NATIONAL CONVENING 2009 PROGRESSING INTO A NEW DAWN JUNE 12-14, 2009 ATLANTA, GA SPECIAL T HANK S TO OUR CONVENING UNDERWRITER S Open Society Institute Ambassador James Hormel The Sandler Family Supporting Foundation Jonathan and Peter Lewis WELCOME June 12, 2009 Dear Young Elected Officials and Guests: Welcome to the Fourth Annual Young Elected Officials Network National Convening! We are excited to have you participate in this celebrated event. The Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network, created by People For the American Way Foundation, is “for us, by us” in its focus to serve the needs of young elected officials. The goal of the YEO Network is to ensure that we are sufficiently supported as we advance positive, progressive change in our communities. We thank you for sharing our goal in moving this country in a direction toward justice, equality, freedom, and access for all people. The mission of the YEO Network is to unite and support progressive elected leaders who share a passion for building communities that reflect values of fairness and opportunity. In your capacities as elected officials and leaders in your community, you represent a new generation of leadership this country needs and deserves. This is an exciting time in our nation’s history. We are emerging from a long dark night of conservative control and progressing into a new dawn of fairness and equality for all people of all walks of life. We believe that the YEO Network’s Fourth National Convening will provide you with the resources and support in this fresh, innovative, and exciting era of progressive change that is upon us. The National Convening is filled with opportunities for you to find resources that help in your challenges and build upon your strengths. Within this space, you can share experiences, gain more policy development assistance, share best practices, and expand your knowledge base, both personally and professionally. Simply stated, this convening is for you! The value of the Young Elected Officials Network cannot be understated. This program can only succeed if you take full advantage of the resources offered to you – not only during these three days, but throughout the year. If there is anything that we can do to enhance your experience while you are here, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We look forward to connecting and growing with you as we pursue higher levels of leadership as public servants. Again, welcome. Yours in service, Andrew D. Gillum Alisha Thomas Morgan Director Membership Services Manager Young Elected Officials Network Young Elected Officials Network City Commissioner, Tallahassee, FL State Representative, Georgia A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 1 SPE C I al A C K N OW L ED G EME N TS The Young Elected Officials Team would like to extend a very special thank you to program participants, workshop presenters, and everyone here at our 2009 YEO National Convening. We thank each of you for your contribution to the progressive movement and for helping to make this convening and this Network a tremendous success. Thank you to our Young Elected Officials State Directors. We appreciate the role you have played throughout the year to ensure this program remains “for us, by us, of us.” Melvin Carter Curtis Jones Jr. Kyrsten Sinema Y. Laketa Cole Scott Kawasaki Ezra Temko Karim Camara Kevin Killer Rachel Weston Tricia Cotham Nickolas J. Levasseur Faith Winter Carmelo Garcia Evan Low David Woodward Heather Hudson Tony Payton, Jr. Anders Ibsen Carl Sciortino Thank you to the staff of People For the American Way Foundation and our volunteer staff from the Front Line Leaders Academy. This conference would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of the People For family. Extra special thanks to: Michael Keegan Patrick St. John Desmond Seymour Sharon Lettman Drew Courtney Elisabeth Pope Nick Ucci Stacey Gates Ryan Hurst Marge Baker Jen Herrick Elizabeth Landers Robert Mayer Dennis Nelson Cierra Alexander Zachary Dryden Raquel Simon-Petley Angie and Alfonso Whitaker Aliza Bartfield Linda Morris An extra special thank you goes out to Open Society Institute, Ambassador James Hormel, the Sandler Foundation, Jonathan and Peter Lewis and the National Education Association for their deep and continuous investment in the YEO Network. Thank you to New World Foundation and its leader Colin Greer for their ongoing support and continuing challenge to make us better. We want to thank new partners Verizon and CTIA Wireless Association for their investment in innovation and progress. We also want to thank the board, members and staff of People for the American Way Foundation who contributed to making this event a success! In the Spirit of Democracy, Andrew and Alisha A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 2 LETTER F ROM THE PRESIDE N T Dear Young Elected Officials, It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Atlanta for the fourth national convening of the Young Elected Officials Network. People For the American Way Foundation launched the YEO Network in 2006 to fill a need in the progressive movement: a forum to bring together young progressive leaders from around the nation to share ideas, develop policy initiatives, learn new skills, and support each other. Today, the YEO Network has more than 500 members consisting of young elected officials leading the charge on many progressive causes across the country. People For the American Way Foundation holds dear the values of freedom, fairness, and respectful pluralism. Each year, our YEOs continue to amaze us with their dedication to and perseverance in promoting these values. Your work is a resounding affirmation of what we truly believe is “the American Way” – respect for diversity; freedom of thought, expression, and religion; equal justice; and a sense of community. This gives us immense hope and confidence in this program, the progressive movement, and the future of this great nation. The partnership of the YEO Network, People For Foundation, and young elected officials has proven highly successful, and now, more than ever, we need young progressive leaders committed to preserving, defending, and enhancing our liberties. By working together as a community of progressives, we can bring about good things for our nation. The YEO Network and People For Foundation look forward to another year of assisting you in your professional development and helping you achieve even greater success in the future. Sincerely, Michael B. Keegan, President People For the American Way Foundation A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 3 LETTER F ROM THE GOVER N OR A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 4 LETTER F ROM THE MA YOR A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 5 2009 NA TIO nal CO N VE N I ng JU N E 12-14, 2009 AT lan T A , G EOR G I A SCHEDULE OF EVENTS A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 6 HURSDAY UNE Spa Sydell T , J 11 3:30PM – 4:15PM INTRODUCTIONS AND ICEBREAKER White House Project 4:15PM - 5:00PM THE BALANCING A CT : STRATEGIES F OR MAKING SANDWICHES , MAKING LAWS AND MAKING T IME 5:15PM - 6:30PM “SO Y OU W ANT TO RUN F OR HIGHER Off ICE ” Lisa Borders, Atlanta City Council President State Representative Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) 6:30PM - 7:30PM SPA AND PERSONAL T IME 8:00PM DINNER FRIDAY , JUNE 12 Sheraton Hotel, Augusta Room 8:30AM BREAK F AST AND OPENING 9:00AM - 10:00AM Eff ECTIVE NETWORKING : BUILDING Y OUR BASE City Councilwoman Faith Winter 10:15AM – 11:15AM AN OUTSIDER ON THE INSIDE : UNLIKELY CANDIDATES W ORKING WITHIN THE PARTY STRUCTURE TO RUN F OR HIGHER Off ICE Amy Morton, Georgia’s WIN List; Pat Pullar, Talkingpoints4U 11:30PM - 12:30PM TRICKS O F THE T RADE : Eff ECTIVE T OOLS T O RUN F OR HIGHER Off ICE Howard Franklin, Influence Factory; Candice Coleman Franklin, Coleman LLC 12:30PM – 1:00PM LUNCH 1:00PM - 2:30PM STRATEGIC PLANNING : CREATING MY ROADMAP Commissioner Dave Woodward 2:30PM - 4:00PM MEDIA AND PUBLIC SPEAKING Joel Silberman, Media Consultant; Jennifer Smith, Mad Dog Mail; and Alicia Ingram, ANI Communications 4:15PM CLOSING A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 7 FRIDAY , JUNE 12 Sheraton Atlanta- Athens Room 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM PRE -CON F ERENCE W ELCOME BREAK F AST “WHAT IS THE YEO NETWORK ?” Commissioner Andrew Gillum, Director, YEO Network 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM PUBLIC SPEAKING Joel Silberman, Strategic Media Consultant 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM INTEGRITY INTENSIVE Stuart Brody, Integrity Intensive 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM LUNCH 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM LEADING F ROM YOUR PROGRESSIVE V ALUES Commissioner Dave Woodward, Progressive State Network A NEW GE N ER A TIO N O N THE FRO N T LI N ES O F CH ang E 8 YEO NA TIO nal CO N VE N I ng FRIDAY , JUNE 12 SHERATON A TLANTA HOTEL 165 COURTLAND STREET NE, ATLANTA , GA 30303 All events will take place at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel unless otherwise noted.