Meet the #Firestarters: The Inspirer

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 Jarinete Santos, who kindled her spark as a #Firestarter early.

Today, Jarinete Santos is the political pipeline director for She Should Run, an organization that aims to get more women running for office. But she was working for change well before that.

“There was a group in my middle school called Peace Jam, and essentially it was just like all the social justice nerds who didn’t know that’s what we were yet,” she says.

This “social justice nerd” grew up to become a passionate advocate for women seeking political office. And she says that She Should Run is hearing from more women amid the coronavirus pandemic and protests against racial injustices.

“These can be really challenging times, but it also invigorates and excites people,” Jarinete says. More women are seeing their potential to bring about change.

Jarinete especially wants to be an advocate for women of color, both in terms of developing them as candidates and in showing through her own presence that women of color should have a place at the table in conversations about leadership development.

But she also points out that her job is advocating for all women, even those whose political beliefs differ from her own. As she says in “Find Your Fire”:

It’s really opened my eyes to what being committed to representation at large looks like. It’s been really lovely as I’ve worked in this job to become more aware of the need for women that I might disagree with to have a place at the table as well.

More With Jarinete

In “Find Your Fire,” Jarinete shares the advice from her mom that she still lives by today. And when you order your copy, why not snag some extras for the women you’d like to see holding public office someday?

Listen

There might be a woman close to you who just needs a little encouragement to become a political candidate. Taking the time to be fully present, listen to her and help her see the possibilities for channeling her passion is a great gift.

Learn

As they say at She Should Run, “If you care, you’re qualified” to seek political office. Even if you’re not ready to put your name on the ballot yet, you can start learning about how the process works. In addition to She Should Run, Emerge America, Vote Run Lead, Running Start and She The People are great resources.

Take Action

One thing that I love about Jarinete’s story is the influence of the early experiences she had through Peace Jam. If you also had some grown-ups nurturing you as a future #Firestarter, how can you pay that forward? And if you didn’t, think about how powerful it would be to make sure things are different for the young girls who are in your life or in your community now.

P.S. Don’t have a copy of “Find Your Fire,” get it on Amazon! And if you haven’t heard, Cosmopolitan Magazine named it the #6 Non-Fiction Book of 2020! How’s that as fuel for the soul?