Meet the #Firestarters: The Trailblazer

Rina Shah’s Movement for Equity in Politics

It’s here! My first book, “Find Your Fire: Stories and Strategies to Inspire the Changemaker Inside You,” is now available on Amazon. Inside this book, you’ll meet fearless #Firestarters who are building movements that matter. Today’s special preview of “Find Your Fire” features Rina Shah, a #Firestarter who fights to make the political landscape more equitable.

With a host of challenges and opportunities facing our country, we need the gifts and talents of everyone to drive change. And that’s what Rina Shah is all about.

Rina is a political adviser, media contributor and social entrepreneur, as well as an ardent advocate for getting more women to run for political office. She is also a woman of color in today’s Republican Party. She believes in freedom for same-sex couples to marry or at least have civil unions. She also says that while she is pro-life for herself, she believes every woman has the right to decide what to do with her own body.

In all these ways, Rina represents a minority position within the Republican Party. But this doesn’t make her want to leave the party — it makes her want to work toward positive change from within. That’s why she’s started so many trailblazing organizations.

As Rina says in “Find Your Fire”:

We have a dearth of women at all levels of elected office across the country, and we women make up more than half the population. I’m not saying we need quotas so we make up half of everything, but we need to be better represented. Until we’re better represented, we’re not going to get the laws and policies that reflect us and would better serve us and our families.

More With Rina

As a #Firestarter, you might be called on to talk about your views in the media. So what’s it like to be interviewed by a show, publication or network with political leaning that differs from your own? In “Find Your Fire,” Rina shares how she approaches such interviews. Pick up a copy for yourself and one for a #Firestarter you respect even if some of your views differ.

Listen

It’s too easy to spend all of our time in an echo chamber with people who think and believe just as we do. It’s time to break out of your bubble. Initiate a conversation with someone whose beliefs you’d like to better understand. Talking about issues with someone you disagree with can get tense, but these guides from the American Psychological Association and Oprah.com can help keep your dialogue productive.

Learn

Have you ever thought (even in the back of your mind) about running for office? Check out the candidate training videos offered by Women’s Public Leadership Network, which Rina co-founded.

Take Action

Even amid a pandemic, advocacy groups are finding creative ways to continue their work. If you can’t find an organization that represents your point of view, consider starting one that does. You’re likely to discover others who feel overjoyed to finally have a place where they belong.