Grassroots Organizing in 2020: A New Era Begins
Session Type(s): Panel
Starts: Friday, Aug. 14 11:00 AM (Eastern)
Ends: Friday, Aug. 14 11:50 AM (Eastern)
Small-dollar donors have proved that grassroots fundraising *is* organizing, and this movement is here to stay. In the midst of a momentous election cycle, small-dollar donors are making history, fueling campaigns and organizations at every level by already contributing more than $2 billion to the candidates and causes they care about. Hear from digital organizing practitioners and movement makers about how digital organizing is driving the progressive movement at an unprecedented level and creating lasting changes to how we organize. We’ll reflect on our successes as a movement and share case studies demonstrating why small-dollar donors are more essential than ever to building a people-powered movement. This panel is sponsored by ActBlue.
Moderator
Panelists
Hillary Holley
Hillary Holley is the Executive Director of Care in Action, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to fighting for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women of color and immigrant women. Hillary is a proud Georgia native who has dedicated over half of her 30 years working in Georgia’s movement spaces, including helping to launch and working on the historic 2018 Stacey Abrams campaign. Prior to joining Care in Action, Hillary served as Director of Organizing and Strategic Advisor at Fair Fight Action, winning Georgia in 2020 and installing a Democratic federal trifecta. Hillary also serves on the board of Emerge Georgia
Patrick Stevenson
Patrick Stevenson serves as the Chief Mobilization Officer at the Democratic National Committee, overseeing the party’s digital and marketing operations. He has raised over $200 million via grassroots channels for the DNC during his tenure.
Patrick worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2012 presidential campaign as the Director of State Digital Programs, where he hired and oversaw over 80 staffers across the country. His first role in national politics was as an Email Writer on the 2012 Obama campaign, helping raise a record-setting $690 million online.
Patrick is from Pittsburgh, and graduated with a degree in English and History from Xavier University, where he served as editor-in-chief and publisher of the student newspaper.
Jocelyn Strauss
Jocelyn Strauss is a Senior Client Success Manager for Mobilize, working with electoral, advocacy, and union clients. She has a background in Gun Violence Prevention for six and a half years, working with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America as an Organizing Manager building state chapters from the ground up, and Everytown for Gun Safety, as a Senior Data Manager, building a P2P texting program, a data training program a Learning Management System, as well as developing Virtual Distributed Organizing program, building out c3 organizing programs, and supporting chapter growth and volunteer management.
Jocelyn is a native of Tucson, Arizona, but currently calls Washington, DC home with her husband, two kids, two dogs, and cat. She has a background in cultural and medical anthropology, with a BA from the University of Arizona. She has a passion for movement building and empowering volunteers to become leaders in their community, and building communities.