Inspired by a post by social justice communications strategist Kathryn LeBlanc, I compiled 10 Commandments of Organizing. (Ok. there’s 11.) When I posted this list to LinkedIn, several organizers added their favorites. Bethany Snyder: Diana Tang: Beth Shipp: Ned Howey: Sean
From protesting against fascism to building reproductive justice in Texas to facilitating workshops on evaluating actions, June has been a busy month. One highlight of June was a session of Innovate Public Schools’ Community Organizer Training Program. The workshops I
Have you noticed that sometimes there’s a disconnect between organizing and fundraising? I’ve been thinking about a workshop to help development staff talk to funders about long-term organizing. The kind of campaigns that take five years, don’t produce reams of
This month at the America Votes State Summit, I attended a panel about the 2026 Midterms, where there was some talk about “investments.” All of the panel members were from organizations that exist to win elections. To be fair, the
(Spoiler Alert: It depends.) Are posts, emails and articles about AI flooding your devices? Me too. I’m not opposed to AI; let’s say I’m cautiously optimistic. AI is a lot like social media and fossil fuels. All three are technologies
Being in New Orleans last week reminded me that people take action because of values and emotion, not facts. How much rain fell on New Orleans during Katrina? What was the top wind speed? How high was the flooding? I
When I posted this essay to LinkedIn, it generated more discussion than anything I’ve ever posted before. So, I’m reprinting it here to see what you think. Reply here or add your voice to the Comments on the LinkedIn Post.
2024 had its ups and downs for all of us right? While we probably have some of the same downs, I wanted to close out the year by sharing some of the ups with you. Here are some highlights of
Note: I wrote this post about a week before election day 2024. It hasn’t aged very well. I’m posting it anyway because it’s helpful to remember the optimism of July. The most pessimistic, doom-and-gloom political watcher I know called me
I forgot how complicated this is! The first time I managed a field campaign was 1990, on a hopeless congressional race in Richmond, Virginia. The tools have changed. The tech has changed. The messaging has changed. The science of campaigns
