• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Campaign Finance>
  3. campaign finance>

Meet the reformer: 10 questions with Wambui Gatheru

'Every single opportunity I have been afforded in this country can be traced back to the ratification of amendments.'

Our Staff
August 19, 2019
Meet the reformer: 10 questions with Wambui Gatheru

"Every single opportunity I have been afforded in this country can be traced back to the ratification of amendments."

Wambui Gatheru

Wambui Gatheru is the outreach manager at American Promise, which advocates for amending the Constitution to regulate the raising and spending of electoral campaign funds. Originally from Connecticut, Gatheru, 24, joined the American Promise staff in 2017 after graduating from the University of Connecticut.

The following Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.

What's the tweet-length description of your organization?

American Promise is a cross-partisan organization committed to getting money out of politics, forever, with a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Describe your very first civic engagement.

Knocking door-to-door in my small town in Connecticut when Barack Obama was first running for president.

What was your biggest professional triumph?

Being a part of the effort that made New Hampshire the 20th state in favor of the 28th Amendment. This was something I'd been working on since I started at American Promise two years ago, and the legislation was just passed in March of this year. It was a surreal victory because it had been such a long fight. It took a lot of coordination on every level of civic engagement, but it's a victory I'm happy to have been a part of here at American Promise.


And your most disappointing setback?

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

To date, I can't say that I've had a specific setback in being a part of this work. Everything is a learning opportunity. Overall, however, a disappointing sentiment that is often echoed from folks hearing about the work we do at American Promise is how unlikely it is that we will win this amendment. Truly, I understand why some feel this way. We've become so used to feeling unheard, misrepresented and powerless that we forget we, the people, are the true movers of change in our country. This feeling is a result of a series of Supreme Court cases that have deemed money to be the primary form of political capital. When folks hear of the work we're doing to challenge those decisions with a constitutional amendment, the task at hand can seem almost impossible, but history says otherwise.

How does your identity influence the way you go about your work?

My identity influences quite literally every aspect of how I go about my work to help win a 28th Amendment. Every single opportunity I have been afforded in this country can be traced back to the ratification of amendments. As a black woman, I know the importance of amendments. I needed two just to be able to vote! So thinking about the larger historical framework of amendments in our country and the power they have, I am honored to be a part of this next wave of reform.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." — Maya Angelou

Create a new flavor for Ben & Jerry's.

28th Amend-Mint Chocolate Chip.

The West Wing or Veep?

Neither — House of Cards seasons 1-5, pre-Kevin Spacey scandal.

What's the last thing you do on your phone at night?

Set my alarm for 4:30 a.m.

What is your deepest, darkest secret? (Something fun!)

I can't snap my fingers to save my life.

From Your Site Articles
  • Meet the reformer: 10 questions with Katie Fahey - The Fulcrum ›
  • The Constitution must be amended to assure political equality - The ... ›
  • 4 Questions with Chris McDonald - The Fulcrum ›
  • Gregory Joseph Repairing America's Broken Democracy - The Fulcrum ›
  • How to Win Friends & Save The Republic: A New Promise to America - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • How to get big money out of politics - The Martha's Vineyard Times ›
  • Wambui Gatheru - Unrig Summit: Nashville ›
  • Meet Wambui Gatheru: American Promise Outreach Manager ... ›
campaign finance

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

The crook and the fumbler

Lawrence Goldstone
6h

Pragmatism is the way forward

Dave Anderson
6h

Podcast: How the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack impacted politics

Our Staff
6h

Family values and societal results

Debilyn Molineaux
25 January

Transpartisanship and transformation

Brenda Marinace
25 January

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Our Staff
25 January
Videos

Video: Meet the citizen activists championing primary reform

Our Staff

Video: Veterans for Political Innovation - Who we are

Our Staff

Video: Want to fight polarization? Take a vacation!

Our Staff

Video: Kevin McCarthy is Speaker, but he's got a tough job ahead

Our Staff

Video: #ListenFirst Friday End of Year

Our Staff

Video: Minnesota Gov. Walz asks fellow Democrats to ‘Think Big’ when it comes to fixing voting issues

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: How the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack impacted politics

Our Staff
6h

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Our Staff
25 January

Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Our Staff
24 January

Video: Chaos or calm: Building confidence in Pennsylvania elections

Our Staff
19 January
Recommended
The crook and the fumbler

The crook and the fumbler

Elections
Pragmatism is the way forward

Pragmatism is the way forward

Big Picture
Podcast: How the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack impacted politics

Podcast: How the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack impacted politics

Podcasts
Family values and societal results

Family values and societal results

Big Picture
Transpartisanship and transformation

Transpartisanship and transformation

Big Picture
Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Podcasts