As part of our “Women on Wednesdays'' series, please join the Women & Politics Institute please join American University's Women & Politics Institute for a virtual conversation with Professors David E. Campbell and Christina Wolbrecht of Notre Dame, co-authors of the forthcoming book, See Jane Run: How Women Politicians Matter for Young People. WPI Executive Director Betsy Fischer Martin will facilitate the discussion. Details and registration here

In See Jane Run, Campbell and Wolbrecht explore the powerful influence of women in politics, revealing how their presence shapes young people’s perceptions of leadership—regardless of gender. For young women, seeing women in office strengthens faith in democracy, fosters political engagement, and even inspires them to run for office themselves. Purchase the book here

David E. Campbell is an award winning author and political scientist who currently serves as the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame. His research explains how, when, and why people get involved in politics.  His previous books include Secular Surge, Seeking the Promised Land, and American Grace. American Grace received both the 2011 Woodrow Wilson Award from the American Political Science Association for the best book on government, politics, or international affairs and the Wilbur Award from the Religious Communicators Council for the best non-fiction book of 2010.  His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, and Daedalus. In addition, he has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and—every political scientist’s dream—Cosmopolitan.

David completed his undergraduate work in Political Science at Brigham Young University, which he followed up with a Masters and PhD in Political Science from Harvard University.

Christina Wolbrecht is an award winning scholar and author from the University of Notre Dame, where she teaches and writes about women and gender, political parties, and American political development. She is the author or coauthor of A Century of Votes for Women, Counting Women’s Ballots, and The Politics of Women’s Rights. The impacts of the expansion of voting rights to women is a major focus of Wolbrecht’s research and she is currently at work on a study of the causes and consequences of the appointment of women to local boards and commissions, with Mirya Holman and Lakshmi Iyer. She has published articles on these and other topics in outlets including the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, and Political Behavior.

Wolbrecht is a past editor of the journal Politics & Gender and of the book series, Cambridge Studies in Politics & Gender. She currently (2024-25) serves as president of the Midwest Political Science Association.  She completed her Bachelor's degree at Pacific Lutheran University which she followed up with a Master’s degree and PhD at Washington University in St. Louis, all in Political Science.

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs, where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. In the fall of 2023, she was a resident fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics where she conducted a weekly seminar on the presidential election. During her earlier career in television news, she spent 23 years at NBC News serving as the longtime Executive Producer of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and as the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a cum laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.

“Women On Wednesdays”: See Jane Run