The Women Lead Scholarship is a new program of the American Medical Women’s Association initiated and sponsored by AMWA Past President, Dr. Kim Templeton. The program will provide $1000 to support one AMWA physician member each year to attend the AMA Political Action Campaign (AMPAC) School which is held every year in December. AMPAC is the bipartisan political action committee of the American Medical Association. AMPAC’s mission is to find and support physician candidates for Congressional offices. Learn more about the AMPAC Campaign School.
“Recognized as one of the top programs in the country, this comprehensive program will mold you into a winning political strategist and help you elect friends of medicine. The Campaign School is renowned for its use of a simulated campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, complete with demographics, voting statistics and candidate biographies.” [AMPAC]
Emily Riegel attended medical school at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. During that time she was co-president of the student chapter of AMWA, and a co-leader of Medical Students for Choice. Following a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, she completed a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine. She went to join the faculty with joint appointments in the departments of internal medicine and pediatrics, and has provided palliative and hospice care for patients and families of all ages and in a variety of settings. In December 2016, she co-founded Indivisible KC, a non-partisan, issues-focused political group aimed at improving constituent engagement with elected officials and in the overall political process.
Emily states “I recognize a need for further strengthening of skills related to political campaign organizing, and a need to deepen my understanding of the strategies, approaches, and techniques for leading successful campaigns: those focused on issues as well as candidate elections. Without successful issues-based and candidate-focused campaigns, seeing improvements in policy related to healthcare access and cost stabilization, protection of civil rights for all citizens and those seeking citizenship, increases in the minimum wage to promote economic equity, and halting our nation’s epidemic of gun violence will all continue to be out of our reach.”
