One of the newest members of Shelburneâs selectboard, Cate Cross, knew she wanted to get more involved in the community after Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. Cross became aware of Emerge VT through Jane Kunin, former Gov. Madeleine Kuninâs daughter-in-law, and was immediately intrigued. âI felt like I needed to do something, so I applied for the program and got in, and then trained. I ran for Justice of the Peace first here in Shelburne before I ran for select board so that I had a little bit of practice,â Cross said. Emerge America, now in 28 states, was founded in 2002 in California with the goal of increasing the amount of Democratic women holding public office positions. The organization invited the elder Kunin as a keynote speaker in 2008, and she was inspired to bring the program back home.