Delilah Agho-Otoghile currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of the Texas Future Project. When not working there to help fund and align progressive causes together, she also manages VoteSimple, an organization she co-founded in the summer of 2020 that aims to help young people of color vote in Texas. Registering to vote in Texas is a difficult and lengthy process and VoteSimple aim to fill gaps in the progressive infrastructure, focusing solely on digital engagement to circumvent the lack of online voter registration in Texas.
Growing up in Sugar Land, Texas, Ms. Agho-Otoghile grew up in a relatively apolitical household. It wasn’t until she joined her debate team in high school that she started to stay up to date with changes in the political field, as it was an integral part of debating. It was then she began to realize how politics impacts every aspect of a person’s life. Through debate, she became involved with her first congressional campaign, which led her to pursue a career in politics.
When asked what she believes to be her greatest accomplishment in her career so far, Ms. Agho-Otoghile points to her work on Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign. Prior to 2018, Ms. Agho-Otoghile was unsure if she wanted to stay in the field of electoral politics. Serving as the Field Director for Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign, she cites this as a turning point in her career. She says that one of the keys to staying passionate about politics is to work on a campaign for a candidate you truly believe in, as it will make it all the better.
Growing up, Ms. Agho-Otoghile cites her mother as her biggest role model. Her mother traveled quite a bit for work and yet still was around for the milestones and always showed up for her family. Ms. Agho-Otoghile is one of four children and states that her mom successfully juggled rising in her career as one of the only Black women in leadership in her field, while never missing family events. Ms. Agho-Otoghile advises any woman that wants to pursue a career in politics to go after what they want and to be shameless with their networking. She says that it is extremely helpful to talk to anyone that you can because politics is a business of relationships. She also says that you should be unafraid to speak up and take up space in this business. It is clear from her many achievements that these pieces of advice would be useful for anyone who wishes to pursue a similar career path to Ms. Agho-Otoghile.
