About

We envision a society in which mothers can lead at every level—without choosing between their children and their livelihoods—and a country that sets the global standard for family-friendly policies.

Vote Mama Lobby is re-shaping our political system to make government more accessible and responsive to the needs of American families by empowering everyday mamas to make their voices heard and breaking the longstanding structural barriers that keep moms out of office and out of power.

Wealthy, white, land-owning men built a political system that worked for them—and didn’t care if it shut other people out. From a legislative schedule that presumes that wives will care for legislators’ children, to a campaign system that favors the wealthy and well-connected, the foundations of our political system were never designed to make the voices of women, people of color, or working-class Americans heard. It’s no wonder that the United States has no paid leave, no universal childcare, and the highest maternal mortality rate among industrialized countries.

To change policy, we have to change our policymakers. To do that, we have to change our political system. That’s where Vote Mama Lobby comes in.

We are the only organization fighting to adopt Campaign Funds for Childcare (CFCC) nationwide and the first organization to advocate nationally for Campaign Funds for Security (CFS). We are a leading voice for making public service more family friendly, everything from changing tables in government buildings to reshaping the voting schedule so that moms don’t have to choose between being present parents and effectively representing their communities. These critical reforms would allow more moms of young kids to run and serve safely and sustainably.

But our work isn’t only about candidates. It’s about every mom who wants to make a difference. Special interests benefit when moms are intimidated by politics. We make staying informed and taking action easier —because when moms lead, we all win.

Our founder and CEO, Liuba Grechen Shirley, wasn’t a career politician and didn’t think she’d run for office as a mom with little ones. But experiencing firsthand how our country’s policies fail women and children, she saw how desperately change was needed—and she wasn’t going to wait for someone else to fix it.

Liuba was working a job she loved when she had her first kid. She had no paid family leave, the childcare waitlist was years long, and even if a spot had opened up, it would’ve cost nearly half of her take-home pay. She didn’t want to leave her job—and probably derail her career—but no other option felt right.

In 2018, now with two toddlers, Liuba ran for Congress against a 25-year incumbent. She would make calls to donors, while she nursed her one-year-old, and her three-year-old covered her head in hair clips. For months, she built forts, changed diapers, and made lunch with her phone attached to her ear. This schedule was unsustainable—but so was paying for childcare after giving up her salary to run.

So, Liuba changed the system. She became the first woman in history to secure approval from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to use her campaign funds on childcare, not only alleviating her own situation but also paving the way for more and more parents to run in all the elections that followed.

Liuba didn’t win her congressional race, but she founded Vote Mama Lobby in 2020 to continue the fight for progress. Building on Liuba’s decision from the FEC, we’ve expanded Campaign Funds for Childcare to over 41 states, changing the political landscape of who can feasibly run for office.

And for all the fed-up moms who are tired of the way American policies fail women and children, just as Liuba was in 2017 before she ran for office herself, Vote Mama Lobby works to demystify politics, bring people together, and harness our collective power to demand change.