Organizing 2.0 2021 Conference: Full Schedule

Welcome to Organizing 2.0, the premier digital organizing training conference! For more information and ticket registration, please visit conference.organizing20.org!

Please note, all times listed below are in Eastern Time/New York, aka GMT -4.

4:00pm EDT

Build it With Airtable

Airtable is a “spreadbase” that combines the ease-of-use of a spreadsheet with the power of a custom, relational database.

The basic agenda of the workshop is:
- An introduction to the “spreadbase” concept
- Basic training on Airtable using a real-world use case
- How to use Airtable to prototype custom software
- Airtable Community Q&A

This workshop will be modeled after previous workshops we’ve done for O'Reilly Media and NYC Open Data Week.

This workshop is not associated with the company that makes Airtable.

Speakers

Devin Balkind

President, WeGov.NYC

Devin works at the intersection of the nonprofit sector, the free/libre/open-source (FLO) movement, and grassroots community organizing initiatives to help each benefit from the best practices of the others. He currently serves the president of the Sahana Software Foundation, a nonprofit... Read More →

Thursday April 15, 2021 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

4:00pm EDT

Intro to Hopin

For many of us, attending an online conference is new and less familiar - especially with so many platforms around. This session is about using Hopin, and will focus on the basics of what you can do to have the best possible experience at this year's Organizing 2.0.

Speakers

Essie Lenchner

Operations, Organizing 2.0

Thursday April 15, 2021 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

4:00pm EDT

Security: A Process, Not a Status

Security does not mean hired guards (well not all the time). You will learn best practices around computers, phones and the internet, and we will dive into case studies around security that may be immediately applicable to you.
If you've ever wondered what kind of danger you're exposed to and how to practice safe internet - this session will make it clear.

Speakers

Jon Reznick

Founding Partner, Competitive Advantage Research

I founded Competitive Advantage Research in 2013 and have been consulting to software-light industry on their tech and data posture. Previously, I was a portraitist who consulted in digital media and content strategy. I have been downloading mp3s since they were mp2s.

Thursday April 15, 2021 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

5:00pm EDT

Getting Started With Digital Campaigning: From petitions to mobile messaging, hear about the tools that progressives are using to listbuild, fundraise, engage supporters, and more

Unions and nonprofits across the progressive space use Action Network tools to help win elections, organize workers, and fight for justice on a wide range of progressive issues. Get a firsthand look at the intuitive and powerful actions — from Call Campaigns and Petitions to Ladders and Mobile Messaging — that organizations like the DNC, United We Dream, Daily Kos, and the AFL-CIO use every day to build progressive power.

Speakers

Obed Ventura

Partnerships and Support Coordinator, Action Network

Obed Ventura is the Partnerships and Support Coordinator at Action Network. After organizing campaigns with unions on his college campus, as well as a successful national campaign against sweatshops, he wanted to serve the movement in a different role. Today, he teaches people how... Read More →

Thursday April 15, 2021 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

5:00pm EDT

Slack for beginners

As more and more volunteer orgs move to Slack, many folks may feel intimidated about how it works and how to engage. We'll cover the absolute basics of navigating Slack so that anyone can feel comfortable diving right in.

Speakers

Tasha Gjesdahl

Thursday April 15, 2021 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

5:00pm EDT

Zoom for beginners

Zoom is everywhere! People hate it and use it all the time! But for some people, using Zoom can be a challenge. It has all kinds of features and controls that even experienced users aren't familiar with. This session is an excellent introduction to Zoom.

Speakers

Maia Rosenberg

Thursday April 15, 2021 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

6:00pm EDT

Labor caucus

Are you an active member of your union? Do you work for labor union? Come meet with labor staff and members to talk about our work. Let’s build a cohort of people in the labor movement doing digital organizing and communications so we can support each other!

Speakers

Laura Moran

Airports Campaign Communicators Director, SEIU

Laura has been a union organizer, researcher, digital strategist and communicator since she started in the movement in 2004. She has a vast t-shirt archive from various union and political campaigns, which include slogans about NASACAR and Jerry Springer.

Thursday April 15, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Hopin

Caucus, Beginner/Intermediate

6:00pm EDT

BIPOC Consultants Caucus

The digital organizing and training world is changing! And one of the good changes is the increasing number and visibility of BIPOC trainers, consultants, and leaders. This is an opportunity to gather, exchange notes, and orient ourselves.

Speakers

Brittny Baxter

Board Member, Netroots Nation

Brittny is a trainer, consultant and whiskey aficionado committed to the liberation of people who are Black, Brown and down.

Thursday April 15, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Hopin

Caucus, Beginner/Intermediate | Labor, Beginner/Intermediate

6:00pm EDT

Commit Change: Better Tools for a Better World

At CommitChange, our passion is helping nonprofits and organizers navigate digital fundraising. We’ll spotlight strategies, tools, and best practices that nonprofits and social-good organizations are using to weather the current economic climate and discuss how organizations and grassroots political campaigns are using CommitChange to achieve and surpass their fundraising goals.

Speakers

Wendy Bolm

COO, CommitChange

I'm interested in tech, talmud, and queer issues.

James Bacon

Thursday April 15, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
TBA

Digital

10:00am EDT

Opening Plenary with AFT President Randi Weingarten

Join Randi Weingarten in a conversation about the role digital plays in the American Federation of Teachers, what's changed over time, and how she got so good at Twitter.

Speakers

Elana Levin

Co-Founder, Organizing 2.0

For almost 15 years Elana has taught digital strategy in the labor movement. Seeing the need for a digital skills training conference for labor unions and community organizations Elana co-founded Organizing 2.0 a decade ago. She now serves as Program Director for New Media Mentors... Read More →

Brittny Baxter

Board Member, Netroots Nation

Brittny is a trainer, consultant and whiskey aficionado committed to the liberation of people who are Black, Brown and down.

Randi Weingarten

President, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, a union of 1.7 million teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 10:00am - 11:00am EDT
Hopin

Plenary

11:15am EDT

Influencing the Influencers

Long before "Insta-Influencers" cluttered up the scene and distorted the meaning of "influencer," even long before the internet, there were political influencers who convinced people to change their opinions about issues and candidates, or at least take action on opinions they already held. Since the rise of social media, many old-school influencers and a host of new influencers leverage social media to dramatically increase the scale of their influence to reach citizens, voters, and activists to shape their views and move them to action.

Speakers

Alan Rosenblatt

Partner, Turner Strategies

I am passionate about social media and politics. The Internet has ALWAYS been about connecting people. I saw that 20 years ago when a friend showed me Mosaic. I've been working to integrate it into politics, advocacy and media ever since. I taught the world's first college course... Read More →

Amelia Burke-Garcia

Program Area Director, Public Health Department at NORC at the University of Chicago

Dr. Amelia Burke-Garcia is a seasoned health communications professional with nearly 20 years of experience in health communication program planning, implementation and evaluation, with specific expertise in developing and evaluating digital health communications campaigns and intervention... Read More →

Craig Johnson

Managing Partner, Unfiltered Media

Craig is co-founder and managing partner of Unfiltered.Media. In his first decade as a political and issue-advocacy digital strategist and tactician he has worked with several Members of Congress, including Speaker Pelosi. He led national campaigns against the Tax Cuts and Jobs... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Comms, Intermediate/Advanced

11:15am EDT

Stopping the press conference facepalm

What. On. Earth. Did. My. Organizer/Candidate/Member. Just. Say. OUT. LOUD?!?!

We want our organizers, candidates, and members to be the face and the voice of our movements, but keeping them on topic can be trying. This workshop will use some of the mistakes I've seen (and made) and channel it to positive work in the future. Training the trainers is an important step in making sure communicators for organizations and campaigns can prepare for public speaking and swift damage control.

Speakers

Ashleigh Strange

Regional Organizer, Lehigh Valley Stands Up

Ashleigh Strange was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska and moved to the East Coast in 2013. She bought her honorary Doctorate in Friendship from the California Church and University Institute in the fall of 2020. Her real degree is in Broadcast Journalism and Film from the University... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Comms, Beginner/Intermediate | Trainer Trainings, Beginner/Intermediate

11:15am EDT

Email Going to Spam? Improving Your Deliverability One Send at a Time

You spend so much time writing emails to your supporters, you need your important messages to end up in the inbox! But Gmail, Yahoo, and other email providers are constantly changing how they sort your emails. Join deliverability experts from Twilio SendGrid and Action Network to learn how to ensure your emails get to your activists every time. We’ll cover how email providers determine what’s spam and what isn’t, how the algorithms have changed in the past year, and how you can test your email program to ensure deliverability. You’ll also have a chance to learn new strategies, practice techniques like testing down the list, and ask questions to some of the foremost experts in the email deliverability field.

Speakers

Amy Chin-Lai

Engineering Partnerships Manager, Action Network

Amy Chin-Lai (she/her) is passionate about mobilizing progressive activism through great technology. As the Engineering Partnerships Manager at Action Network, Amy supports and trains organizers on how to use the tools effectively and reach higher levels of engagement. When Amy is... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

11:15am EDT

Facebook 101 for Organizers

Facebook is still the most dominant social media platform. We pretty much all use it, but managing an organizational presence is a different task. We'll break down the difference between profiles, groups, and pages, discuss how to pick the right one, and share some tips for better engagement and organizing.

Speakers

Caleb Michael

Lead Senior Digital Campaigns Strategist, AFL-CIO

Caleb-Michael has been a thought leader in the social space and social listening for a number of years. His keen eye to detail and audience awareness has allowed him to thrive as a Social Media Manager for a number of Brands and Organizations.

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

11:15am EDT

Getting Started with Broadcast SMS

With an uncertain future for peer-to-peer texting, more and more organizations and campaigns are pivoting to Broadcast SMS. In this training, we'll cover the basics on how to get your organization or campaign set up to do Broadcast SMS including how to set up an opt-in path, creative ways to grow and engage your list, and how to use Broadcast SMS for organizing and fundraising.

Speakers

Sara Ackerman

Deputy Digital Director, Working Families Party

Sara is the Deputy Digital Director at Working Families Party -- working to elect the next generation of progressive leaders and fighting for an economy that works for all of us. Sara has more than a decade of experience working for progressive organizations, nonprofits, and campaigns... Read More →

Maya Handa

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

11:15am EDT

Powermapping for Digital Campaigns

201-level training on power mapping with a digital lens, and how to effectively choose digital tactics to reach your targets. Ideal for somewhat experienced campaigners newer to digital.

We will cover: finding & researching target, examining relationships, choosing tactics, tools like landscape analysis & relationship circulars, and brief references to cool examples using New/Mode, obviously.

Moderators

Mikey Franklin

New/Mode

Mikey Franklin started organizing when he walked out of his primary school to protest the Iraq War, and hasn’t stopped since. He has worked for nonprofits, electoral campaigns, and trade unions in the UK and US, and now works to help connect progressive organizations around the... Read More →

Speakers

Abbey Piazza

Activation Specialist, New/Mode

As an activation specialist, Abbey assists subscribers with the technical and strategic aspects of New/Mode’s digital organizing tools. Prior to joining New/Mode, Abbey worked as a Provincial Organizer for Dogwood BC where she played an integral role in engaging and mobilizing... Read More →

Nikki Koutsochilis

Activation Specialist, New/Mode

Nikki Koutsochilis is an experienced organizer, facilitator, and advocate and has worked on grassroots, issue-based, and electoral campaigns.She has a deep love for developing creative campaign strategies. Nikki advocates for labour rights and is passionately involved with a Vancouver-based... Read More →

Organizing 2.0 Targeting pdf

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

11:15am EDT

Viral Online Fundraising: Lessons from Cosecha's Undocumented Worker Fund

Last March, immigrant leaders from Movimiento Cosecha launched the national Undocumented Worker Fund to create a way for people everywhere to support families affected by COVID-19. In April, when the first round of government stimulus checks went out — excluding undocumented immigrants — Cosecha received a huge volume of donations from a brand new audience, ultimately raising over $2 million._x000D_
_x000D_
Join this session to learn: _x000D_
_x000D_
* Why and how Cosecha decided to launch the Undocumented Worker Fund_x000D_
* Cosecha’s general principles for rapid response fundraising (How to always be prepared for a big moment!)_x000D_
* How Cosecha used Facebook ads to extend our viral moment_x000D_
* What makes the Undocumented Worker Fund unique — and how this helped us reach new donors and new people to organize_x000D_
_x000D_
This session will be particularly useful for small- to mid-size organizations with basic experience in online fundraising.

Speakers

Christine Miranda

Organizer, Movimiento Cosecha

Christine Miranda is a volunteer organizer with Movimiento Cosecha, a national movement fighting for permanent protection, dignity, and respect for all undocumented immigrants. She leads Cosecha's digital and communications program, supporting immigrant leaders across the country... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital Comms

11:15am EDT

Voter Density and Turnout: How Data Insights Can Improve your Field Plan

When organizational or political campaigns are working on a field plan, there is a lot of focus on voter turnout. However, taking a look at voter density can also help you decide which tools in the field toolbox will serve you best. A field strategy aimed at reaching people who live in a high rise with 300+ likely voters should be different than a strategy aimed at reaching voters who live in single-family homes.

We will start by mapping voter density vs. voter turnout, brain-storming which field activities (door knocking, text banking, community events, etc.) are best for each situation. We’ll also walk folks through a data template that will help campaigns do the same analysis on their voter data.

This training is great for people who are either new to working with field data for a campaign or local organization, or for anyone looking to improve their skill in analyzing such data.

Speakers

Jessica Olson

Managing Partner, Erehwon Atlas LLC

Erehwon Atlas is dedicated to helping get progressive candidates on the ballot. Our tools focus on making the most of your voter data and analytics early on in the process. Petition Atlas allows a candidate to check their petition signatures on-line, making it easier to get a candidacy... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Field, Beginner/Intermediate

11:15am EDT

Q&A is not Interaction

Have you attended a session where the facilitator says it will be interactive, only to find out that the Q&A section is the "interaction?" Putting questions in the chat is a good start but should not count as engagement! We want participants to be active learners in our workshops; we must provide opportunities to practice the new skill introduced, demonstrate a new concept for themselves or interpret new information in their own way. Our role should be a facilitator - facilitating knowledge. In this session, we will discuss and brainstorm ways to "engage-ify" training, either online or off. And by "discuss," we don't mean endless slides and a presenter talking for 45 minutes.

Speakers

Mira Weinstein

Founder and Organizer in Chief, Organizing to Win

Mira Weinstein is an organizing and political strategist. She works with social justice, advocacy and membership organization to build power.

Walter Gerson Rodriguez

Born in Cali, Colombia, Walt has a 21 year career in civic engagement, 10 of which are in community organizing and activism. He has organized state and city campaigns that educated and mobilized constituents to prevent budget cuts to social services and education. Walt enjoys empowering... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Trainer Trainings

12:30pm EDT

Writing Email Blasts that People Will Actually Read

Whether you are new to email writing or just looking to freshen up your skills, this session will teach you the best tips and tricks to make your emails really pop. We will discuss how to pick a subject line, the basic formula of a winning email, all the rules to make your emails an organizing success, and when to break the rules and flip the script. After this training you will be able to draft a variety of email blasts to raise money, turnout for events, and compel your supporters to take action.

Speakers

Sara Ackerman

Deputy Digital Director, Working Families Party

Christine Vapsva

Digital Campaigner, Working Families party

Christine works as a Digital Campaigner at the Working Families Party, helping engage working people in progressive organizing across the country. She studied Political Communication at Emerson College in Boston, during which time she worked as Field Director for the Tito Jackson... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Comms, Beginner/Intermediate | Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

12:30pm EDT

Groups Are The Future Of Facebook

Today, smart marketers and organizers understand that building an engaged and loyal community is far more valuable than the most viral of posts. And that's why Facebook Groups are the future of effective social media marketing! They are a powerful tool for growing and engaging an audience, and for learning and networking to stay at the top of your game.

In this session, led by digital storyteller and strategist Josh Klemons, you’ll learn the basics of how groups work, get tips and tricks for growing and moderating your group, explore examples of brands who really who are using them well and more.

Over a billion Facebook users are already actively using Facebook Groups. Join them!

Speakers

Josh Klemons

Digital Storyteller/Strategist, Reverbal Communications

I'm a Digital Storyteller/Strategist and the founder of Reverbal Communications, helping brands of all shapes and sizes find, hone and tell their stories online. I've done digital work with local, statewide and national political campaigns, tiny non-profits, Fortune 500 companies... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

12:30pm EDT

Twitter for Absolute Beginners

Never Tweeted before? Whether you don’t even have an account — or set one up but never figured out how to use it — this session is for you. What is a hashtag anyway? Find out!

Speakers

Rosemari Ochoa

Digital Organizer and Coach. Pronouns: She/Hers/Ella, Rosemari Ochoa LLC

Rosemari Ochoa is a digital strategist and coach about social change and advocacy based in Denver, CO. She spends a lot of time thinking about how to get people from caring about something, to doing something about it. She often focuses her work on worker rights, and environmental... Read More →

Jessica Vazquez

Communications Associate, Oklahoma Policy Institute

Jessica Itzayana Vazquez Mesta joined the Oklahoma Policy Institute as a Communications Associate in January 2018. She manages the organization's social media channels, websites, daily newsletter, and provides digital support to the entire team. Prior to joining OK Policy, Jessica... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

12:30pm EDT

¡Residencia ahora!: A Spanish/English Digital Organizing Case Study

Attendees will learn about the ongoing temporary protected status fight led by migrants and how to power up grassroots organizing efforts using digital tools to reach English and Spanish audiences.

Speakers

Nancy Treviño

Yanira Arias

National Campaigns Manager, Alianza Americas

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

12:30pm EDT

Deep Canvassing

Deep Canvassing is a form of organizing based on having real conversations with people to move them to action or even change their minds. Dom will share what he learned leading Pennsylvania Stands Up's deep canvassing efforts that resulted in tens of thousands of directly persuaded voters in the 2020 election. This training will help you prepare to be an effective deep canvasser through an interactive experience focused on story sharing, story eliciting, and non-judgemental listening.

Speakers

Dom Holmes

Canvass Manager, Pennsylvania Stands Up

Dom Holmes, Canvass Manager with Pennsylvania Stands Up, has been one of the most involved people in the development of deep canvassing over the last few years, most recently leading a statewide deep canvass in support of Joe Biden’s presidential run resulting in tens of thousands... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Field

12:30pm EDT

How do I even IRL? Getting back to in-person communication

After a year of communicating without wearing pants, it’ll soon be time to communicate face to face. We’re getting ready to ease back into in-person life, but perhaps with some trepidation. Silly as it might seem, we can all use a refresher on how to maintain a powerful public presence. The secret? Body language. You’re saying more than you know without saying a thing. Learn (or re-learn) how to be welcoming, attentive, and confident IRL.

Speakers

Vicki Roush

Principal, Convey Communications

Vicki brings a lifetime of musical theatre discipline, and the better part of a lifetime in radio, TV, music performance, and special events moderating and commentary to the training table.Under the guidance of one of the nation's top trainers, the late Joel Silberman, Roush combines... Read More →

Arshad Hasan

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Field

12:30pm EDT

Evolving Unions for the Future

Many unions are facing daunting prospects for the future due to automation, shifts in the market, etc. What can be done to secure a prosperous future for workers and the communities they live in? Hear from CUPW, the Canadian union which is campaigning to revolutionize the postal service in that country to include several other public services and environmental measures. We will also be joined by Bianca Cunningham from Bargaining for the Common Good which is an organization working with community and union members towards a long-term vision for the structural changes they want to see in their communities and use union bargaining to win those changes.

Speakers

Ethan Clarke

President, Campaign Gears

Julee Sanderson

First National Vice-President, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)

First National Vice-President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Julee’s portfolio primarily includes Communications and the Delivering Community Power Campaign which she co-leads with Jean-Philippe Grenier. Her other files include the National Women’s Committee, service... Read More →

Bianca Cunningham

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Labor

12:30pm EDT

The People's Plan: How To Build A Multi-Issue Policy Platform And Build Political Power on the Left

2021 is a monumental local election year, with the mayoralty and two thirds of the City Council up for grabs. The People’s Plan NYC offers the priorities of hundreds of organizers and advocates through a comprehensive, multi-issue roadmap around housing, anti-criminalization, education, economy, climate, transit, and health. The intent of The People’s Plan is to set the agenda for the city and provide a clear people-centered mandate to the incoming elected officials running the City in 2022 and beyond.

This session will go over how to build a multi-issues platform like the peoples plan, the process of evaluating and aligning on policy priorities, and how to use such a platform to build electoral power and influence an incoming administration. Attendees will leave this session having a clearer idea of how to plug into multi-issue electoral organizing in NYC, or how to build this kind of platform in your own city!

Speakers

Zara Nasir

Coordinator, The People's Plan

Zara Nasir (she/they) is a New York-based Midwest-raised south asian muslimah. She is co-coordinator of The People's Plan NYC, a multi-issue platform built around the priorities of hundreds of organizers and advocates aiming to build a collective vision for a City that provides dignity... Read More →

Carlyn Cowen

Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)

Carlyn Cowen (they/she/siya) is an advocate, activist, and Filipinx-American dedicated to building social, racial, and economic justice through radical systemic change. Carlyn serves as the Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), the... Read More →

Leo Ferguson

Gabe Tobias

Executive Director, Our City

Gabe Tobias is currently managing Our City, an independent expenditure project to win a progressive governing vision for New York City in the June 2021 elections. He is also the co-founder of Movement School, and was formerly Senior Advisor at Justice Democrats.

Matt Gonzales

Director, NYU Metro Center

Matt Gonzales is an educator, an advocate, and a policy analyst. He is founder and director of the Integration and Innovation Initiative (i3) at the NYU Metro Center, a project designed to support policy development and design, implementation, and advocacy for school integration and... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

New York Politics

12:30pm EDT

Super Searching: How to find ANYTHING online for powerful campaigns

This training will help you get laser-focused on finding powerful information online for your campaigns. You’ll learn hands-on tools to find hidden documents and data, outsmart Google’s search logic, and turn page after page of useless results into targeted findings for maximum impact.

Speakers

Eesha Ramanujam

Senior Campaign Researcher, Color Of Change

Eesha supports the Campaigns team at Color Of Change, with strategic research focuses including online toxicity, racist pseudoscience, and tech accountability.

Stasia Hansen

Ana Robinson

Friday April 16, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Research

1:45pm EDT

The Rise of Pets in the Political Sphere: How to Use Paws to Further Your Cause

According to the American Pet Products Association, 67% of U.S. households, or about 85 million families, own a pet. Political candidates like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Secretary Pete Buttigieg are famous dog owners: Warren’s golden retriever, Bailey, appeared as a 25-foot inflatable outside a Democratic Party event in Des Moines; President’s Biden’s two German Shepherds are featured numerous times in his presidential digital ads; and Buttigieg’s two pups have a fan-run Twitter account with more than 90,000 followers. Candidates are using their pets to relate to their public and establish their humanity vis-à-vis their animal friends. And organizations use this tactic, too -- the organizing platform, Action Network, is among the organizations that utilize images of dogs and cats on website error pages. The usage of cute animals conveys humanity (“I have a dog, therefore I’m human” or “We all make mistakes -- here’s a cute cat!”), while simultaneously relating to an audience.

In this training, we’ll tell you more about this cute pet phenomenon and teach you whether and how to adapt these humanity-conveying strategies for your cause, organization, or campaign. Guest appearances include our pets, Kikue, the cat, and Lilly, the dog.

Speakers

Alesa Mackool

Angela Mika Holton

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Comms Digital

1:45pm EDT

Clubhouse 101

What is Clubhouse? Learn about the audio-only social media app that’s taking activist spaces by storm, how it works, and how you can use it to hold authentic and informative discussions in an increasingly virtual world.

Speakers

Émilia Decaudin

Cheryl Contee

Do Big Things

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

1:45pm EDT

Facebook Ads 101

I can run an intro to Facebook ads manager training, walking through how to get started, the different types of ad objectives, how to build quality audiences, understanding analytics and more.

Speakers

Josh Klemons

Digital Storyteller/Strategist, Reverbal Communications

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

1:45pm EDT

Instagram for Organizers and Comms

Want to reach young people? You probably need Instagram. Find out if the social media platform is a fit for your organizing needs and how to develop meaningful Instagram content that can be used to mobilize and reach new audiences you won't find elsewhere. Yes, even if you can't do graphic design.

Speakers

Elana Levin

Co-Founder, Organizing 2.0

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

1:45pm EDT

Pixels and Tracking – Set up your Facebook ads for success

Worried about whether or not your Facebook ads are set up correctly? Join Do Big Things for a training on event tracking, results, and more.

Speakers

Henri Makembe

CEO, Do Big Things

Avery Lord

Sr. Director of Digital Technology, Do Big Things

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

1:45pm EDT

“Deprogramming” QAnoners and the Alt-Reality Community

If QAnon is the question, what is the answer? This training assumes an understanding that our body politic now includes millions of voters who enthusiastically support alternative versions of reality, akin to actual cult members. Our focus will be on rhetoric, behavior, and practices that help rescue loved ones and community members from collective delusions.

Speakers

Beth Matenaer

Katia Ramos

Suzanne Turner

Founder, Turner4D

Integrated strategic communications campaigns, on- and offline organizing, building internal teams, new media company development, organizational development, crisis comms.

Rachel Bernstein

Janja Lalich

Founder, Cult Recovery & Information Center

I'm a Professor Emerita of Sociology from California State University, Chico. I'm a researcher and author and specialist in cults, extremism, and coercive control. I've been studying closed, high-control groups and situations for more than 30 years. I myself was in a political cult... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Featured Comms Organizing Skills

1:45pm EDT

Labor Organizing Online: Getting Started

For unions and others organizing workers. Learn how we pitch digital organizing internally to supervisors and field organizers, how we set up digital card signing infrastructure, and big picture strategy around branding, top line messaging, and calls to action for lead generation.

Speakers

Meghana Reddy

Tobias Packer

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Labor, Beginner/Intermediate | Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

1:45pm EDT

New Trends in Latinx Organizing

From long-dominant voting blocs in Florida and New York and Arizona to emerging influence in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, this panel will address the best strategies and tactics from old and new. The right wing is not ignoring the latinx powerhouse - we will also address how disinformation targets these communities and how organizers can help fight this influence. As we gear up to get appropriate access to the Biden White House and put our plans in place for 2022, where should Latinx organizers and those who can learn from them be focused?

Speakers

Leo Murrieta

Director, Make the Road Nevada

Felipe Benitez

Executive Director, Founder, Corazón Latino

Felipe Benitez has more than 15 years of experience designing and implementing strategic communications programs to enhance and protect the reputations of organizations, governments, companies, and brands. Felipe is the founder and executive director of Corazón Latino, a national... Read More →

Camille Rivera

Partner, New Deal Strategies

As the head of New Deal Strategies' political, labor and community relations practice, Camille Rivera draws on long and deep ties to the labor movement, both in New York City and across the country. Since joining New Deal, Camille’s work has included serving as a Senior Advisor... Read More →

Chuck Rocha

President, Solidarity Strategies

Chuck began his political career in the woods of East Texas at United Rubber Workers Local 746. By 22, he had become the youngest officer of the 1,200 person local. At 29, he was hired to be the youngest, first person of color and last rank-and-file National Political Director of... Read More →

Vanessa Cardenas

President, CardenasStrategies, LLC

Vanessa Cárdenas is a seasoned political strategist and policy expert on issues related to Latino political participation, immigration, demographic change, political communication, women’s political empowerment and disinformation. She is the President of CárdenasStrategies, LLC... Read More →

Xenia Orona

Co-Executive Director, Fuerte Arts Movement

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Organizing Skills

1:45pm EDT

Integrating Your Mobilizing & Organizing

It’s no secret that organizing is hard work. At the same time, talking with people, knowing them, creating relationships, and building leaders is what has, and will, advance our progressive movement. Plus, it’s what sustains us, protects our most vulnerable, and for many of us, it’s what brings us joy. We are at a pivotal moment in time where we know the importance of high-attention short-term events like elections, voter registration pushes, and Census outreach. This is, and has been, our bread and butter for base building. Our challenge, and the next step, is molding these moments into long-term power building opportunities for our communities.

Program leaders, organizers, and volunteers alike are encouraged to join us for this session where we will dive into how programs can successfully integrate mobilizing and organizing efforts.This often looks like "both and" where we can prioritize both voting and organizing, moments and movements, winning and wielding power, local resources and national resources, high tech and high touch, mobilizing folks and building leaders, C3 and C4, and practicing passion and patience.

Speakers

Seth Pinckney

Partner Success Specialist, Action Network

Seth Pinckney (he/him) is a technologist who has worked in the emerging space of movement technology for over a decade. In his role as Partner Success Specialist, he works with both Action Network and Action Builder partners offering a variety of professional services including training... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Organizing Skills Field

3:00pm EDT

Designing and Leading Engaging Virtual Meetings for Nonprofit Organizers

Due to the pandemic, many nonprofit organizations have had to quickly shift direction and move into the virtual world to engage their constituents and continue grassroots organizing. Unfortunately, most have had to do this without guidance on the best methods for virtual collaboration. This session will give nonprofit organizers and leaders essential guidance and best practices that will help you make each your virtual meetings more engaging and productive and help you make all of your participants feel heard and respected. Topics covered will include:
* Creating a realistic agenda
* Selecting and getting the most out of your technology
* Making the best use of pre-work
* Making meetings more inclusive
* Establishing and reinforcing meeting norms
* Keeping people engaged and focused
* Encouraging and balancing participation
* Managing difficult behaviors and dynamics

Speakers

Eve Zuber

Eve Gelbein-Zuber

Independent Consultant

Highly skilled researcher, program manager, facilitator, problem solver, team builder, leader, organizer, collaborator, negotiator, and fundraiser with 25 years of market research, program management and team leadership experience across a broad swath of industries and job roles leading... Read More →

Nancy Settle-Murphy

President, Guided Insights

If you want to make your virtual or hybrid meetings more engaging, fun and productive, I can help. If you're struggling to mobilize, galvanize or motivate your remote team members to collaborate to achieve shared goals, I'm your person. If you're finding that cultural differences... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

3:00pm EDT

How and why you should treat your email community with respect

Attendees of this session will learn why it is important to treat email communities with respect and some helpful best practices and tips for doing so. Attendees will learn about email list acquisition, email list hygiene, email program management and email writing. We’ll cover the importance of being honest and accurate in email communications, the potential deliverability consequences of mistreating your email community and the ethics of email program management. This panel will be relevant to anyone who works on email programs for organizations or campaigns and anyone else who has a stake in the success of organizational and campaign digital programs.

Speakers

Amy Chin-Lai

Engineering Partnerships Manager, Action Network

Murshed Zaheed

Josh Nelson

Co-Founder, The Juggernaut Project

Josh Nelson is the Co-Founder of the Juggernaut Project, a new company that helps progressive organizations and Democratic campaigns grow their email lists. He has 15 years of experience in political advocacy, email program management and digital marketing. He has helped nonprofits... Read More →

Gabby Greenberg

Gabby synthesizes data and insights into creative campaigns and technology solutions for progressive organizations. As a strategist at Blue State, she focuses on digital fundraising and engagement for nonprofit, advocacy, and brand clients. She's endlessly curious, and grounds her... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

3:00pm EDT

How to Do a Digital Audit

Now you've been through some trainings or you just attended a great conference...how do you know which parts of what you learned you need and which parts aren't applicable to you? How do you know what's working for you and what isn't? In this session we'll provide some tips and tricks for auditing your own digital work in order to make change, set up testing and really move your organization's success up a notch._x000D_
intermediate to advanced.

Speakers

Beth Becker

BeckerDigitalStrategies.com

Beth Becker is the founder of Becker Digital Strategies, a boutique political digital consulting firm specializing in top-level digital strategy, social media strategy, and digital training. Well known for developing and leading week long digital boot camp trainings and mentoring... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

3:00pm EDT

Security 101: Securing your accounts and your campaign

Cybersecurity has been top of mind in recent years and sometimes can be a very daunting topic to cover. Some may think that these bad things will never happen to us, until unfortunately they do. We'll cover our unique threat landscape and concrete ways that you can protect yourself and your campaign or organization.

You'll leave this session with an understanding of what these cyberattacks look like and how we can detect and prevent them.

As we like to say, the best time to prepare is in peacetime!

Speakers

Alison Goh

Security Program Manager, DNC

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

3:00pm EDT

Outside the Walled Garden: Digital Ads Beyond the Social Media Platforms

When Facebook and Twitter decided to ban political ads everyone freaked out-- progressives too-- because we have relied on those ads for our campaigns. But social media platforms aren't the only game in town when it comes to digital ads. In this session we will demystify the jargon and talk about the options available for paid advertising in places you may not have placed it before-- everything from streaming TV to audio ads on podcasts.

Speakers

A.J. Carrillo

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Field, Intermediate/Advanced

3:00pm EDT

Labor Organizers: Using Digital Ads to Find Worker Leads

This training focuses on how to reach workers for new organizing campaigns using paid ads on Facebook/Instagram. We will discuss topics such as creative, messaging, effective calls to action, targeting, metrics/analytics and creating organizing systems to connect online with offline.

Speakers

Adrianna Hernandez

Time of Day Media

Adrianna Hernandez-Stewart is a filmmaker and campaigner with over ten years of experience telling stories about and winning concrete victories for workers, women, and people of color. Prior to earning her MFA in documentary filmmaking, she worked for five years at SEIU Local 32BJ... Read More →

Meghana Reddy

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Labor, Intermediate/Advanced | Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

3:00pm EDT

Organizers are Workers Too: Living Your Values, Managing Humanely, and Organizing Effectively

The target audience for this session are lead organizers, people who manage organizers, and people on the ladder to becoming leads and managers. Attendees will learn how to center their values with being an effective manager, and how to lead and train organizers without bullying them or burning them out. We can win and win the right way!

Speakers

Carli Stevenson

Campaign and Communications Strategist

Carli is a campaign manager, organizer, and communications strategist. An alumnus of Bernie 2016 and 2020, she began her career as a union organizer and communicator. She has worked on electoral, union, and issue-based campaigns in over 10 states. She is passionate about organizer... Read More →

Josh Rodriguez

Progressive Campaign Manager and Field Operative

Josh is a progressive Campaign Manager and Field Operative who has worked on races in Texas, New Hampshire, Florida, and Connecticut, including Bernie 2020 and Connecticut State Senator Julie Kushner. Being from the Texas-Mexico border, Josh understands that cultural competency is... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Movement Meta Operations Digital Field

3:00pm EDT

Making the Hard Ask

One of the most intimidating things for organizers and volunteer leaders is asking someone to give their time. This session will address how to frame the question to get to a yes. It will deconstruct examples of a good hard ask, show common mistakes, and demonstrate phrases to use. The target audience is any organizer or volunteer who attempts to recruit others for their campaign work, no matter the setting.

One emphasis this training would make is to meet people where they are. This means keeping in mind how people want to help and what their abilities are. As such, there will also be a component on active listening.

Speakers

Kathryn Shelton

Friday April 16, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Organizing Skills

4:15pm EDT

Democracy Defense Panel: Advice from Activists around the Globe (pre-recorded session)

This would be offered as a pre-recorded session. This webinar on Democracy Defense was hosted in partnership with Nonviolence International with the following panelists: Philippine professor and activist Joaquin Gonzalez, Serbian professor and nonviolent organizer Ivan Marovic, Gambian organizer and activist Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan, American professor and author Stephen Zunes, Brazilian organizer and activist Joana Varon, and author and activist Maria J. Stephan.

Speakers

Chelsea Byers

Director of Operations, Beautiful Trouble

Chelsea Byers is a social impact strategist and community builder working towards a world where creativity and human dignity can flourish. Chelsea is the Director of Operations for Beautiful Trouble and she is also a member of the Training Network. Her background in campaigning, action... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Beautiful Trouble

4:15pm EDT

Writing Emails that Tell a Story

If facts and statistics could speak for themselves, we'd win our campaigns in no time, right? Wrong! Humans are narrative creatures which is why telling The Story of our campaigns is crucial to mobilizing and empowering our bases. In this session, we'll explore how to use narrative structures to help craft email action alert copy that moves our audiences to take action or donate money. This is an intermediate skill-level session! A background in writing and running email-based activism will be assumed.

Speakers

Tihi Hayslett

Tihi Hayslett is a queer activist and author. As a senior campaigner at Demand Progress, Tihi leads campaigns against the overreach of government surveillance and human rights. His debut book, Dark Corners, was named Best Indie Book of 2019 by Kirkus Reviews. Tihi uses he/him pro... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Comms, Intermediate/Advanced | Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

4:15pm EDT

Small Dollars. Big Change: Digital Fundraising 101 with ActBlue

Reaching your organizing goals is key to bringing about real, lasting change in your community. Whether you're running a campaign or mobilizing to build political power, it's important to make sure your digital organizing is reflective of the times in which we live. Communities all over the country are banding together to fight the impact of the pandemic, combat racism and systems of oppression, and pooling resources to ensure we build healthcare and education systems that work for all of us. Small-dollar donors are an important part of this work, forming a powerful base of supporters who are ready to get involved and push your team over the finish line. During this training, digital fundraising experts from ActBlue, a nonprofit organization that builds online fundraising tools, will help show you how to build an online fundraising program that empowers your supporters to take action online.

What attendees will learn:
The basics of building a digital fundraising program
How to build a virtual fundraising ask
How to utilize ActBlue tools to fundraise online

Speakers

Alifa Watkins

Training Program Manager, ActBlue

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

4:15pm EDT

Building Diverse, Inclusive, Meaningful, Accessible Online Communities

In this training session for any progressive digital practitioner (including volunteer organizers!), we'll discuss how campaigns can build, engage, and celebrate meaningfully diverse, inclusive, and accessible online communities and movements—through social media.

Speakers

Raquel Breternitz

Design Leader and Strategist

Raquel Breternitz an award-winning designer with a resume spanning serving as Elizabeth Warren’s Design Director to private sector credits at the New York Times, Pivotal Labs, and IBM. Currently Head of Design at Aperture Health, she has also spoken on topics including design, research... Read More →

Anastasia Golovashkina

Senior Director, Trilogy Interactive

Anastasia develops and directs innovative digital strategies for leading political campaigns and organizations. Her current projects include developing and directing the social media strategies of organizations like Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote, as well as serving as the Senior... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital Comms

4:15pm EDT

Graphic Design 101 for Non-Designers

Did you get thrown into designing? Ever wonder how you can get someone to stop and look at your work? Do you think that your design looks amateurish and don’t quite know how to fix it? Why do you stop and look at some billboards, but not others?

How can 2D lines make us feel layered emotion? Why did you decide to not recycle one of those political mailers you got but read another?

I’ll cover how humans process visual information and what motivates us to act. This training will cover the basics of photo-based design and help you improve your understanding of the many visual communications that surround you. We'll end the session designing something together, live!

This training is for both beginners/non-designers as well as intermediate designers/communication professionals who want to improve their design and communication skills.

Speakers

Candice Dayoan

VP of Creative, 50+1 Strategies, LLC

Candice is an award-winning Creative Director for 50+1 Strategies, a consulting firm based in Oakland. She was honored by the American Association of Political Consultants as a 2019 Top 40 under 40 Winner. She specializes in print design and has won several national awards for her... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate | Comms, Beginner/Intermediate

4:15pm EDT

Did you get my message? Texting Compliance and Deliverability in 2021

The rules for texting are in continual flux, and the carriers released some major changes in 2020 and now in 2021 that will greatly influence how campaigns and nonprofit organizations use both Broadcast and Peer-to-Peer texting. This is a required session for any person who currently manages a texting program, or plans to in the next couple of years. You will learn the new rules of the game when it comes to compliance (10DLC, Toll-Free and Shortcode) and how to ensure your messages are delivered and received by your target audiences.

Speakers

Sandi Fox

Founder, Smart As A Fox LLC

Sandi Fox is the founder of Smart As A Fox LLC, a progressive digital strategy firm. She has more than 14 years of digital strategy experience across multiple sectors, including government, political, non-profit, and private sectors. She has developed and managed innovative and effective... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Intermediate/Advanced | Field, Intermediate/Advanced

4:15pm EDT

Using Time-tested Tactics to Evaluate and Boost Your Organizing

It’s no secret that organizing is hard work. Talking with people, creating relationships, and building leaders is what has, and will continue to, advance our movement. We're at a pivotal moment where we know the importance of high-attention, short-term events like elections, voter registration pushes, and Census outreach.

Our challenge is molding these moments into long-term power building opportunities for our communities. This training will cover the basics of the "leaderful" organizing model—including assessments, one-on-ones and more—and how to bring them all together into an effective, power-building organizing program that identifies and develops leaders to help scale progressive movements. We will define 5 core attributes of the organizing and contextualize each one with first-hand stories from real world scenarios. This training is for anyone interested in learning how to build power through organizing.

Speakers

Seth Pinckney

Partner Success Specialist, Action Network

Liz Rilley

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Field, Beginner/Intermediate

4:15pm EDT

Getting Union Infrastructure on Members’ Phone on the Cheap

I was an app skeptic. Adoption rates are low. Custom development is high. But NYS-AFL-CIO partnered with Union Strong to make an app available to any union that will let you collect dues, push notify members, share content and yes people do opt-in to it. Let’s talk about the ways this can boost member communications and ask those skeptical questions too!_x000D_

Speakers

Kevin Eitzmann

Digital Director/Assistant Field Coordinator, New York State AFL-CIO

Kevin Eitzmann is the Social Media Director/Assistant Field Coordinator for the New York State AFL-CIO responsible for the strategy and content used across digital platforms(Website, Facebook, Twitter) to further the goals of the organization, affiliates and their 2.5 million members... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Labor, Beginner/Intermediate

4:15pm EDT

How we made #FundExcludedWorkers trend in NYS, and WON!

After a year-long organizing fight, excluded workers will finally get the relief and support they need and deserve to survive this pandemic. Last week, New York State secured a $2.1 billion excluded workers fund to support workers who lost their jobs or income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Make the Road NY's Digital Organizer, Diego de la Vega will join us to share on the digital organizing efforts to lead the Fund Excluded Workers coalition, including the recent hunger strike which was shared widely across social media and the press.

Speakers

Diego de la Vega

Digital Organizer, Make The Road NY

Friday April 16, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

New York Politics Organizing Skills

5:30pm EDT

Closing Plenary: What's New New York?

Over the last two years, organizing has won dramatic changes in New York, with many still unfolding. From winning 2.1 BILLION$ for workers who'd been excluded from COVID relief, to finally getting our schools the money they're owed, to all the new faces we see up in the State House.

What do these changes mean for organizers? What does it mean for our labor movement? What is changing in NY politics, what is likely to stay the same? And what should activists in other states be on the lookout for?

Speakers

Stanley Fritz

Political Director, Citizen Action New York

Stanley Fritz is the New York State, Political and Campaigns Director for PPEF, and Citizen Action has been managing our Fair Elections campaign and our FREENewYork campaign for the past two years. He was previously on our communications staff where he managed our media outreach and... Read More →

Hae-Lin Choi

NYS Legislative and Political Director, CWA District 1

Hae-Lin Choi has over a decade of experience in grassroots, union and political organizing and social justice work. She currently serves as the New York State Legislative and Political Director NY for the Communications Workers of America, District 1. Prior to that, Hae-Lin oversaw... Read More →

Gustavo Rivera

NY State Senator D33, NY State Senate

State Senator Gustavo Rivera has represented the 33rd Senate District in the Bronx since November of 2010. The 33rd Senate District includes the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, East Tremont, Crotona Park, Fordham, Mount Hope, Belmont, Van Nest, Claremont, and Morris Park... Read More →

Jessica González-Rojas

New York State Assemblymember, New York State Assembly

Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas is the New York State Assembly Member (Democrat/Working Families Party) for the 34th Assembly District, which includes the diverse Queens communities of Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Woodside and Corona. She is an unapologetic social justice... Read More →

Friday April 16, 2021 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Hopin

Plenary

6:45pm EDT

Emerging Tech Trends and Their Impact on Social Good

We are living in a time of rapid social innovation and technological transformation. This session talks through the trends happening now in the realms of AI, Machine Learning, Bots, Deepfake videos, New Platforms, Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality, Blockchain and more to help you:
* Better understand how your organization can effectively utilize emerging tech & new ideas
* Get familiar with trends in how people are using the internet now and in the future for planning purposes
* Be more ready to respond with maximum impact in this moment as innovation in tech and society accelerates

Speakers

Cheryl Contee

Do Big Things

Friday April 16, 2021 6:45pm - 7:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

10:00am EDT

Opening Plenary: Georgia On Our Mind

Georgia’s massive successful organizing campaign is an example for the rest of the country and raises critically important questions for our democracy. How do we create and engage enduring, respectful coalitions of color? How do we fight back against voter suppression? How does Georgia show us how to balance black and brown turnout against recent conservative inroads into communities or color? How do we use the Georgia model in other states?
Our esteemed panelists will help us - with the benefit of much more detailed voter data - understand where Democrats in Georgia are coming from, and where they are going, with lessons for the entire country.

Speakers

Adelina Nicholes

Executive Director, Chair, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Mijente PAC in Georgia

W. Mondale Robinson

Founder/Principal, Black Male Voter Project

Marvin Randolph

President, ONYX Communications, Southern Elections Fund

Susana Duran

Georgia State Director, Poder Latinx

Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood

Executive Director, Asian American Advocacy Fund

Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood is the Executive Director of the Asian American Advocacy Fund. Aisha is native to the South and has worked in the progressive community in Georgia for the last seven years. She graduated with a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Georgia with... Read More →

Nse Ufot

Executive Director, New Georgia Project

Saturday April 17, 2021 10:00am - 11:00am EDT
Hopin

Plenary

11:15am EDT

Getting your communications and digital staff on the same page

Our traditional communications and digital strategy should be working hand-in-hand but often we realize we are not speaking the same language at all resulting in Too Long To Tweet press releases or spoiled exclusives. In this session aimed at staff in either department we’ll talk about how we’ve learned to work together and what communications needs to know about digital and what digital need to know about communications.

Speakers

AJ Springer

Sr. Communications Manager, Working Families Party

AJ Springer is a Sr. Communications Manager at the Working Families party and has been a writer since he could pick up a pen. He brings more than 15 years of experience to the art of storytelling and has worked with elected officials at the state and federal level, one of the nation’s... Read More →

Aimée Castenell

Digital Campaigns Director, Working Families Party

Aimée Castenell is the Digital Campaigns Director for the Working Families Party. She has over 15 years of experience in digital strategy and change communications, with a focus on human rights, racial justice, voter engagement among communities of color, and economic justice. Previous... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Comms, Beginner/Intermediate

11:15am EDT

Did you hear about new platform X?

New social platforms pop to the forefront on the regular. Most recently, of course, Clubhouse. For every great platform there are 5 that disappear quickly and for ever 5 with staying power maybe 2 of them are actually going to be useful in the organizing work we do. In this session we will talk about strategies for evaluating whether or not your organization needs to jump on the hot new thing. What are the questions you need to ask yourself and what kinds of answers should you need to hear in order to make such decisions.

Speakers

Beth Becker

BeckerDigitalStrategies.com

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

11:15am EDT

Slack 201

Online Slack organizing workspaces blew up during COVID. Even with the return of on-the-ground organizing, Slack remains crucial to organizing efficient and accessible volunteer programs. By leveraging this free tool, you can move supporters into long-term active volunteers. Learn how you can strengthen your digital organizing by tailoring your Slack workspace to perfectly fit your campaign or organization's needs.

This session will cover: Automations, Customizations, Security, and How To Foster Authentic & Engaging Digital Culture.

Speakers

Kim Selig

Texting Program Coordinator, Unemployed Workers United

Kim Selig is the Texting Program Coordinator at Unemployed Workers United (UWU). She uses her digital and distributed organizing skills that she has gained from her 501c3, 501c4, electoral, and vendor work to build scalable digital systems for local partners. She has found immense... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

11:15am EDT

mutual aid + digital spaces, starting small

How a small, local (chicago) mutual aid project helped distribute PPE and other urgent support to most COVID affected areas. What is mutual aid? Who can participate? How to use your current (digital) network to connect and expand your collective power.

Speakers

Pamela Quintana

Betty Luna

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital Field

11:15am EDT

You CAN Tweet That From Your Work Account

Too often the social media accounts of unions, governmental agencies and other storied institutions are drained of all personality-- which is a shame because the people we represent have so much character! Find out how the folks behind some of the most popular labor and governmental accounts come up with their content. Learn how to get the leeway you need to run a twitter account that people will actually engage with.

Moderators

Elana Levin

Co-Founder, Organizing 2.0

Speakers

Diana Hussein

UNITE HERE

Elizabeth Strater

Director of Strategic Campaigns, United Farm Workers

Elizabeth Strater has worked in organizing, digital organizing and strategic communications for labor orgs and progressive candidates in the US and Canada for 20 years. She is now based in Los Angeles, and she met her wife on a picket line.

Mike Connolly

Principal and Founder, Salthill Communications, Salthill Communications

Mike Connolly is the Principal and Founder of Salthill Communications. He is a veteran of storytelling, progressive campaigns, and the Army. Enlisting as an Infantryman when he was 17 years old, by 18 he was in Iraq for the first of two combat tours. In 2008, he began volunteering... Read More →

Jonas Loeb

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital Labor

11:15am EDT

Relational Organizing 101 - A methodology for year-round power building

To win transformative victories, we need to build power in our communities from the ground up, 365 days a year — not just when an election is around the corner. Relational organizing is how we win. It’s not just a buzzword for the most effective voter contact method at our disposal; it is a methodology at the center of how communities have always organized and built power to meet their needs. One thing we’ve seen time and time again, whether from unions, campaigns, grassroots community groups or large distributed organizations, is that relationships are our greatest source of power, and when we center them in our work, we have the capacity to create transformative change.

This session will teach you how to create a relational-forward organizing program that empowers leaders to leverage power for tangible victories, from issue and electoral outcomes to building your base.

Speakers

Christian Foust

Coaching Specialist, Organizing Empowerment Project

Cornelius Phelps

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Field

11:15am EDT

A New Day in NY Politics?!

Ranked Choice Voting isn’t the only major shift in NYC politics. We’ve also seen nonprofit groups start partisan efforts like The Jewish Vote or VOCAL Action Fund, the transformation of the Working Families Party from a local labor backed entity to a broader base building dynamo, and a mayoral race that remains surprisingly open.

Come to this panel to deepen your understanding of the innovative work you haven’t heard about - and the opportunities for you, your favorite candidates and most important issues.

Speakers

Samuel Nemir Olivares Bonilla

Community activist and communications strategist

An award-winning communications professional, writer, speaker, photographer and artist from Puerto Rican and Dominican background living in NYC. Samy is also a lifelong activist for LGBTQ, sexual and reproductive rights. He focuses on diversity, social justice and human rights... Read More →

Carlyn Cowen

Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)

Jeff Gold

Chair, SC, Metro NY Health Care for All Campaign

Maintaining one's own sense of the ridiculous. Market, State--interactions and failures.Taking responsibility for deliverables for real people in real time. Revivifying public provision arguments.What I've thrown on the wall to see if it worked/works.

Jawanza James Williams

Director of Organizing, VOCAL-NY

Jawanza james Williams (He, Him) is a Black, Radical Queer, Abolitionist and Socialist. He is currently the Director of Organizing at VOCAL-NY, a grassroots organization building power among poor and low-income New Yorkers. He is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

New York Politics

11:15am EDT

X Marks the Spot: Power Mapping and Targeting for Effective Campaigns

You've got an issue and a goal — or a big problem — and now it's time to make a campaign. How do we figure out who to target to get what we want? We'll discuss the foundations of assessing power and criteria for targets, learn ways of power-mapping your issue, and how to pick a clear target that can shape your story and focus your power to win!

This training is for anyone involved in advocacy or activist campaigns!

Speakers

Katie Unger

Strategic Consultant, Phase 2 Strategies

Katie Unger is an independent strategic advisor and trainer for movement organizations and a fourth-generation activist based in NYC. She works with groups to build capacity for strategic research, facilitate powerful campaign design and planning, and leadership development. She’s... Read More →

2021 X Marks the Spot pdf

Saturday April 17, 2021 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT
Hopin

Research, Beginner/Intermediate

12:30pm EDT

BEAUTIFUL TROUBLE for the WIN! Design More Effective Innovative Actions

Need an injection of outside-the-box thinking for your direct action or campaign? Jump into Beautiful Trouble’s signature toolbox and develop an action on your own campaign or another topical issue.

Speakers

Nadine Bloch

Training Director, Beautiful Trouble

Nadine Bloch is an outside-the-box activist artist, political community organizer, strategic nonviolent actionista and the Training Director for Beautiful Trouble. Her work explores the potent intersection of art and politics, where creative cultural resistance is not only effective... Read More →

Beth Yirga

Beautiful Trouble for the Win! Design More Effective Innovative Actions, Beautiful Trouble

Bethelehem (Beth) Yirga fought on the frontlines of educational equity for 10 years, as a special education teacher and founding school leader. During that time, she fundraised for millions of dollars; created and differentiated curriculum for students, teachers and adult learners... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Beautiful Trouble

12:30pm EDT

Building New School Digital Departments at Old School Organizations

If the a state-wide Democratic Party can re-think it's approach to digital to become an innovative, year-round, in-house program, so can your organization. I'm Senior Digital Director at the Wisconsin Democratic Party and I'll show you how to explain to the decision makers at your organization (or yourself):

Why building a year-round digital department is vital,
How to get organizational buy-in (especially from leaders), and
How my department is structured and what our goals are, and how this allows us to stay nimble and creative

The audience for this session is anybody who works in an organization old enough to hold a driver's license. Those who attend will leave the session with a stronger understanding of what Digital departments do, why it's important to bring them in-house, and how to make the case to the stakeholders they're working with/for.

Follow @bhaviklathia on Twitter.

Speakers

Bhavik Lathia

Senior Digital Director, WisDems

Bhavik is a campaign strategist and technologist. He has worked in the digital advocacy space in India, Australia, and the United States, as well as supporting activists around the world to build and execute tech-enabled strategies. Currently, Bhavik is Senior Digital Director... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

12:30pm EDT

Organizing to amplify content

How can you get your content to spread online? Email lists, private DM groups and Signal groups, crossposting or sharing on Facebook, it can look easy but involve a lot of behind the scenes work and prep too.

Speakers

Laura Packard

Digital/New Nedia and Communications Strategist, PowerThru Consulting

Laura Packard is a digital/new media and communications strategist, progressive political consultant, health care advocate, writer, and small business owner, currently based in Denver. She has worked on Democratic campaigns from city council to U.S. Senate and with unions and small... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

12:30pm EDT

Search Engine Optimization: What is it and why does it matter?

Many organizers and digital campaigners see search engine optimization as a mystery – but it doesn’t have to be complicated. SEO is really just the science of tweaking, adjusting, and improving parts of your website to help search engines help your audiences find your content when searching the web. Learn the basics and best practices on how to evaluate and improve your website’s SEO to increase your website’s visibility and drive more people to find our movements.

Speakers

Aneta Molenda

Strategy Director, ThinkShout

Organizing 2.0 SEO pdf

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

12:30pm EDT

Organized $$$ = Organized power: Navigating Public Financing

As our communities continue to stand up against injustice and discrimination, we must lean into core principles of organizing to build power. Essential to building power is bringing our people and financial resources together. Michelle Whittaker, is a campaign strategists with deep experience advocating for and using public financing systems to build power and transformational electoral campaigns. Michelle will share her lessons and how to use the same organizing tools to win political and advocacy campaigns.

Speakers

Michelle Whittaker

Strategist + Creator, MCW Creative

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Field

12:30pm EDT

Just Do It!: Branding and Your Campaign

Whether you are running a complex multi-year campaign that encapsulates multiple policy positions or just a campaign for the school board, you need to consider your brand. A well-considered brand works as a guide for your entire campaign and defines a consistent voice you want your supporters to emotionally connect with, which in turn, can be crucial in building momentum and awareness. In this session, we’ll review what a brand is, why you need one, and a few examples of inspiring brands. A particular spotlight will be on the Delivering Community Power campaign for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).

Speakers

Candice Dayoan

VP of Creative, 50+1 Strategies, LLC

Ethan Clarke

President, Campaign Gears

Michael Fazal

Designer, Art Director, Illustrator, Campaign Gears

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Labor Comms

12:30pm EDT

NYC Politics 101

Let’s talk politics. Real politics. Not who the Mayor is, or what the Comptroller does, but the systems and procedures that shape how people take power that are obscured from the people they’re meant to serve. This session will take on politics from an insider's view and cover:

Local party politics
Political machines
NYC government

Speakers

Benjamin Yee

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

New York Politics

12:30pm EDT

#FieldGoodNews that Mobilized AAPI Voters in the Georgia Runoffs: Coordinated Media and Digital Strategies for Campaigns

The Senate runoffs in Georgia were an extraordinary opportunity for multiracial coalitions and rapid electoral organizing that resulted in historic wins and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voter turnout. We will discuss the innovative approaches we took to coordinate media, digital, and field strategies in a fully integrated way. We will provide an inside look into: engaging g macro-/micro-influencers and leveraging their followers for youth turnout; working with ethnic and in-language media to ensure our messaging resonated with immigrant voters; aligning field contacts with communications and messaging to convert voters at the doors into spokespeople for the campaign; working with local and national AAPI artists to develop engaging content, and coordinating year-round organizing to maintain post-election engagement. This workshop is for campaign and organizing staff at all levels in communications and organizers who want to integrate digital into their campaign more fully.

Check out the link to our live presentation: http://bit.ly/Org20FieldGoodNews
Get our #FieldGoodNews Organizing Tips here: https://padlet.com/reimaginecollective/FieldGoodNews

Follow the Asian American Advocacy Fund online! Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Speakers

Vivian Chang

Vivian (she/her/hers) is the Civic Engagement Manager of Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), overseeing APALA's efforts on Census 2020, civic engagement, citizenship, and political work. Her new role builds on her recent leadership of APALA's field program in Nevada, coordinating... Read More →

AJ Titong

reimagine collective

AJ Titong, is a partner with the [re]imagine collective, an association of mission-driven Asian American strategists, organizers, coaches, evaluators and designers.AJ has 10+ years of strategic communications, digital and design experience, specifically within the AAPI national and... Read More →

Sadiyah Ahmad

Communications and Digital Organizer, Asian American Advocacy Fund

Sadiyah graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelors in Public Policy. Before AAAF, she served as a Policy Advocate and did advocacy work at the Georgia State Capitol. Her main interest is bringing Muslim voices and representation to legislative processes at all levels--local... Read More →

Kifah Shah

Kifah Shah is a digital/field organizer and campaign strategist. Currently Kifah is co-facilitator of RISE Organizing, a Research Fellow at the Analyst Institute, and adjunct faculty at Columbia University. She has worked on issues of migration in the EU, on economic empowerment in... Read More →

Organizing 2.0 #FieldGoodNews pdf

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Organizing Skills

12:30pm EDT

Show Me the Money: Following Campaign Cash to Build Accountability Campaigns

This introductory training explores the role of money in politics and policy by shining a light on the relationship between candidates and elected officials and their donors. We’ll show you how to find political contributions using open data sources, and discuss ways to leverage this information to hold powerful individuals and companies accountable.

Speakers

Cristel Taveras

Campaign Researcher, Color Of Change

Cristel supports the Digital & Democracy team at Color Of Change, focusing on Census participation and access to voting & democratic engagement for Black people.

Chad Stanton

Chad supports the Political team at Color Of Change by managing strategic partnerships and collaborative community efforts, providing an opportunity to share knowledge and resources among local partners aligned with making the world better for Black people.

Saturday April 17, 2021 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Hopin

Research, Beginner/Intermediate

1:45pm EDT

Demonstration: Jumpstart Your Campaign with the BT Toolbox

Sourced from 200+ frontline activists around the world, the toolbox is online, free, and available in five languages. Join us for a guided tour of the many features of this toolbox.

Speakers

Chelsea Byers

Director of Operations, Beautiful Trouble

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Beautiful Trouble

1:45pm EDT

But this isn't spam! A discussion of SMS deliverability

Text messaging has grown into a major component of outreach efforts for campaigns and civic participation organizations alike. However, SMS efforts can be impacted by problems with deliverability, such as when carriers reject their messages as spam. Because carrier decision-making is opaque, it is often unclear exactly why certain messages are being rejected while others aren't. We will begin with a broad survey of SMS deliverability issues, and then present findings from detailed analyses of three large SMS campaigns carried out in 2020, covering tens of millions of messages.

Speakers

Sandi Fox

Founder, Smart As A Fox LLC

Brian Osserman

Data Consultant

Brian Osserman was a mathematics professor for 12 years, until the results of the 2016 elections spurred him to resign his position and switch to a more impactful career track. After spending time volunteering and building up a relevant skill set, he is currently seeking work in the... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

1:45pm EDT

Creative Digital Advertising for Advocacy & Politics

This session will go beyond the basics to explore how campaigns, organizations and activists can use digital ads to reach voters, build capacity and pressure decisionmakers. We'll examine how to craft and target Facebook/Instagram ads, programmatic banner and video ads, and even promoted tweets to get results from even tiny budgets. If you want to create the "illusion of ubiquity", you have come to the right place.

Speakers

Colin Delany

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

1:45pm EDT

Digital Tactics for Direct Action

Our target audience is digital activists and campaign staff. Our goal is to show how to think about direct action in a virtual space and create actions that cause disruption in the real world—from flooding Twitter mentions to taking over virtual town hall meetings to hijacking a target's inbox.

Speakers

Rose Espinola (they/them)

Organizer & Data Scientist, Espinola Strategies, Movement Tech Help Desk, re:power, La Luchita Project

Rose Espinola (they/them) is a xicana from the Florida swamplands. Rose is an expert at winning campaigns. They designed Planned Parenthood’s data-driven organizing model, developed Public Citizen’s 700-person volunteer program for trade justice, and directed field and tech for... Read More →

Evan Sutton

Founder, Firekit Campaigns

Trust is the keystone of successful political and advocacy campaigns. I help leaders build trust and power through values-based communications and effective campaigns that move people to action.I work with people who aren't afraid to pick a righteous fight. Over my career, I've worked... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Beginner/Intermediate

1:45pm EDT

What's New on Facebook

Our annual gathering to talk about what's new and different on Facebook since the last time we gathered including changes to the algorithm, new features and upcoming big changes like the upcoming "disappearance" of analytics which aren't really disappearing but moving to a new home.

Speakers

Beth Becker

BeckerDigitalStrategies.com

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

1:45pm EDT

We Made 88 Million Calls to Voters: Learn How to Massively Scale Your Organizing Program Too!

Hear how a small but savvy team on the Biden-Harris Coordinated Campaign was able to build the largest calling program in electoral history in just 3 ½ months. We’ll share the distributed organizing tips and tricks we used to cultivate a community of over 100,000 volunteers who made millions of calls to voters each day and consistently deemed it the “most meaningful and fun” volunteering experience they’d ever had.

Mass, virtual, volunteer-powered organizing has vast power and potential; we want to share our secret sauce so that you too can go on to build direct voter contact programs bigger than your wildest dreams! Whether you’re an experienced mobilization practitioner or just starting out, the lessons we learned are applicable to almost any organizing context. Come nerd out with us!

Come nerd out with us!

Moderators

Claire Wyatt

Claire was the National Calls Program Director for the Biden-Harris 2020 Coordinated Campaign and the National Events Director for the Bernie 2020 Presidential Campaign. In both these roles, she led the largest distributed programs of their type in American electoral history. Previously... Read More →

Speakers

Melissa Goldberg

Trainer & Campaign Consultant, Multiple Organizations

Melissa Goldberg is a Trainer with the National Democratic Training Committee, a Virtual Presentation Skills Trainer with WhatWorks! Communications, and a Consultant for Democratic campaigns. She has trained over 40,000 volunteers on topics such as messaging, digital organizing tools... Read More →

Kevin Stephen

Graham Derfner

Isabel García-Ajofrín

Isabel García-Ajofrín is an expert in bilingual (English/Spanish) communications and digital strategies. Isabel’s professional background includes service to the Biden-Harris presidential campaign, the NYC 2020 Census, and as account executive for two multicultural public relation... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Field Digital

1:45pm EDT

Disrupting Traditions of Oppression in Organizations

Organizations committed to justice must constantly examine our
practices. Diversity, equity and inclusion should go beyond recruitment and hiring. Are we agitating to disrupt systems of oppression? This session will help organization and campaign leaders identify places in their work that may perpetuate traditions of injustice and provide space to brainstorm solutions.

Speakers

Catherine Shieh

Mira Weinstein

Founder and Organizer in Chief, Organizing to Win

Mira Weinstein is an organizing and political strategist. She works with social justice, advocacy and membership organization to build power.

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

Movement Meta Operations

1:45pm EDT

County Committee: How Grassroots are Saving NYC’s Democracy

Attendees will learn about the county committee system in NY, why its important, and how they and their constituents can become elected officials with a few dozen signatures on a petition.

Speakers

Michael Beltzer

Community Empowerer, Local Democrats of New York

Michael is a proud working-class father who believes its time to get what we've earned. Michael is currently a County Committeemember in the 87th Assembly, serves on Community Education Council 8 and is a Candidate for City Council District 18. Michael helped co-found the Southeast... Read More →

Ben Yee

Democratic State Committeeman, New York State Democratic Party

Benjamin Yee was a fundraiser and NY State Digital Director for the 2008 Obama Campaign. He has worked to improve government transparency and service delivery at NY State Senate, and worked for several good government non-profits and civic startups. Politically, Ben has served as... Read More →

Jonathan Crockett

Co-Founder, County Committee Sunlight Project

A software engineer by trade and passionate about citizen engagement, with the help of many dedicated citizens over the past four years, Jonathan co-founded CCSunlight.org to shed light on the county committee system in NY. Other projects Jonathan has been involved in include LetNYVote.org... Read More →

Maria Kaufer

Steering Committee Member, Queens County Committee for All (QCC4ALL)

Queens Democratic Organization Female County Committee Member ED 23/AD 28; 2020 candidate for Female Democratic District Leader AD 28 Part A; Queens County Committee for All (QCC4ALL) Founding Member and Steering Committee Member; Central Queens Independent Democrats, Inc. (CQuID... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Hopin

New York Politics Field

3:00pm EDT

Integrating the Esoteric Arts into Your Organizing Practice

We've seen a resurgence of tools like astrology, tarot, and non-traditional spiritual practices. Systemic issues can't be resolved by some crystals and meditation, yet there is a possibility to use these tools to help build our organizing work in a way that illuminates systemic ills, instead of obscuring them with capitalist nonsense like prosperity gospel and the law of attraction.

As organizers, and movement communicators, we want to facilitate the exploration of these tools to support personal growth, and our ability to reach people who aren't in traditional movement circles.

Speakers

Alyssia Osorio

Astrologer, Praxis Astrology

Alyssia Osorio (she/they) is a former union organizer/communications strategist and current astrologer. She specializes in healing modalities that are practical for organizers and other movement workers, and is currently on staff for the Portland Astrology School. She has a BA in... Read More →

Paola Rodelas

Paola Rodelas is a community and communications organizer, astrologer, and powerlifter based in Hawai'i. Paola's organizing work is fueled by her personal experience growing up in as an Filipinx immigrant woman from a working-class family. For eight years, she has worked at UNITE... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Comms

3:00pm EDT

4 Types of Nonprofit Virtual Events and How to Make Them Successful

Discover how to up-level your virtual events beyond Zoom, with immersive platforms, premium production, and community-building experiences. This engaging workshop will show you how to innovate and build intimacy, raise funds, maximize reach, and create memorable experiences that get people even more passionate about your causes and campaigns.

Speakers

Daniel Moss

Lead Virtual Event Strategist, We & Goliath

Daniel Moss is a senior event strategist with over 20 years of experience leading and training agency and nonprofit teams. He’s designed digital campaigns for large online and in-person events supported by lead nurturing automation, omnichannel retargeting, and conversion rate optimization... Read More →

Michelle Garrison

Virtual Event Strategist & Creative Director, We & Goliath

Michelle is serial entrepreneur, digital strategist, and creative director, who’s started companies and campaigns on the edge of sustanability and community-building trends for the last 20 years. As a consultant, she’s helped companies reach triple-digit growth. her projects... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

3:00pm EDT

It's Story Time: Facebook and Instagram

Facebook Stories...Instagram Stories...Twitter Fleets...stories are the hot thing on social media and aren't going away anytime soon so let's talk Story Strategy. Why use them? Best use cases and more.

Speakers

Beth Becker

BeckerDigitalStrategies.com

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital, Intermediate/Advanced

3:00pm EDT

Organizing with Zoom: Tools, Tips, and Tactics to Getting Work Done on Zoom

This session will cover: (1) The basics of facilitating a Zoom meeting from the tech tools and options a host has to facilitation strategies for different types of meetings to approaches to delegating roles to make for smoother meetings. (2) Tips for training others to organize on Zoom too. (3) Different ways to use Zoom as a tool for your organizing, whether it's lobby meetings, press conferences, team check-ins, mass calls, recording video content, or just your standard organizing meeting. The session will focus specifically on the mechanics, features, and interface of Zoom, but many of the tools and strategies are applicable across other video conference platforms as well.

Speakers

Matthew Rubin

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

3:00pm EDT

Organizing in Pop Culture Communities

Pop culture shapes our perception of the world and organizers have been incorporating it into campaigns more and more - but not every campaign experiences success and buy-in with fans! In this session, we'll explore how to find and engage key fan partners, identify and build different types of pop culture campaigns, and turn fans into engaged, impactful activists!

Speakers

Elana Levin

Co-Founder, Organizing 2.0

Porshea Patterson-Hurst

Research Manager, The Opportunity Agenda

Porshéa Patterson-Hurst is experienced in the contextualization and communication of technical and complex research data into readily accessible language. In her position as the Research Manager at The Opportunity Agenda, she is responsible for envisioning and managing major research... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Digital Comms

3:00pm EDT

Postcard Palooza: How and Why Postcards Work at Boosting Voter Turnout and Engaging Volunteers

Writing postcards to voters has emerged as one of the most popular volunteer grassroots activities over the past 4 years. But do they work? In this session you will hear how postcards not only boost voter turnout (especially in tight races and elections with low turnout) but also build community and energize volunteers for ongoing civic engagement. We will share how since 2017 Postcards4VA has help postcard groups throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia write for local, state, and federal candidates. It’s all about building community one postcard party (in person or virtual) at a time.

Speakers

Robbin Warner

Co-Founder, Postcards4VA

Robbin Warner is the co-founder of Postcards4VA. Since it started in 2017, Postcards4VA has helped volunteers write almost 1.5 million postcards for Democratic candidates in Virginia. Robbin is a producer of the weekly Zoom show the Friday Power Lunch that amplifies the voices of... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Field, Beginner/Intermediate

3:00pm EDT

“I’ll believe global warming when Texas freezes over”: How We Organized When It Did

Our session will outline our MOVE Texas disaster response 'wellness check' campaign that was launched during the winter storm and Texas power outage a few weeks ago. We'll cover our personal stories, our organizational response, and the organizing that took place after to demand accountability. Our hope is to provide attendees an outline of elements to incorporate into disaster response toolkits and a case study to draw inspiration from as weather patterns become more violent due to climate inaction. The panel will be from the perspective of field organizers, advocacy organizers, and the broader community that made our outreach possible.

Speakers

Alex Birnel

Advocacy Manager, MOVE Texas

Alex Birnel (He/Him) is the Advocacy Manager at MOVE Texas. In his role with MOVE Texas, he leads issue-based campaigns affectIng the lives of young people, building power across the state of Texas. Alex helped found MOVE San Antonio during his time studying anthropology and political... Read More →

Fernanda Maldonado

Field Director, MOVE Texas

Fernanda is a first-generation Texan born and raised on both sides of the Laredo border. She graduated from Texas State University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and minor in Journalism. During her time there she interned with local publications in Laredo and... Read More →

Jonathan Gutierrez (he/him)

South/Central Organizing Manager, MOVE Texas

Jonathan Gutierrez (he/him) is the South/Central Field Manager with MOVE Texas, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization working to build power in underrepresented youth communities across the state of Texas through civic engagement, leadership development, and issue advocacy... Read More →

Evie Proctor

CLP Fellow, MOVE Texas

Evie Proctor (she/her) is a Houston, Texas native and a graduate of Sam Houston State University. She is currently a fellow in the Civic Leadership Program at the grassroots, nonpartisan, and non-profit organization MOVE Texas, which works to build power in underrepresented youth... Read More →

Jose Gonzales

Regional Coordinator Corpus Christi, MOVE

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Field

3:00pm EDT

The Patreon Left and the Democratic Party

This is about the rise of a media and political ecosystem driven by YouTubers, Podcasters, Twitch Streamers and their fans. #ForceTheVote was a high profile online kerfuffle that demonstrated a lot of the dynamics at play. At stake for more traditional actors in politics: how is this group exerting power? how can they be influenced? how should this influence your strategy?

Speakers

Charles Lenchner

Co-Founder, Organizing 2.0

Charles Lenchner is co-founder of Organizing 2.0. He currently works as Digital Director for The Real News Network.He co-founded People for Bernie, Ready for Warren and Progressive Democrats of America. He has previously worked for the Working Families Party, Zephyr Teachout, Friends... Read More →

Alex Lawson

Alex is an organizer and activist and writer in Vermont. She has been organizing in politics since 2016 and recently started writing Weak State, a newsletter about the state of politics post-Trump. She is an active member of DSA in Burlington and is passionate about racial justice... Read More →

Benjamin Dixon

The Benjamin Dixon Show

Known for scathing political critiques, Benjamin Dixon is the The Benjamin Dixon Show and Like it Or Not. He is also a contributor to TheGuardian.com, The Young Turks and regularly appears on programs including The Majority Report with Sam Seder and Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Movement Meta

3:00pm EDT

Who Owns your Building & What New Yorkers Can Do With That Data

Have you ever wondered how many buildings your landlord owns in New York City? Have you ever been curious about the zoning of your neighborhood? Luckily, existing housing justice technology in New York City can tell us all of these things and more!
This training will provide participants with a base understanding of how to utilize publicly databases and resources such as Who Owns What, ACRIS, and ZOLA (New York City’s Zoning Map). We will also discuss how these important technologies can help organizers find solutions to problems they face in housing organizing!

Speakers

Katelin Penner

Policy Organizer

Katelin Penner (she/they) is a junior at Wesleyan University studying government and American Studies. They are currently serving as Communications Director and a policy aide for District Leader Samuel Nemir Olivares, and a policy researcher on Dianne Morales's Mayoral campaign, and... Read More →

Cynthia Norris

Organizing director, New York communities for change (NYCC)

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Research

3:00pm EDT

Who Owns your Building & What New Yorkers Can Do With That Data

Have you ever wondered how many buildings your landlord owns in New York City? Have you ever been curious about the zoning of your neighborhood? Luckily, existing housing justice technology in New York City can tell us all of these things and more! _x000D_
This training will provide participants with a base understanding of how to utilize publicly databases and resources such as Who Owns What, ACRIS, and ZOLA (New York City’s Zoning Map). We will also discuss how these important technologies can help organizers find solutions to problems they face in housing organizing!

Speakers

Katelin Penner

Policy Organizer

Cynthia Norris

Organizing director, New York communities for change (NYCC)

Saturday April 17, 2021 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Hopin

Research

4:15pm EDT

Cultural Organizing Through GIFS and Memes with Into Action

How organizers and organizations can use culturally relevant organic content to engage audiences in a deeper way. The focus on organic content is intentionally designed to circumvent the paid digital industrial complex.

Speakers

Dom Leon-Davis

Director of Organizing and Strategic Partnerships, Task Force

Dom Leon-Davis is a progressive political organizer whose work focuses on mobilizing and empowering marginalized communities. He currently serves as Director of Organizing and Strategic Partnerships for Task Force, where he supports organizations across the country by providing culturally... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Comms Digital

4:15pm EDT

How to Make and Edit Video: from TikTok to Crowdsourcing

Target audience: anyone utilizing social media or gathering stories for campaigns
- From concept to creation, how to turn social justice issues into compelling content
- How to capitalize on internet trends, to create for the cultural zeitgeist
- Best practices for emerging platforms (TikTok, IGTV, IG Reels)

Speakers

Emily Dore

Amy Chiang

Social Media Marketing Intern, Community Service Society of New York

Amy Chiang is a Marketing Intern for We The Patients New York, a health advocacy campaign with the Community Service Society of New York. She is a graduating senior at New York University studying Media, Culture, and Communication with a minor in the Business of Entertainment, Media... Read More →

Raquel Luna

Social Media Marketing Intern, Community Service Society of New York

Raquel Luna is a recent graduate from CUNY’s Bernard Baruch College where she studied Business Communications with a minor in Spanish. In addition to working with We The Patients NY as a Social Media Marketing Intern, she is a 2021 Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

4:15pm EDT

Online Candidate Forums 101

In this training, you will learn to do's and don'ts of conducting online debates/forums, including viewing bloopers and discussing how these can have a meaningful impact on local and statewide elections.

Speakers

Lisa Mead

Consultant- Professional Fundraiser

Professionally, Lisa Mead serves as a professional fundraising consultant for multiple non-profit organizations, including those working on public health issues and international human rights. Personally, she serves as the Advocacy Chair for the Wake County PTA, one of the largest... Read More →

Presentation Mead LegoCon2021 pdf

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Digital

4:15pm EDT

Essential Elements of a Distributed Campaign

In order to grow our movements, we need to design programs that can scale in digital spaces. Learn how to design a distributed campaign by rooting the campaign in key values, develop shared practices and systems and more.

Speakers

Izzy Goodman

Laura Comer

Slide deck Training Essential Elements of a Distributed Campaign pdf

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Field

4:15pm EDT

How to Host Your Own Youth Climate Court

We'll share the skills you'll need to organize and conduct a Youth Climate Court in your community or school, with no funding necessary. You will learn to hold your local governments accountable for their action or inaction in protecting your rights in relation to the climate crisis. If the court finds the government guilty, they issue mandates to the government specifying remedies. This is geared for people ages teens to mid-20s.

Speakers

Tom Kerns

Maia Stout

High School Student, Director & First Chair Prosecutor, and Leader & Founder, Youth Climate Courts - Newport, Oregon Youth for Climate

Maia Stout, sixteen year old high school student, director and first chair prosecutor of Youth Climate Courts Newport and a leader and founder of Oregon Youth for Climate.

Kaydance Redwine

Newport Oregon Climate Court Second Chair Prosecuting Attorney, Youth Climate Court

Hi! My name is Kaydance Redwine (she/her), and I am a junior at Newport High School. I have been a part of Oregon Youth 4 Climate and protesting with them for 3 years! I am grateful to be a part of the Youth Climate Court and create a precedent for regular people like me around the... Read More →

Joelle Winn

Witness for Youth Climate Courts, Newport Youth Climate Courts

I'm a 17 year old student and activist from the Oregon Coast. Growing up, I have experienced the effects of climate change in many ways, from seeing annual natural disasters to observing the sociological effects on communities who are currently letting the world die. From a young... Read More →

Lisa Millstein

Law Student, Legal Fellow, University of Oregon, Youth Climate Courts

Lisa Millstein is a Law Student at the University of Oregon and the Legal Fellow at Youth Climate Courts. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2019 with a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies and Geography. She has a background in education and community organizing... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Field

4:15pm EDT

The Sounds of the Street: Amplifying Actions in COVID and beyond

•How to use Pirate Radio for safer, more engaging, and more effective car actions
•General tutorials on setting up sound systems for maximum coverage
•Holding hybrid digital/in-person events both with live-streaming and with zoom for remote call-ins

No experience needed, tech jargon will be avoided (or immediately explained) and plenty of links will be provided to in-depth tutorials.

Speakers

R G

Activist, Distributed Sound Collective

The Distributed Sound Collective is a group that formed during shelter in place to ensure activist voices continued to be heard. Centered in the SF Bay Area, we have provided sound at more than 100 events during the pandemic, and hope to share what we have learned with activists all... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Field

4:15pm EDT

Campaign unionization 101 with the Campaign Workers Guild

The Campaign Workers Guild was formed in 2017. Since then, we’ve grown to have 500+ dues paying members and led the effort to bring campaign unionization to the forefront of the 2020 election cycle.

In this session, we’ll give attendees the basic tools and knowledge to organize their own workplaces, particularly campaigns and political organizations. We’ll share our own reasons for starting CWG and our experience since then, dig deep on our theory of building authentic campaign worker power, and share how attendees can be part of our movement for structural change in our industry.

Our target audience of former, current, and aspiring campaign and political workers will walk away from this session knowing the practical steps of unionization, the nuances of unionizing in campaign and political spaces, and what it takes to win.

Speakers

Candice Crutcher

Executive Council, Campaign Workers Guild

Ian Brady

Executive Council, Campaign Workers Guild

Julia Ackerly

Vice President, Campaign Workers Guild

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Labor Movement Meta

4:15pm EDT

The New Progressive Organizing Infrastructure: What is it, How we got it, and where we're going

Organizing, as a path to win people power, is in constant evolution. New kinds of organizations are creating new tools making the organizing space a never-ending learning community. This conversation with Color of Change, Voto Latino, Movement for Black Lives, and the Movement Tech Help Desk will explore new organizing tools. This session is NOT a technical training, but a top-level survey to help orient folks in the digital organizing landscape. This session is designed to be accessible for newcomers but will have valuable information for anyone interested in the progressive organizing world viewed through a technical lens.

Speakers

Rose Espinola (they/them)

Organizer & Data Scientist, Espinola Strategies, Movement Tech Help Desk, re:power, La Luchita Project

Brianna Carmen

Ejike Obineme

Jamecia D Gray

Manager of, Movement For Black Lives

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Movement Meta

4:15pm EDT

Transforming "Cancel Culture" to Accountability Culture

Those on the left and right alike decry “cancel culture.” But what is “canceling” someone but a public attempt to hold them accountable? How can we effectively hold individuals and organizations accountable without the disruption and privacy violations that often work opposite of what is intended, and can discourage those who have been harmed from reporting it?

We will discuss the necessary components of a survivor-centered, trauma informed accountability process that is not based upon organizing around other people or "Trial by Twitter." Building accountability into our institutions and leaders means we don’t have to destroy or “cancel” them in order to recognize and repair harm. Organizers will leave with the tools to begin transforming their community spaces in healthy, positive ways to provide needed accountability and demonstrate leadership.

Target audience is anyone with an interest in leading or supporting efforts to combat toxic cultures in their organizations, workplaces and other movement spaces, by limiting harm caused by harassment, bullying, racism and misogyny.

Speakers

Paula Brantner

President and Principal, PB Work Solutions

Paula Brantner is a leading progressive trainer on sexual harassment and toxic workplace environments and an attorney who has worked with harassment and toxic workplace issues her entire career. She has implemented the strategies proposed in large and small political and nonprofit... Read More →

Ana Avendano (she/her)

President, Minga Strategies, UT Austin, CUNY

I am a lifelong worker advocate. I have held senior positions in the labor movement, playing major roles in changing the labor movement’s position on immigration, and broadening the AFL-CIO’s vision to include worker centers and other non-traditional worker organizations. I now... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Hopin

Movement Meta Operations

5:30pm EDT

Closing Plenary: The NEW New Media

The way media is developed and consumed continues to radically morph and change. Platform-agnostic offerings that push content into people’s social media streams is the latest iteration. Meanwhile, traditional television continues to splinter - over half of video content is consumed via streaming platforms. Regardless of how we (activists, organizers) consume media, these shifts in media consumption require changes in how we engage with voters, from press strategy to advertising.

Our esteemed panelists will give their take, with an emphasis on what everyone needs to know, from pacs and candidates with big budgets to small and local advocacy nonprofits.

Speakers

Charles Lenchner

Co-Founder, Organizing 2.0

Ben Meiselas

Founder, MeidasTouch

In addition to being cofounder of MeidasTouch with his brothers Brett and Jordan, Ben is a Partner at Geragos & Geragos, where he focuses on civil litigation and civil rights law. Most notably, Ben represented Colin Kaepernick in his highly-publicized lawsuit against the NFL and led... Read More →

Dr. Joe Romm

CEO and Editor in Chief, Front Page Live

Joseph Romm is cofounder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of FrontPageLive.com. His latest book is “How to Go Viral and Reach Millions,” and CNN host Van Jones describes Joe as “the communicator’s communicator.” Joe is Founding Editor of ClimateProgress.org, which NY Times columnist... Read More →

Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever

Co-Founder & Managing Editor, MAXBLACK MEDIA

Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, is a Media Commentator, Award-Winning Author, Global Speaker and the Co-Founder & Managing Editor of MAXBLACK Media, a new digital streaming network that provides news and programming that centers the Black experience with the goal of maximizing Black social... Read More →

Matt Royer

Media Planning Manager, DSPolitical

Matt Royer is a professional digital campaign consultant, having worked on formulating winning email fundraising, organic social media content, and digital advertising programs for progressive candidates, labor unions, and environmental groups. Matt was a campaign manager for Democratic... Read More →

Saturday April 17, 2021 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Hopin

Plenary