Inclusive politics is a framework that makes space and creates structures for the leadership, needs, and victories of who we have identified as our communities: primarily people of color, and specifically, women of color. It means that those lived experiences, perspectives, and ideas are represented in our government and power structures.
At re:power we’re transforming how we think about power, who holds it, and how we wield it in our communities. Here’s where we were in March:
Unapologetic Agendas: Labor Leaders Running for Public Office
We led a training series dedicated to preparing union members to run for public office at all levels, with an honest conversation on what it means to authentically reflect and serve the communities they’re a part of. In this training with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, we talked about how to run a grassroots campaign that is genuine and improves people’s lives.
At re:power, our trainings are about much more than skill-building; we’re helping leaders build strategic plans, learn about best practices in management, all through the lens of inclusive politics.
In a short time, we’ve seen nearly 100 leaders go through our campaign management cohort with many of them moving on to be elected or appointed to a leadership role, and another group well on their way to run for office!
It’s exciting to witness, and we don’t want to stop there. Through our training series, we hope that this slate of leaders will view each other as resources and as a group that can govern together with a vision grounded in justice.
We’re asking these leaders to start the work now.
Governing, Together
We traveled to Pennsylvania this month, along with our friends at Local Progress and the State Innovation Exchange. We met with over 70 members of the House Caucus to get real about what it means to govern, and how to develop a strategy that members can run on, towards a bold vision of change.
Legislators opened up about the values that compel them to do this work and the values that captivate their constituents. We discussed the practice of visioning — helping legislators articulate what governing from a majority position looks like to them. The minority caucus in the House has expanded with over 20 new legislators joining it this year, so this was a prime opportunity.
By the end of our time together, it was clear that friendships were forged, new leadership was welcomed, and plans were made to expand and realize their new unified agenda.
We’re excited to see what will be next for this group of leaders.
Meeting in Minneapolis
We also had our first staff retreat of the year — and welcomed some new members to the team! They are:
Jennifer Pae: Vice President, Trainings & Leadership Development
Kavita Khandekar Chopra: Vice President, Development
Lori Saroya: Vice President, Operations and Human Resources
re:power’s Board of Directors had their board meeting, and we had the chance to bond as a staff and board over dinner and conversation.
We’re excited about the new Board Officers for re:power:
- Carmen Berkley (Chair): Senior Associate, Civitas Public Affairs Group
- Sara Totonchi (Vice Chair): Executive Director, Southern Center for Human Rights
- Rudy Lopez (Secretary): Director of Organizational and Community Outreach, Urban Strategies
- Leah Boudreaux (Treasurer): Director of Human Resources, Center for Popular Democracy
And, of course — we had to do some team bonding. Here’s us at a local bowling alley:
What’s up next: We’ll be in Houston for Digital Organizer School in May. Find out more about that here.
See you out there,
The re:power team
Want to know more about what we’re up to in the world? Tweet at us at @repowerorg, and follow along as we come to a city near you! You can also find out more on repower.org
