Progressive Mass is turning 10! Join us for our 2023 annual meeting where we will review accomplishments from the past year, talk about our legislative agenda for the new session, and host a variety of breakout sessions focused on building skills and digging deeper into policy and action.
~Agenda~
1:00 – 1:25: Welcome & Business Segment
1:25 – 1:30: Announcement of new Legislative Agenda
1:35 – 2:20: First round of breakout sessions
- How to Take Action at the City Level, with panelists City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, City Councilor Helen Moon, and City Councilor Vincent Piccirilli
- How to Take Action at the Town Level, with panelists Select Board Member Raul Fernandez, School Committee Member Melissa Pearrow, and Select Board Member Hanna Switlekowski
- Organizing for Progressive Causes in Purple Areas, with panelists State Sen. Becca Rausch, Crisayda Belén (campaign manager for Yes on 4), and Liz Speakman (South Shore coordinator for Yes on 1)
- How to Do Effective Digital Organizing, with panelists Maia Baker (former digital director for Yes on 1), Paul Bologna (former digital director for Ed Markey), and Kaitlyn Solares (former digital director for Yes on 4)
- Next Steps for Improving Democracy in MA, with panelists Vandinika Shukla (advisory board member) and Brittany Buford (managing partner for partnerships) from Partners in Democracy
2:20 – 2:25: Special Guest: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
2:25 – 3:05: Plenary session on Multi-Racial Organizing and Coalition-Building, facilitated by Mystic Valley Progressives co-chair Zayda Ortiz with panelists Carolyn Chou (executive director of the Asian American Resource Workshop), School Committee Member Andre Green, Kristen Halbert (political strategist and community activist), Dálida Rocha (executive director of Renew US and former field director for Yes on 4)
3:05 – 3:50: Second round of breakout sessions
- Fair Share: What We Learned & What’s Next?, with panelists Phineas Baxandall (policy director of Mass Budget) and Shanique Spaulding (executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table)
- A Transformative Bill to Empower Students & Schools to Thrive; Time to Stop State Takeovers, with panelists Jeremy Shenk (member engagement coordinator at AFT-Mass) and Vatsady Sivonxay (executive director of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance)
- Mass Power FORWARD into Climate and Environmental Justice, featuring Claire Karl B.W. Müller (movement builder director at UU Mass Action)
- Toward Housing for All, with panelists Jesse Kanson-Benanav (executive director of Abundant Housing Massachusetts) and Mark Martinez (staff attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute)
- Putting Justice into the Criminal Legal System, featuring Criminal Justice Reform Working Group co-chair Caroline Bays
3:50: Closing & After-party
