# Rise

> Rise is a civil rights nonprofit that teaches ordinary people how to write and pass their own laws. Founded in 2014 by Amanda Nguyen after her own experience with a broken rape-kit system, Rise wrote and passed the federal Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act unanimously through Congress, then scaled the model into state laws, a landmark UN resolution, and Rise Justice Labs - an accelerator that trains survivors and allies to turn personal pain into passed legislation.

- **Founded:** 2014
- **Headquarters:** Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- **Founders:** Amanda Nguyen (Founder & CEO)
- **Team size:** ~89 (per LinkedIn/Apollo)
- **Products:** Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act, Rise Justice Labs, 'What Were You Wearing?' Exhibit, Survivor Fashion Show at NYFW, Hope-a-nomics Curriculum
- **Notable:** Drafted and passed the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act unanimously through Congress in 2016, Passed 80+ laws including state-level survivor bills of rights, Secured the first standalone UN resolution recognizing survivors of sexual violence in peacetime (2022), co-sponsored by 84 countries

## Products & services

- **Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act** — The federal survivor bill of rights Rise drafted and passed unanimously through the U.S. Congress in 2016, guaranteeing rights such as access to a rape kit's status and preservation of evidence.
- **Rise Justice Labs** — A 12-week accelerator that trains survivors and allies to draft legislation, build coalitions, meet lawmakers, pitch media, and run winning campaigns - with mentorship and roughly $5,000 in seed funding.
- **'What Were You Wearing?' Exhibit** — A traveling exhibit that dismantles victim-blaming, shown at the UN Headquarters, WEF Davos, MoMA, the WHO in Geneva, the Brussels Parliament, and Women Deliver in Kigali.
- **Survivor Fashion Show at NYFW** — An annual New York Fashion Week runway where survivors and allies walk to reclaim bodily autonomy, hosted at MoMA in 2021 and 2022.
- **Hope-a-nomics Curriculum** — Rise's education program grounded in hope theory, teaching campaign-building, lawmaking, and grassroots organizing skills.

## Achievements

- Drafted and passed the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act unanimously through Congress in 2016
- Passed 80+ laws including state-level survivor bills of rights
- Secured the first standalone UN resolution recognizing survivors of sexual violence in peacetime (2022), co-sponsored by 84 countries
- Founder Amanda Nguyen nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize
- Amanda Nguyen named a 2022 TIME Woman of the Year
- Rise Justice Labs cohorts have passed 21+ laws for survivors
- 'What Were You Wearing?' exhibit shown at the UN, MoMA, WEF Davos, WHO Geneva and more

## Latest updates

- **2022-09** — UN adopts resolution A/76/L.80 recognizing survivors of sexual violence in peacetime, co-sponsored by 84 countries.
- **2022-09** — Rise hosts its Survivor Fashion Show at MoMA during New York Fashion Week.
- **2025-03** — Founder Amanda Nguyen publishes memoir 'Saving Five,' a New York Times bestseller.
- **2025-04** — Amanda Nguyen flies on Blue Origin's NS-31 mission, becoming the first woman of Vietnamese heritage in space, carrying lotus seeds and running a microgravity wound-dressing experiment.

## Links

- Website: https://risenow.us
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/risenowus
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/RiseNowUS
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risenow.us/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiseNowUs

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rise
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-03