In today’s political climate, the key organizing principle of uniting people through their values is often forgotten as politicians and activists focus on the issues that divide us. Political “leaders” spend all their time talking about what they will do once elected, but we know true leadership is about enabling our people to do hard things together in the midst of uncertain times. So how do we flip the script?
During this session, we will discuss how transformative organizers communicate on a values-level, whether they are talking to voters, volunteers, or donors. We will brainstorm how our Stories of Self, Us, and Now can be used to build the power needed to get our candidates elected, and then we will practice adapting our own stories to specific campaign scenarios such as knocking on doors, recruiting volunteers, making a fundraising pitch, and others.
Join us on August 16th at 11am Eastern Time as we examine and practice the power of Public Narrative in political campaigns.
Speakers & presenters
Lacey has worked on campaigns since starting as an intern during the 2004 IL Senate primary, where her boss lost to a little known State Senator named Barack Obama. Since then, she has been an Organizer, Compliance Manager, Campaign Manager, Training Director, and Caucus Director for the WV House Democratic Legislative Committee. She left the Caucus in 2021 to start working with Marshall Ganz at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, where she now practices her leadership skills as a Teaching Fellow in Organizing and the Head Teaching Fellow for Public Narrative, and with the National Democratic Training Committee, where she trains organizers and candidates to run for office. When she’s not teaching or training up-and-coming superstars, you might find Lacey taking a yoga class, reading with a cat or dog on her lap, listening to K-pop, or camping with friends in the hills of her home state.
Content & learning points
In this session, you will learn how to tell narratives that enable your community to take action in the face of challenges and to identify sources of hope when there seems to be none.
- Various ways that Public Narrative can be used in political campaigns