2022 Convening

POWER-UP !

July 20th & 21st | 1:00 - 5:00 pm ET

We all know how important it is to find and engage high opportunity voters that are missing from the voter file; use a values-informed frame in voter contact programs in Black, Latinx, and AAPI communities; effectively engage local elections officials to push for fair access to voting; and use data to inform strategic organizing program decisions. On two afternoons in July 2022, we shared what we know from research about HOW to do all of those things. And more!

Convening Agenda
Jul 20, 2022
1:00 pm
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1:15 pm
The election is right around the corner. What are we doing here?!
Welcome
description

moderator
Julie Fernandes
Managing Director of the DPI Fund
Associate Director | Rockefeller Family Fund
Speakers
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session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
1:15 pm
-
1:30 pm
Hello? Mic Check? Who's here?
Connection
description

What you get: An opportunity to meet others in the (virtual) room, have fun, and practice our relationship building skills. ‍ Who: Everyone

moderator
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session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
1:30 pm
-
2:30 pm
What is Winning?
Plenary
description

Recent Supreme Court decisions, coupled with the January 6th hearings, have made it clearer than ever that we are operating in a politically charged, high stakes, power arena. How should organizers think about “winning” in this context? What is our role in this power arena?

moderator
Julie Fernandes
Managing Director of the DPI Fund
Associate Director | Rockefeller Family Fund
Speakers
Ethan Frey
Program Officer
Ford Foundation
Ashley Shelton
Founder, President and CEO
Power Coalition
Doran Schrantz
Executive Director
ISAIAH
Alejandra Gomez
Executive Director
Arizona Center for Empowerment
session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
2:30 pm
-
3:30 pm
Using the Election Season to Build Power
Concurrent Sessions
description

Every cycle organizations hope to emerge from the election more powerful with stronger members and greater leadership. At DPI we have learned that a key to achieving that goal is to have systems for tracking member and leader engagement that are as rigorous as those used to track voter contact. How can an organization do that?

moderator
Tianyi Hu
DPI Fund
Speakers
Eddie Carmona
Director of Campaigns
PICO California
session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
2:30 pm
-
3:30 pm
Brains Over Brawn: Building Strategic Capacity to Strengthen Your Organization
Concurrent Sessions
description

In their groundbreaking book Prisms of the People, Hahrie Han, Liz McKenna and Michelle Oyakawa found that powerful base building organizations build a culture and set of practices where groups of individuals can adaptively deploy their resources to move power strategically. But how can organizations do that important work in an election season when it is easy to reduce our members and volunteers to cogs in a voter contact machine?

moderator
Speakers
Regina Schwartz
Consultant
DPI Fund
Shannon Talbert
Senior Organizing Director
Color of Change
Sadie Dean
Senior Training Manager
Color of Change
session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
3:30 pm
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3:45 pm
Break
description

moderator
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session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
3:45 pm
-
4:45 pm
How to Use Organizing to Achieve Election Reform
Concurrent Sessions
description

In many jurisdictions, local elections officials have broad discretion over voting policies and practices. How can organizations develop productive relationships with their local elections officials to promote the implementation of pro-voter practices?

moderator
Speakers
Tova Wang
Democracy Fellow
Harvard Kennedy School
Bridgett King
MPA Director & Associate Professor
Auburn University
Tomas Robles
Co-Executive Director
Arizona Center for Empowerment
session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
3:45 pm
-
4:45 pm
Understanding and Influencing the Political Power Infrastructure to Protect Our Elections
Concurrent Sessions
description

What forces shape the political environment and create political “weather?” What role can and does organizing play? Drawing on an in-depth case study of a state-wide campaign to protect democracy in Michigan in the wake of the 2020 election, this session surfaced lessons about how groups can insert themselves in larger power struggles and build the structures and strategic capacity necessary to anticipate and counter well-funded and media-savvy political opponents.

moderator
Elizabeth McKenna
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Harvard Kennedy School
Speakers
Art Reyes III
Executive Director
We The People Michigan
Branden Snyder
Senior Advisor
Detroit Action Education Fund
session REsources
Jul 20, 2022
4:45 pm
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4:45 pm
What did we learn? What do we still want to know?
ReFlection
description

moderator
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session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
1:00 pm
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1:15 pm
Welcome Back! Who do I need to say hi to? What do we need to tackle today?
Welcome
description

moderator
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Jul 21, 2022
1:15 pm
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2:10 pm
Less is Not More: Expanding the Electorate to Win Change
Plenary
description

Multiracial Democracy demands multiracial participation, so where is everybody? How did we end up with an electorate that is missing half the eligible population? And what can we do right now to turn this around?

moderator
Speakers
Terrance Woodbury
CEO & Founding Partner
HIT Strategies
Carlos Odio
Co-Founder & Senior VP of Research
Equis Labs
Bishop Dwayne Royster
Executive Director
POWER Interfaith
session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
2:10 pm
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3:05 pm
The Most Effective Influencers: Identifying and Growing Members as Social Network Leaders in Your Electoral Program
Concurrent Sessions
description

Social scientists continue to affirm that when it comes to politics (or anything really) people listen most to those closest to them: friends, family, co-workers. So how are organizers adapting their electoral programs to prepare volunteers to be leaders in their own social networks?

moderator
Speakers
Joy Cushman
Senior Strategic Advisor
Democracy & Power Innovation Fund
Fabi Maldonado
Political Director
Voces de la Frontera
Sandhya Anantharaman
Interim Director of Programs
Kairos Fellowship
session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
2:10 pm
-
3:05 pm
Building Political Agency: The Latest from Our Narrative Research
Concurrent Sessions
description

DPI has prioritized understanding narrative frameworks that connect uniquely with Black, Latinx and AAPI communities through research shaped by and for organizers. In this session, we shared what we learned about narratives that can be used to craft effective organizing content that can be applied in multiple contexts including digital content.

moderator
Speakers
Katrina Gamble
Founder and CEO
Sojourn Strategies
Ranada Robinson
Research Director
New Georgia Project
Tram Nguyen
Co-Executive Director
New Virginia Majority
session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
2:10 pm
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3:05 pm
From Exclusion to Inclusion: Organizing to bring returning citizens and their families into political engagement
Concurrent Sessions
description

In recent years, returning citizens and their allies have made important progress in the work to remove legal barriers to voting for formerly incarcerated people. Our challenge now is to develop and implement strategies to connect with and inspire returning citizens to fully realize their political agency.

moderator
Speakers
Davin Phoenix
Assistant Professor, Political Science
University of California, Irvine
Daniella Flores
Program Officer
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Ronald Pierce
Policy Analyst
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
3:05 pm
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3:15 pm
Break
description

Go get a snack, you (always) deserve it!

moderator
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session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
3:15 pm
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4:15 pm
How to Apply Empowering Narrative Frames in Your Voter Mobilization Program
Concurrent Sessions
description

From our previous research with HIT Strategies and New Georgia Project, we learned that power narratives move Black voters to take more political action. Use these learnings and insights from our initial Latinx and AAPI values research to share best practices for developing engaging scripts that promote and support Black, Latinx, and AAPI political action.

moderator
Speakers
Destiney Golden
Sojourn Strategies
Kaelyn Seymour
Civic Engagement Data Director
MOVE
Serena Perez
Membership Director
Florida Rising
session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
3:15 pm
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4:15 pm
Racism in Algorithms? How to bring a skeptical eye to your voter file data and find missing voters through engagement
Concurrent Sessions
description

We all know that the voter files are flawed. Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Native people are disproportionately missing and vote propensity (VP) scoring is frequently inaccurate. Join organizing data leaders as they share tools, strategies, and practical tactics for developing and implementing alternative methods to reach constituents.

moderator
Speakers
Derrick Smith
Data Manager
Ohio Organizing Collaborative
Jamie Harris
Senior Data Manager
Color of Change
session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
4:15 pm
-
4:45 pm
Great Minds: Break out by role to share a-has and capture key points for follow up with your community
What Next?
description

What you get: Meet your fellow Funders, Directors/Lead Organizers, Organizers, Data leads, Communicators. Prioritize follow up and future interventions in your zone of influence

moderator
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session REsources
Jul 21, 2022
4:45 pm
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5:00 pm
Wrap it up!
Wrap it Up!
description

Next steps, deep breaths

moderator
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Join us to explore more research and innovation projects housed in the DPI Research Library.