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The Rise & Run Women’s Political Empowerment Workshop is a 1.5 day conference to be held Jan. 30-31, 2026 at Lindenwood University in the Spellman Center in St. Charles, Missouri. The first 50 registrants receive free admission with coupon code (found below.) After the first 50 slots are filled, the registration fee is $50 per person. The workshop is designed for women, and registrants must identify as a woman.

The event is underwritten by local personal finance expert Nina Needleman. Needleman appeared on Westplex Talk 104.5 FM’s “The Brad & John Show” on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 to promote the event. Needleman noted that speakers include state Rep. Wendy Hausman (R-St. Peters), former state sen. Jill Schupp (D-Creve Coeur), St. Louis Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez, as well as Maryville University professor Leilani Carver-Madalon. The full interview, conducted by St. Louis Media Hall of Famer Brad Hildebrand, follows:

The following day (Jan. 9, 2026) Hildebrand’s co-host John Combest dedicated the #1 slot in his “John’s Top 3” segment to amplifying highlights of the Rise & Run event, as well as gently correcting some of the previous day’s misstatements and omissions. Of note:

• The “Fundraising techniques and donor cultivation” session will be led by renowned Democratic campaign fundraiser Angela Bingaman. In her Thursday interview, Ms. Needleman mistakenly stated that she (Needleman) would be leading the session. In addition, Bingaman will also present on “How to create a budget.”
• State Sen. Tracy McCreery (D-Olivette) will team up with former Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Jean Evans for a session titled, “One Woman Matters: How to Collaborate and Why NOW is Important.” This session was not mentioned in Thursday’s interview.
• St. Louis Alderwoman Jami Cox Antwi will lead a session titled “Volunteer recruitment, management, retention.” Cox Antwi was misidentified during the Thursday interview.

In addition to correcting misinformation and omissions, Combest offered Needleman and event organizers suggestions including:

• Creating a web page – or a basic social media post – to show the workshop agenda and speakers. No such information was available as of 1/9/26.
• Using a vanity URL or an easy-to-remember social media handle as a path to the registration page. “I’ll send you the QR code” is not a viable call to action. (Note: registration link is at the bottom of this page.)
• Basic outreach to Democrat and Republican township committeewomen in St. Louis County, St. Charles County and St. Louis City.
• Beginning a basic level of effort to promote the event, as the speakers have received no meaningful social media support or promotion from organizers.

Combest concluded his promotion of the event with a pep talk for event organizers. You can hear the full discussion here:

Although organizers have not provided potential attendees basic information like speakers and sessions, here’s a list:

• Voter contact strategies & grassroots organizing: State Rep. Wendy Hausman (R-St. Peters)
• Fundraising techniques & donor cultivation AND How to create a budget : Angela Bingaman (D)
• Endorsement strategies & coalition building: former state Sen. Jill Schupp (D)
• Media training: Daniela Velazquez (D)
• Social media training: Maryville University professor Leilani Carver-Madalon
• Campaign team building: Former state Rep. Deb Lavender (D)
• Volunteer recruitment, management, retention: St. Louis Alderwoman Jami Cox Antwi (D)
• Field operations/canvassing: Former state Rep. Trish Gunby (D)
• Missouri Ethics Commission compliance: Kaley Barry

Partisan tally: 6 Democrats, 2 Republicans

Recommended reading (curated by John Combest – Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout by Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber From Amazon: “With the first three editions of Get Out the Vote, Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber broke ground by introducing a new scientific approach to the challenge of voter mobilization and profoundly transformed how campaigns operate. Get Out the Vote has become the reference text for those who manage campaigns and study voter mobilization. In this expanded and updated edition, Green and Gerber incorporate data from a trove of recent studies that shed new light on the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of various campaign tactics, including door-to-door canvassing, e-mail, direct mail, and telephone calls. The new edition gives special attention to “relational organizing” through friend-to-friend communication and events.”

Small Power: How Local Parties Shape Elections by David Doherty, Conor M. Dowling, and Michael G. Miller From Amazon: “An insider’s look into the largely anonymous volunteers in local party organizations who make decisions in elections with profound implications for American democracy … Small Power sheds new light on how seemingly mundane local decisions can shape party goals, influence candidate pipelines, and affect who ends up winning elections.”

Stalking, Harassment, Internet Trolling: A Guide to Recovering and Rebuilding After Online Attacks by John Combest At some point in your campaign, you’ll be attacked on social media – for your looks, what you wear, things you say and do and even things you *didn’t* say or do. Learn how to release your desire for social media approval, control and security and free yourself from the weight of political mean girls, lowlife stalkers, mansplaining harassers and bottom-feeding trolls.

Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story by Lis Smith The former top Claire McCaskill strategist reveals raw truths about her time in St. Louis, how to successfully and gracefully alpha-widow inadequate men, her relationship with Eliot Spitzer and ensuing paparazzi fallout, and McCaskill’s d*ck joke about a Missouri GOP consultant.

Creepers and Copers: Ranking Your Male Admirers for Safety, Fun and (Maybe) Friendship by John Combest It’s not easy being a female political candidate. Does that big-roller donor creep you out? What about the nepo-baby lobbyist texting you from the hotel bar at 11 p.m. asking to “get to know you better?” Maybe the union’s political director seems to think GOTV stands for “Gotta Obtain That Vagina!” Can you use these types of men strategically as Stepstools, or are they certified Creepers? This non-political book teaches you a simple dual-axis mental model to reliably assess and properly manage every type of male admirer in your life, from lispy manlets to Instagram moth men.

Campaign Missouri 1992 by David A. Leuthold “Scandal, a seemingly endless barrage of negative television commercials, and unusually strong and skillful candidates made the election campaigns of 1992 some of the most exciting in Missouri’s history.” Featuring groundbreaking Congresswoman Joan Kelly Horn, a young Chuck Hatfield, John Hancock, Jay Nixon, David Steelman, Kit Bond, and many others.

Rise & Run registration link: Rise and Run – MyProVenue™ First 50 women using code RISEANDRUN26 will receive free registration.

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