economies.
Jennifer was invited to join Mitt Romney’s small staff as he began his campaign for the US Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1993. She worked full time for Mitt as a grassroots organizer in the state and in assisting his debate preparation in that closely-run, high-profile election. After graduating from Harvard Business School, she returned to the private sector as an early-stage technology and healthcare investor. She spent 17 years with Draper Fisher Jurveston before co-founding her own venture capital firm, Owl Capital. She continued to support strong Republican candidates, working on Mitt Romney’s two presidential bids and serving on Meg Whitman’s Economic Policy Committee during her run for CA Governor. She is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
A strong believer that diversity leads to better decision making and better outcomes, Jennifer co-founded WomenRUN to support bringing center-right candidates to the table. She believes WomenRUN is critical to cultivating the next generation of leaders.
Paid for by WomenRUN, www.womenrun.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.