Jennifer L. Lawless graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, with a B.A. in political science. She went on to receive an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. Her research focuses on political ambition, and she is the author of Women on the Run: Gender, Media, and Political Campaigns in a Polarized Era (with Danny Hayes), Running from Office: Why Young Americans Are Turned Off to Politics (with Richard L. Fox), and Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office. She is also a nationally recognized expert on women and politics, and the co-author (with Richard L. Fox) of It Still Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don’t Run for Office. Her research, which has been supported by the National Science Foundation, has appeared in numerous academic journals. In addition, she has issued several policy reports on the barriers that impede women’s candidate emergence.