I’m Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th. The idea for the 19th was born out of the 2016 election, when Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump following a campaign that far too often centered around questions of a woman candidate’s “electability” or “likeability.”
At the time, I had a newborn, and The 19th was just a kernel of an idea: What if there was a news organization that normalized women’s leadership, and centered gender in politics and policy, instead of repeating the same old tired tropes? We launched in 2020, amid a global pandemic. It’s been a wild ride!
Before The 19th, I was editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, a local news startup and the largest statehouse news operation in the nation. I’m the co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board. In 2020, I was named to Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list.
I started my career at The Dallas Morning News, where I broke national stories about sexual abuse inside Texas’ youth lock-ups, reported from inside a West Texas polygamist compound and uncovered “fight clubs” at state institutions for people with disabilities.
A native of Washington, D.C., I graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with dual degrees in journalism and American history. I live in Austin with my filmmaker husband, our spunky and spectacular daughter, and a one-eyed wonder dog.
My work is free to consume and free to republish because of contributions from readers like you. A donation of $19 goes a long way toward sustaining our nonprofit newsroom.
