PowerUp: Preparing Women to Lead in Their Communities
New York, NY – October 1, 2025 – Women Creating Change (WCC), in partnership with College and Community Fellowship (CCF), is launching a new cohort of PowerUp, a civic engagement and advocacy training cohort designed to provide women with civic engagement and advocacy training, helping participants strengthen their knowledge of government systems and practice advocacy skills.
Working closely with CCF, which supports justice-involved women in earning college degrees and reentering society, PowerUp expands opportunities for participants to strengthen their understanding of government, build advocacy skills, and develop action plans on the issues that matter most to them.
PowerUp is a cohort that fosters collaboration, builds confidence, and promotes lasting civic engagement through a curriculum that is both customizable and co-created with each community it serves.
The three-month PowerUp cohort trains a 15-member cohort in:
- Issue Identification: How to surface and tackle winnable community issues.
- Forms of Advocacy: Organizing, mobilizing, voter engagement, lobbying, direct action, and using the arts as a tool for civic expression.
- Building Power in Communities: Tactics like door-knocking, digital organizing, and grassroots mobilization.
- Understanding Government: How bills become laws, how to track legislation, and how to build relationships with public officials. Emphasis is placed on voting as both a right and a responsibility, especially at the local level, where decisions often have the greatest impact.
- Justice-impacted citizens eligible to register and vote will receive guidance on New York State voting laws, candidate platforms, and tools for meaningful voter engagement.
Participants also gain hands-on experience through visits to City Hall, the New York State Capitol in Albany, and local community partner organizations. Each graduate will leave with a step-by-step Advocacy Action Plan to apply their training to real-world challenges and sustain civic involvement.
"PowerUp is about turning isolation into action. By bringing underrepresented New York women together, we help neighbors find their voice, step into leadership, and engage meaningfully in the civic process." – Laura Eddin, Senior Vice President of Cohorts and Partnerships, WCC
"We are building a participatory, inclusive, and resilient democracy. PowerUp empowers justice-involved women and is led by those closest to the issues." – Nicole Marie Alexander, Interim Director of Communications & Development, CCF
The launch of PowerUp builds on CCF’s P.O.W.E.R. (Policy Organizers for Women’s Empowerment and Rights) initiative and successful cohorts like JusticeVotes NY and Women Influencing Systems & History (WISH). Together, WCC and CCF are creating opportunities for women to transform lived experience into advocacy expertise.
If you are interested in learning more about PowerUp, joining a future cohort, or exploring ways to support this initiative, please reach out to the cohort leader at [email protected].
About
About Women Creating Change
Women Creating Change (WCC), formerly known as the Women’s City Club of New York, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan activist organization dedicated to advancing women’s rights and shaping the future of New York City. Founded in 1915, WCC works to advance gender and racial equality by equipping women of color, women experiencing financial hardship, and gender-expansive individuals, with the knowledge, tools, and resources to advocate for the issues that matter most to them. WCC collaborates with partners, policymakers, and advocacy groups to drive real change in economic opportunity, education, healthcare, safety, reproductive justice, and environmental justice. WCC connects women with key stakeholders to learn, act, and engage. We empower women to lead change, shape policy, and strengthen communities, redesigning systems for a more equitable New York City. At WCC, we believe every woman has the power to make a difference. Visit wccny.org.
About the College and Community Fellowship
For 25 years, The College and Community Fellowship (CCF) has provided financial and community support to justice-involved women pursuing college degrees and professional certifications. As one of the few organizations nationwide dedicated exclusively to women, we foster both academic and personal growth through mentorship, workshops, and a strong peer community.
Recognizing that policy plays a vital role in successful reentry, CCF has been a driving force behind initiatives such as Education from the Inside Out, Ban the Box, Pell Grant Restoration, and Justice Votes NY, all of which advance equity and inclusion on campuses and in communities. By equipping members with the tools to advocate for change, CCF not only strengthens their educational journeys but also empowers them to become effective leaders and champions of social transformation.
Media Contact
For interview requests or media inquiries, please contact Lynsey Billet at [email protected] or 347-361-8449.