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 at one time had affiliates in 27 different

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, with the goal of having an affiliate in all 50 states. The goal of Emerge is to increase the number of Democratic women in all areas of the government.

Biography

Steele earned a

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and an International History

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Steele was a policy analyst for several years in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

, where she helped fundraise for Democratic causes and candidates. Steele was friends with

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

and helped her in her first race for District Attorney and throughout her career. She moved to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

and spent eight years as advisor to Democratic activist and Esprit Clothing 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 Emerge America is a non-profit national political organization based in San Francisco with the mission to increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training and providing a pow ...

, a national umbrella organization, and continued to open Emerge affiliates in more states. Steele's short-term goal with Emerge America was to achieve 30% representation of women in politics, as she believes that achieves a

critical mass In nuclear engineering, critical mass is the minimum mass of the fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction in a particular setup. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specific ...

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 ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'', Steele appeared on television and radio, including

Al Jazeera America Al Jazeera America was an American pay television news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, and in certain markets RT America. It was Al Jazee ...

and

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

to discuss campaigns, current events and politics.

References

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