What an Inclusive America Looks Like & DemocraShe's Vision

In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Jakle — Yale grad, social worker, political organizer, and Founder & Executive Director of DemocraShe — a nonpartisan national nonprofit paying high school girls $15/hour to become America’s next generation of elected leaders. What started as a question (”Why didn’t the Year of the Woman ever become the Decade of the Woman?”) became a movement rooted in neuroscience, evidence-based resilience tools, and radical belief in young women.This conversation goes deep — on brain science, imposter syndrome, joy as resistance, trauma titration, and why the most political thing you can do right now might be to pet a dog and call a friend.In This Episode* Why 1992’s “Year of the Woman” never became the flood of women leaders Sarah expected — and what she did about it* The neuroscience of why women don’t run for office (hint: it’s not ambition, it’s resiliency zones)* DemocraShe’s signature tools: the Inner Critic vs. the Inner Best Friend, grounding, savoring the good* Why high school is the last time girls and boys believe equally in their ability to lead — and why that’s the exact moment to intervene* How to use “growth steps” to take action without flooding your nervous system* Joy as strategy, not luxury — why feeling happy is an act of resistance* Trauma titration: how to stay engaged without burning out* DemocraShe’s explosive growth: 24 girls in 2022 → 915 in 2025, with 7x more applicants than spots* How to support DemocraShe: donate, mentor, refer a high school girl, or connect them with foundations“You should feel no shame for feeling flooded and exhausted. That is exactly how the human body was designed to respond to trauma. However, lovely humans have spent time researching the best tools to help brains overcome adversity — and even thrive.”— Sarah Jakle“Women deserve to be happy while they lead. It is not an either/or.”— Sarah JakleBrain Hacks You Can Use Today* Meet Your Inner Best Friend — Before a big moment, ask: “What would my inner best friend say?” (Not your inner critic — she’s not as helpful as she thinks she is.)* Ground Yourself — Physical contact with a surface pulls you from your amygdala back to your prefrontal cortex. Try it right now.* Savor the Good — Consciously noticing joy rewires your brain to find more of it. It’s not toxic positivity — it’s neuroscience.* Take a Growth Step — Not the safe step. Not the overwhelm step. The one that’s just slightly outside your comfort zone, in line with your values.* Titrate Into Hard Things — Touch something difficult, then return to something neutral or positive. That’s how you stay in the fight long-term.About Sarah JakleSarah Jakle is the Founder & Executive Director of DemocraShe. She’s a Yale graduate (Phi Beta Kappa), holds a Master’s in Social Work from USC and a Master’s in Public Policy from UCLA. She’s served as Get Out The Vote Director for CA NOW, National Outreach Director for Field Team 6, and is a Movement Builder Fellow with How Women Lead and an Obama Organizing for Action Fellow.How to Support DemocraShe* 💸 $25/month sponsors a girl through a 10-week program* 💸 $50/month sponsors a peer leader* 💸 $100/month sponsors a girl through the full program ($1,200 total)* 🙋 Mentor a high school girl directly through the program* 📣 Refer a high school girl who needs to meet her Inner Best Friend* 🌐 Free self-directed program available at Democrashe.org — share it!* 🤝 Know a foundation? Reach out to Sarah directly through the websiteLinks* 🌐 Website: Democrashe.org* 💼 LinkedIn: Sarah Jakle* 🎙️ Subscribe & share this episode with a high school girl in your lifeWouldn’t it be amazing to have these tools at 15 instead of 50? Yeah. We think so too. Share this one. It matters. Get full access to What do we do next? at whatdowedonext.substack.com/subscribe