Search Sessions

When you send emails, post to social media or write for your organization’s website, are you really capturing what is unique and powerful about your organization? Formal Institutional Voice has got to go—especially online. Through this training, you will develop your organization’s personae so you can authentically connect with supporters and grow your presence. The tools shared in our training aren’t only for organizations or candidates, they can also be applied to your own professional presence online.

Led by: Elana Levin

Join EMILY’s List for a powerful convening of changemakers fighting for reproductive freedom and leading our communities. The event is focused on building our collective power and network to help carry us forward in the fight for change.

Click here to RSVP. RSVP is required to attend this event.

As activists we often get caught up in the perception of progress through busy-ness and neglect the necessity of focus and calm. Our morning flow will ground your day in peace and clarity before diving into the business/busy-ness of the conference. We’ll do light stretching, joint mobility enhancements, breathing and relaxation exercises.

Panelists: Reggie Hubbard

Ready to walk away from your workplace or organizing spaces? Tired of nothing but drama? Just want to do the work you love without constantly being part of interpersonal or organizational conflict? Before giving up on progressive work or dealing with constant burnout, we’ll talk about healthy strategies to deal with conflict before it tears you and your organization apart. We’ll cover what systems to put in place to create healthy environments: everything from transparent reporting mechanisms to avenues for resolving interpersonal and organizational conflicts, including restorative justice practices. You’ll leave with the steps to create healthy cultures where passion and creativity thrive and bullies do not.

Led by: Ana Avendaño, Paula Brantner

Between recent cuts to newsrooms to the COVID-19 pandemic, making news feels harder than ever. In this session, you will learn how to elevate your pitches to press and break through the noise. We’ll start with guiding principles to make a story newsworthy and how to ride the current media moment. Then, we’ll move into practical lessons on how to condense your pitch, what makes the best subject line, when it’s appropriate to follow up or make calls, and more. You’ll come away with a better understanding of what kinds of stories make the news even in the toughest environments and lessons on how to effectively turn those stories into strong pitches.

Led by: Christy Setzer

The most compelling medium to get your message across is video. Whether on TV or online video, live or recorded, your star needs to shine. Will you know what to do when lights go on and the cameras start rolling? We’ll take you through the basics of on-camera appearances—from lighting to clothing, from where to look to how to sit, from how to speak into a mic to how to look into the camera. Our trainers will create an ad hoc studio right here at Netroots Nation and take you through the fundamentals of letting your star shine.

Led by: Arshad Hasan, Vicki Roush

Being a great trainer takes more than just subject matter expertise. It takes an understanding of how adults learn, presentation skills and more. It would be impossible to cover everything one needs to know to be a great trainer in just 90 minutes, but in this session we will lay the groundwork by covering the basics: the anatomy of a training, key differences between virtual and in person training, and a brief discussion about how adults learn and how to use that knowledge to build a great training experience for your trainees.

Led by: Beth Becker

Digital campaigners face a sometimes overwhelming set of choices when they consider digital advertising these days. Facebook/Instagram, YouTube, programmatic, search, local media, paid influencers, enewsletters, internet radio, OTT…where to start, and should you start at all? This interactive session will help participants work through the possibilities and limits of different paid online promotion channels for their own advocacy or electoral campaigns. We’ll start at the strategic level and dig down into the nitty gritty of content, metrics, testing, budgets, feedback loops, internal advocacy and more from there. Expect an interactive discussion, since as a group, we’ll know more than any of us individually.

Led by: Colin Delany

Does this sound like you?

• Your email program has been running for years and it’s a key source of revenue for your organization. 
• You’re tasked with meeting prior records set during the Trump administration and even build on them, but you’ve exhausted your current audience and toolset.
• The only ideas you have left involve glitchy GIFs from 2011. 

In this training, we’ll talk about how to help your organization break out of this plateau by:

• Creating “moments” for digital
• Using ads to bring back those pesky lapsed donors
• Running donor persuasion campaigns
• Building your sustainer relationships
• Engaging your audience visually (not with GIFs from 2011)
• Exploring merch
• Working with your direct mail team
• Winning the case internally for your budget

Catherine Algeri, SVP at Do Big Things and former Sr. Digital Advisor to the Kamala Harris Presidential campaign and Digital Director of the DSCC, will walk through examples and lead brainstorming sessions to help your program reach the next level.

Led by: Catherine Algeri

How many times have you silently thought to yourself, “I just don’t have the energy to do this anymore?” or “The way I/we are doing things just isn’t sustainable?” You are not alone, and there are ways to manage our emotions and stress levels and nourish/resource ourselves as we work toward the society we hope to create. Join certified meditation teacher and movement leader Reggie Hubbard to heartstorm ways we can individually and collectively shift self-destructive norms and change political culture to one that serves our needs as we serve others. This workshop is for anyone seeking ways to change their individual or organizational habits toward ones that are more sustainable and nourishing.

Led by: Reggie Hubbard

The key to building dashboards isn’t data—it’s digital strategy, teamwork, and a bit of coding patience. In this training, we’ll cover how to identify KPIs and metrics from your digital goals, design and code dashboards from your KPI and metrics, and create accessible dashboards everyone wants to use. Knowing how to create dashboards is especially useful for teams who don’t have a lot of capacity to consistently navigate spreadsheets and pivot tables but remain steadfast in making data-driven decisions and seeing how your program is doing in real-time. As part of this session, we’ll demo tools including Cluvio, Figma, Action Network and Action Builder.

Led by: Vanessa Butterworth, Harold Moore

Congrats, you get to hire someone, or even better, a whole bunch of someones! How does one do that, exactly? You know that finding the right person for the job isn’t as simple as posting a job to Indeed and waiting for the candidates to show up. You know that unconscious bias is an issue. You know that you need someone yesterday in the role. So, what does it look like to run a hiring process that centers equity, manages biases, and gives everyone a fair shot, so you can bring the right person or people onto your teams? I’ve been hiring people for years in the progressive movement, and I have a set of principles and practices that I have found work exceptionally well which I’d like to share so we all can hire better.

Led by: Kaytee Ray-Riek

How do you build, sustain, and mobilize a coalition of place-based communities in conjunction with national partners working collectively towards systemic change? What does it look like for national organizations to find and secure funding for local organizations and give them control of the decision-making of that funding? This session will identify strategies on how to center people who have direct impact from the criminal justice and immigration systems in a national coalition space, while achieving policy wins. We will look at roles, communication, and our developing model of success. We will also share our areas of strength and where we are still working to grow better.

Led by: Amber Walker, Linda louise franks

Crisis communications is usually viewed as responding to negative events, but the same principles apply to situations you can leverage to advance your cause. Progressive advocates and candidates can expect that they will have unexpected opportunities to engage in the public conversation and change how people approach their issues. We’ll guide participants through an hour-by-hour crisis of opportunity simulation. Participants will walk through every action they would take in response to the developing story and how they can shape the media narrative.

Led by: Firdaus Arastu, Lenai Johnson

Potential volunteers are online, and we can give them something meaninful to do there. Let’s organize your supporters to deliver your messages and calls to action on social media. This session will teach you how to start a volunteer social media program, instead of treating it as a disconnected tactic. You’ll learn best practices on training volunteers in how to talk to their friends and family about issues or voting. We’ll also go over social media organizing tactics including link dropping, content creation, DM program, dating app organizing and more so that your supporters are ready to mobilize.

Trainers: Theresa Bravo, Sofia Garduno

The time for digital accessibility is now. More than 500 lawsuits were filed in 2021 against companies whose digital accessibility wasn’t in compliance with the law—and nonprofits are not exempt from these lawsuits. Folks with disabilities have $3B in disposable income, and they are inadvertently being turning away by companies not in compliance. It’s time for all organizations to adopt a policy of full digital accessibility. Disability justice is often the last frontier and most often forgotten aspect of DEI work. Let’s change that and create digital spaces that are welcoming to all.

Led by: Jen Frazier

Panelists: Tie Hardy, Kelly Russell, Steve Spohn, Pam Trozp

While many activists rely on Big Tech tools to organize, social media poses an existential threat to democracy. From January 6 to anti-mask protests, the impact of growing radicalization and extremism driven by Big Tech is evident in the U.S. and beyond. As disinformation on social media has spread around the world, we face a growing global crisis of confidence in democratic values spurred by algorithmic pursuit of endless corporate profit. This panel will discuss possible solutions to preserve election integrity beyond just the U.S. elections in 2022, including how we can embrace digital organizing more safely with or without Big Tech’s tools. We must hold Big Tech to account—and to do so, we must recognize realistic alternatives to the current toxic business model.

Led by: Kaili Lambe

Panelists: Rose Lang-Maso, Sofia Ongele, Rafael Shimunov, Brittany Williams

In 2022, it’s not enough to just hire diverse staff: campaigns need to decentralize campaign power so that political movements can exist beyond the bounds of what (oftentimes white, male and wealthy) leaders find relatable. In early 2021, Community Change and Social Currant teamed up to find a way to crack a new model on creator-first social media platforms. Instead of giving more money to established consultants and platforms run by billionaires, we decided to hire our target demographic to actually lead the work. In this panel, TikTok influencers and digital strategists will discuss what went right, what we messed up, and how campaigns can test our model in the midterms and beyond.

Led by: Mikka Kei Macdonald

Panelists: Ellie Artone, Eve Levenson, Ashwath Narayanan

Steel and concrete manufacturing constitute the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions accounting for 30% of U.S. climate pollution. Beyond greenhouse gases, these industries produce highly toxic pollution that causes diseases like cancer and respiratory illnesses in communities near the fencelines of industrial plants. In this panel, we will explore the challenges for the climate justice movement in the context of the production of steel. Experts will walk through campaign strategies including grassroots organizing, media tactics, and lobbying to advocate for U.S. steel producers to become among the cleanest in the world while supporting working class families and communities of color.

Led by: Hebah Kassem

Panelists: Ben Beachy, Anna Fendley, Maralyn O'Brien

Join us for a discussion about the role state and local leaders can play in defending abortion at the state level. We’ll talk about the intersections of abortion rights and voting rights and how we can protect the rights that are slowly being chipped away on the federal level.

Led by: Monique Alcala

Panelists: Emily Cain, Julie Gonzales, Jennifer McClellan

This panel will explore collective liberation and what putting this concept into motion means for power building in our communities. We will hear from Black, Indigenous, and Asian American and Pacific Islander grassroots organizations and community leaders who are linking arms on some of the most pressing issues of our time. We will learn how incorporating all communities into your power building strategy can lead to a new vision of our future.

Led by: Michael Johnson

Panelists: Tiffany Chang, Lycia Maddocks, Colette Pichon Battle, Tammi Tiger

The right to dissent, protest, and engage in participatory local democracy is fundamentally American. These freedoms have been particularly important over the last few years, as more Americans than ever before began taking to the streets to protest racism in America. In response, many conservative state legislatures began a new wave of attacks on democracy and democratic institutions in 2021, resulting in 10 states criminalizing protest and four states banning localities from cutting police budgets. This session will examine this trend through a case study of Florida’s HB1 which passed in 2021 and is currently facing a community-centered legal challenge on behalf of multiple Florida municipalities.

Led by: Katie Belanger

Panelists: Beth Foster, Gail Johnson, Francesca Menes, Melissa Roy

Ever get the sense that Democratic ads aren’t as persuasive as they could be? You’re not wrong, and this panel has the receipts. This will be an overview discussion of the origins, results, and future of a multi-year research and creative project that’s encouraging Democrats make and run paid media that’s more inspiring and effective, and close the five decade advantage in ideas marketing that Republicans have opened up.

Led by: Kristian Ramos

Panelists: Gretchen Barton, Cheryl Contee, Jehmu Greene

Civic Influencers is at the forefront of empowering youth in America to shape the current and future state of democracy. In this caucus, join Civic Influencers as we talk about the issues that are affecting young people in participating in our system and the specific hurdles that the data tells us Is disenfranchising a new generation of voters. Participants will also discuss solutions to increase youth voting, talk about the physical locations in which young people have the chance to make the biggest impact, and discuss the actions we can take to influence  youth voter participation and voter outcomes.

Co Facilitators

• Maxim Thorne, CEO
• Patrick Cokley, Chief of Organizing Advocacy & Learning
• Jaycee Brown, At-Large State Organizer (Pennsylvania)

Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show) returns to Netroots with an in-person version of Feminist Buzzkills Live!, the podcast from her reproductive rights organization Abortion Access Front. Join Lizz and cohosts Moji Alawode-El (writer, activist, marketing guru Abortion Access Front) and Marie Khan (activist and programs director at Midwest Access Coalition) as these hilarious and brilliant experts on all things abortion break down the news from patriarchy’s evil trilogy of misogyny, white supremacy, and anti-abortion extremism. Your Buzzkills will make sense of all the madness with policy experts and leaders in the reproductive health, rights, and justice movements, giving you news you’re not getting in the mainstream media. Or any media. Or really, anywhere—so grab your lunch and meet us for the latest on all things abortion.

Panelists: Moji Alawode-El, Marie Khan, Lizz Winstead

Bring your little one(s) and join us in the Town Square for Progressive Storytime! You and the kiddos can enjoy a reading of beloved books including “No! My First Book of Protest,” “Red, A Crayon’s Story,” “Click Clack Moo,” “A Is for All the Things You Are: A Joyful ABC Book,” and “Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race.”

Led by: Alisa Roost, Eric Roost

Need a break to regroup and recenter? Join us for a mid-day mindfulness moment to reset after the morning sessions and stay grounded headed into the afternoon.

Led by: Reggie Hubbard

How do we hold our ground and go on offense while the right fearmongers around transgender youth, ‘parental rights,’ and Critical Race Theory? By saying what we are for, while exposing their motivations for exploiting divisions and scapegoating. Earlier this year, ASO Communications created and tested new Race Class Gender Narratives (RCGN) — and found that they mobilized our base and neutralized the impact of right-wing attacks with persuadables. In this panel, we’ll hear from communicators and state leaders in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Texas about telling our truths to defeat the latest opposition attempts to divide and conquer and how we can use effective messaging to win in the 2022 midterms and beyond.

Led by: Anat Shenker-Osorio

Panelists: Emmett Schelling, Maki Somosot, Eleonore Wesserle, Ben Wikler

In June, the nation was shocked by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Americans’ long-standing right to abortion by the Court’s issuance of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization opinion. In the weeks following this decision, there have been numerous attempts to further curtail the right to abortion at the state level. These attacks drive home the increased importance of progressive Attorneys General in defending abortion access in their states, including protecting people who travel to their state to seek care, and navigating this new legal landscape. This panel will feature attorneys general and candidates who will speak to their ongoing work to protect the right to abortion.

Led by: Britteny Jenkins

Panelists: Rob Bonta, Keith Ellison, AG Letitia “Tish” James, William Tong

2021 was a difficult election cycle for Democrats nationally, but Pittsburgh made history by electing its first Black mayor in the city history. Also elected were 5 progressive judges, all women, and 3 African-Americans, to the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas. A large part of this success can be attributed to emerging Black-Led progressive organizations that have been collectively building power over the last few years in the wake of the movement for Black lives. With progressive Summer Lee poised to become the first Black women congressperson in Western PA history, hear how these organizers are challenging the establishment and winning.

Led by: Jasiri X

Panelists: Brandi Fisher, Robert Saleem Holbrook, Miracle Jones, Summer Lee

Digital organizing techniques grounded in relational organizing have been key to every recent progressive success. Join us as we show you how GIFs and memes–the shareable, social language of the internet–can carry your message further and better than words alone. Content-based organizing can power up your outreach and engagement work and help you reach more people with content that speaks to their emotions, not just their brains. Using GIFs and memes informed by powerhouses like MoveOn, LCV, Planned Parenthood, and countless grassroots organizers, we’ll help you make your digital organizing more effective and turn your contacts into advocates who spread your message even further.

Led by: Kiley Staufenbeil

Public education has been under attack for the past decade by the tea party. It started with a push for charter schools, transitioned to slashing funding for education, and in the past two years has become an all-out war on curriculum content. Hear from a former school board president who ran, won, and served as a progressive in a municipality that also elected Donald Trump for President. We’ll divide this training into two parts: mobilizing to prevent attacks from the alt-right on our public education systems at the local level; and recruiting, supporting, and electing progressives who will make certain public education remains strong in America.

Trainers: Jason DeAlessi

Understanding how anti-Semitism, anti-Black racism, and xenophobia are connected is critical for our movements to win a future where all of us are safe and free—each are tools used by those who manufacture fear and division to hold onto power. This training will provide insightful analysis and deeply researched messaging tools to help activists and campaigners respond to the increase in anti-Semitism in this country in ways that build our collective safety. How we talk about anti-Semitism is critical—it shapes how we understand it, how we fight it, and how we stop its use for political gain. We’ll share tools for progressives to act in ways that promote solidarity, strengthen our movements, and stay united against bad faith attacks.

Led by: Sharon Goldtzvik, Ginna Green

Rapid response moments can completely change the trajectory of a campaign (electoral or advocacy)—not just for a day or week but for months or years. This training will cover how adjust your workflows, how to follow up, and how to plan for rapid response moments.

Led by: Malinda Frevert

This workshop, led by disinformation researchers from Voto Latino and APIAVote, will show attendees how to incorporate anti-disinformation narratives into their strategic communications and programming plans. We’ll share key findings from our research and actionable strategies to identify the disinformation narratives that may impact your operational objectives. You’ll also learn how to monitor online platforms, identify members of your coalition most vulnerable to disinformation narratives, and create effective counter-disinformation content and programming campaigns. The session will include free and low-cost resources for organizations with limited funds they can dedicate to counter disinformation.

Led by: Liz Lebron, Kyle Van Fleet

Join organizers from People’s Action and Pennsylvania Stands Up to learn how deep canvassing is being used in 2022 to persuade working class conflicted voters in a lasting way, mobilize big grassroots teams, and increase voter turnout. People’s Action is running a nationwide deep canvass in 2022 to build support for progressive solutions in contested midterm elections. In addition to using our deep canvass infrastructure to persuade voters to vote for our candidates, we have been running off cycle issue based deep canvasses on immigration, climate and wages. Deep canvassing continues to be the only voter engagement tactic proven, in experiment after experiment, to have a large persuasive impact that can last for months or longer. Join us and learn how to counteract the fear, prejudice, and despair that poison our communities and build a bigger “we” as a progressive movement. You’ll learn how to apply this approach in your own work to make your conversations with voters as powerful as the moment demands.

Led by: Carrie Santoro

After a wave of consolidation in recent years, many of the most utilized tech and data tools in progressive organizing are now owned by a limited number of corporate and private equity entities. Many have criticized these moves, but an informed public debate has been absent. This diverse panel will examine consolidation in progressive tech and data, understanding why it has come to pass and discussing what the impact on our organizing work is—and might be. This will be a nuanced debate, featuring panelists with deep understandings of these issues from their respective roles across the organizing and tech spaces.

Led by: Ron Knox

Panelists: Kate Gage, Morgan Harper, Hillary Lehr

In 2020, Pennsylvania movement organizations took to the streets to defend democracy. These threats are no longer unique, and the suppression of BIPOC votes are increasingly funded by billionaires and corporations. In 2021, Jeff Yass—bolstered by the state’s lack of campaign finance laws—flooded the Pennsylvania Supreme Court race and local school board races with white supremacist, anti-union agendas. Join us to hear about the next frontier to defend democracy–taking on those directly bankrolling disenfranchisement.

Led by: Arielle Klagsbrun

Panelists: Veronica Coptis, Khari Mosley, Eric Rosso, Bishop Dwayne Royster

Rising authoritarianism demands a credible progressive response that goes beyond slogans. How do we respond to the Uyghur Genocide and the crisis in Ukraine? How do we address the root causes of the global migration crisis and international terrorism? The world looks to the United States for leadership at a time when we no longer believe we should lead or even care. At a moment of national disunity, progressives have an opportunity to articulate a clear answer. Join us to hear from authentic voices regarding the dangers facing indigenous communities abroad and re-envision what a principled U.S. foreign policy looks like and can do for the world.

Led by: Iman Awad

Panelists: Rushan Abbas, Wa'el Alzayat, Natasha Hall

You can use your personal story to change hearts and minds. This is especially true of life-changing experiences. These activists have learned from their personal journeys and then advocated for legislation, mentored other activists, and written and created programs and organizations. They’ve also held elected officials accountable and raised money. They will share what they have learned about using personal stories to change the world—and how you can too, no matter what issue you want to work on.

Led by: Laura Packard

Panelists: Melissa Byrne, Mat Cusick, Elena Hung, Alicia Johnson

The erosion of democracy and rise of support for authoritarianism cannot be disconnected from the rise of economic insecurity and inequality, alongside the increasing adoption of automating technologies and the subsequent decades of stagnant wages. What are the interactions between income and authoritarian support? How can economic security both inoculate democracies against autocracy and empower citizens to engage more in the process of self-government? Is universal basic income a kind of vaccine for a healthy democracy? This session will explore such questions and more through the perspectives of entrepreneurship, academia, government, and grassroots organizing.

Led by: Scott Santens

Panelists: Oliver Beasley, Megan Caska, Michael Goodhart, Conrad Shaw

How can we build the kind of partnerships we need to advance justice together, when so much of what we do is suddenly almost entirely online? In this session we’ll look at how organizations are re-evaluating how they allocate their time and resources so they can build effective coalitions and relationships in a hybrid world. Can policy work be done together asynchronously? What can go right–or wrong–when there’s less true face time? And what can we do about it?

Led by: Wintana Melekin

Panelists: Orlando Jones, Jr., Ashley Robinson, Adam Sweat

Join us for an all-LGBTQIA+ panel to discuss the impact of the Dobbs decision on the LGBTQIA+ community through an intersectional lens.

Led by: Jessica Semler

Panelists: Cori Fraser, Malcolm Kenyatta, La'Tasha D. Mayes

Social media influencer marketing is a critical tool for reaching diverse audiences with authentic messages and calls to action via trusted messengers online. It’s also affordable, scalable, targeted, effective, engaging, and FUN. Brands have known this for years, but progressive organizations are just starting to catch up. Learn how to design, implement and execute a social influencer program that fits your budget and meets your goals.

Led by: Julia McCarthy, Erin Swauger

Every campaign needs a thorough strategy—but how often do we intentionally strategize our relationships with elected officials? Correspondence with decision-makers must be calculated in order to achieve desired policy goals. Learn how to incorporate a communication strategy with decision-makers into your digital advocacy efforts. Know when to show appreciation and when to turn up the heat and use scrappy stunts to gain attention. Join us for a fun presentation on the inside/outside game!

Led by: Ben Etienne, Abbey Piazza

Organizing is hard work. Talking with people, creating relationships, and building leaders is what has, and will continue to, advance our movement. Our challenge is molding these moments into long-term power building opportunities for our communities. This training will cover the basics of the “leaderful” organizing model—including assessments, one-on-ones and more—and how to bring them all together into an effective, power-building organizing program that identifies and develops leaders to help scale progressive movements. We will define 5 core attributes of the organizing and contextualize each one with first-hand stories from real world scenarios.

Led by: Seth Pinckney, Elizabeth Rilley

For most of human history, videos were wide. But now, thanks to smartphones and Mark Zuckerberg, they are increasingly tall. In this training, we’ll go over what you need to know to make exciting, compelling, beautiful, and shareable moving pictures in everybody’s favorite algorithm-pleasing aspect ratio: 9:16.

Led by: John Bollozos, CJ Coyle

This training will empower candidates, advocates, and communicators in a variety of fields to engage in today’s broadly intersectional conversation on immigration. Join us and learn to anticipate right-wing attacks, emotionally counter opposition narratives, and proactively frame the debate. The content is rooted in an unprecedented effort by pro-immigrant communicators to identify proven, people-centered, and powerful messaging lessons from 100+ public opinion studies by 62 organizations since 2016. The bottom line: progressives don’t need to avoid talking about complex issues like immigration in order to win. When we message to meet our audience’s emotional and informational needs, they come along with us.

Led by: Vanessa Michel, Kimberly Serrano

In today’s media environment where digital branding is pervasive, a different strategy needs to be adopted to engage and excite users. One key strategy is building an engaged online community where social media—and your advocates—help spread your messages authentically and organically. We’ll talk about the importance of creating plenty of opportunities for community members to spread the word on your mission once they perform an action, so they can ultimately drive more people back to your petitions, donation asks, and sign-up pages.

Led by: Lori Coleman, Tudor Mihailescu

Climate disinformation reduces our ability to pass climate policy, and we aren’t doing nearly enough to stop climate disinformation from spreading. It is no exaggeration to say we have recently witnessed both the worst climate disinformation and the greatest opportunities to stop it. Using research and case studies from 2021 (Texas power outage, Biden’s April climate plan, and the COP26 conference), this panel will present the challenges disinformation poses the climate movement. We’ll build an evidence base for stronger corporate policies, broader regulation, and transparency. Finally, panelists will discuss the regulatory and legislative paths available to fight climate disinformation head-on.

Led by: Melissa Ryan

Panelists: Allison Fisher, Michael Khoo, Phil Newell, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Inflation is high and people nationwide are feeling the squeeze from the grocery aisles to the gas pump. But the costs of rent, food, and necessities are rising far beyond what’s needed to cover an increased cost of doing business—and greedy corporate profiteers are laughing all the way to the bank with record high profit margins. What’s going on with inflation? What can we do right now to protect workers, families, and small businesses squeezed by high prices? How did a few earnings calls help turn the tide on one of the biggest economic stories of the year? Come find out.

Led by: Rakeen Mabud

Panelists: Genny Castillo, Katy Milani, Noreen Nielsen

This panel will directly test the assumption that leading with and speaking explicitly and directly to black-only issues is a political liability for the Democratic establishment. Join us as we present research and recommendations for engaging Black voters authentically on economic, education, rights, and justice issues during the midterms.

Led by: Kwesi Chappin

Panelists: Risa Brown, Janay Cody, Sian Lewis, W. Mondale Robinson

What really happened in Virginia in 2021? What will progressives in other states learn from this panel that they can use in 2022 elections–especially down ballot? Hot takes abounded in the days and months following GOP victories in Virginia last fall, but this unique panel has the antidote: real facts and hard data. This panel will tear down existing narratives to expose what progressives need to learn for this fall–and beyond.

Led by: Brian Devine

Panelists: Jamaa Bickley-King, Carolyn Fiddler, Jennifer McClellan, Tram Nguyen, Alexsis Rodgers

While it’s no secret this will be a challenging midterm year, we must not lose sight of the tremendous opportunities this year offers as well. In many states and districts—some of them surprising—we have the opportunity to not only hold the line but also expand our gains, particularly downballot. It is critical we commit to and strive for true diversity in this work because state and local candidates are the pipeline for national leaders. This panel brings together organizations that recruit, train, and support candidates, including those in Pennsylvania, for a look at how our movement can and must incorporate racial equity and diversity into our work, what gaps remain unfilled, and challenges and opportunities as we look to the future.

Led by: Lala Wu

Panelists: Monique Alcala, Carrie Santoro, Quentin Savwoir, Oliver Truong

In 2020, after the tragic murder of George Floyd, there was a national demand to defund the police. We heard this reemerge after police officers sat outside of a school in Texas while children were being murdered. But what does it really mean to defund the police and why make such a demand? When we hear “Defund the Police,” one of the things we hear is “They are not the answer.” Join us as we explore alternative responses to public health issues such as homelessness, mental health, drug use/abuse, and violence—and why it is necessary to remove police from these situations.

Led by: Brandi Fisher

Panelists: Ronna Davis-Moore, Robert Saleem Holbrook, Isaiah Thomas, Jasiri X

Want to feel confident talking about abortion with your friends, family, and community members? Come join us! Abortion is a winning issue and we know it’s critical to turn out voters to protect access to care and have the broader conversations necessary in the fight for abortion rights. This training will prepare you to talk about, answer difficult questions, and respond boldly about abortion. There will be guidance, scenario planning, and role playing to empower you in these conversations!

Led by: Beulah Osueke, Breana Ross

In November, Pennsylvanians will cast their votes in hugely contentious contests for governor and U.S. Senate and will vote to send the Commonwealth’s first Black woman to Congress. And a slew of down ballot races could have a major impact on the makeup of the legislature–and its relationship with a new governor. With abortion access and Senate control hanging in the balance, national attention and money is flooding into the races. Hear from progressive leaders and candidates on how they are working to turn out the vote and win—in November and beyond.

Panelists: Cheryl Contee, Mayor Ed Gainey, Helen Gym, Sara Innamorato, Malcolm Kenyatta, Summer Lee, Khari Mosley, W. Mondale Robinson, Lindsey Williams, Jasiri X

After the opening plenary, head up to the Rooftop for a reception to kick off Netroots Nation 2022, complete with live jazz/funk music by Pittsburgh’s own Fusion Illusion. After a busy day of panels and training sessions, connect with old and new friends as you power up with appetizers and drinks provided by Black Male Voter Project.

COVID/venue notes: This is a fully outdoor space.

Join us for what’s become an annual tradition at Netroots Nation! Whether you can’t hold a tune or have ambitions to be on The Voice, we want you on the stage. This event is generously sponsored by ActBlue. Drink tickets and some late evening snacks to get you in the singing mood will be provided. This event will be held at The Standard, located at 947 Penn Ave., just a short walk from the convention center and our HQ hotels.

COVID/venue notes: This is an indoor space with large windows for air flow. Masks required indoors except when actively eating or drinking.

As activists we often get caught up in the perception of progress through busy-ness and neglect the necessity of focus and calm. Our morning flow will ground your day in peace and clarity before diving into the business/busy-ness of the conference. We’ll do light stretching, joint mobility enhancements, breathing and relaxation exercises.

Panelists: Reggie Hubbard

Have your fingers hardened into claws from typing the words “chip in before the deadline?” Have you written the same 250 words 250 times? Are you looking for a way to revitalize an email program that’s lost its variety, or build a program that sparkles with wit, relies on strong narratives, and remains grounded in humanity? At Do Big Things, we’ve often found that an email or piece of content that tells a marvelous story outperforms content that’s just checking the boxes. In this training, we’ll teach you literary devices and techniques to make your email program unforgettable.

Led by: Janani Sreenivasan

Whether your community of supporters is five thousand or five million strong, email remains the most cost-effective and powerful channel at your disposal to inform and engage your base. The fundamentals of how to run a good email program haven’t changed a lot over the years, but new developments—such as Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, and the rise of unethical actors in the fundraising and activism space—are forcing us to develop new strategies. I’ll share lessons learned—about list growth, deliverability, effective messaging, testing, fundraising and more—from more than 17 years experience managing email programs for CREDO Mobile, Bernie 2016, NextGen, Vote.org, Mozilla Foundation and People for the American Way.

Led by: Will Easton

There have been many changes to Facebook in the last year, from the deprioritization of political content to keywordpocalypse and the Apple iOS change in Facebook Ads. This session will look at the biggest changes and share some strategies to bounce back from them.

Led by: Beth Becker

The strength of your volunteer team drives the strength of your effort. And while we all know the importance of skilled and motivated volunteer teams, building, training, and empowering them is both an art and a a science. In this expert-led session you’ll learn best practices for creating a winning team, training them effectively, and measuring their success.

Led by: Jemila Mitchell

Kickstart your mobile engagement strategy or take your current program to the next level to drive your supporters and members to take action. You’ll learn:

• Advanced tips and tricks for mobile advocacy – welcome messages, list building, targeting, testing, message schedules and more
• How to understand cool SMS tactics that speak directly to activism and fundraising outreach – mdata, GOTV, Call Campaigns, Webhooks
• Best practices from advocacy organizations
• Plus, take part in Q&A with Mobile Commons fundraising & advocacy experts

Led by: Michelle Bright, Mark Maldonado, Brittany Riley

Certified meditation teacher and movement leader Reggie Hubbard will use sound bowls and a mellow, grounding gong to hold space for those who need to rest, refresh and relax.

Panelists: Reggie Hubbard

The upcoming “Bootstraps” docuseries follows 11 American households from different regions and walks of life as they participate in a groundbreaking universal basic income experiment. Each household received $1,000/adult/month and $333/child/month for 2.5 years with no strings attached. Would you like to know what they did with it? Come for a sneak peek and a chat with the creators.

Led by: Deia Schlosberg, Conrad Shaw

All eyes are on Pennsylvania’s 2022 election, but it is vital to ensure that progressive power building continues beyond November–all across the state. Pennsylvania is at the forefront of challenges ranging from climate change to the erosion of civil liberties. Our caucus will dig into a variety of issues, map who is doing the work and where and where we want to go next.

We will have a quick overview and then break into discussion groups around key topics. We will ask each group to answer these four questions:
1. Who is doing the work
2. What work is happening in this area?
3. Where is this work happening?
4. What do people need to do this work more effectively?

We look forward to seeing you there!

White Christian Nationalism undergirds the movement for white supremacy in this country. This is neither an ideological issue or Theological but rooted in ontology (one’s sense of being). Until the progressive community has a response to humanity’s need to make meaning of our being we will not win folks to our worldview. WCN is on the ballot in states across the US. We must come together to plan and coordinate ideas, messaging and strategy.

Led by: Bishop Dwayne Royster

This caucus is an identity caucus ONLY for members of the African diaspora. We will revisit our last in person conversations about Blackness not being monolithic, Covid’s impact on our communities and the current challenges facing our communities. This will be a space to network, dance, reconnect, and celebrate the joy that accompanies Blackness, while acknowledging the challenges we face internally, within the progressive community, and in society. In the words of Donnie Hathaway, come be real Black with us.

Real organizing is almost impossible online, but tech can play a key role in supporting organizing through engagement, activation, relationship-building, and mobilizing at scale. We will walk through how organizations and campaigns can design action-based websites and apps, configure CRMs, and utilize advocacy tools to design effective multi-faceted campaigns, addressing needs in communications, mobilizing and organizing. Drawing from experience in more than 500 projects in 39 countries, we put strategies for technology to win progressive power and change in real terms.

Led by: Ned Howey, Mariana Spada

So much has changed in social media this year—from Facebook ads changes to new features on Twitter to the Instagram feed algorithm. Join us for a sightseeing tour of the recent changes to social media platforms–and a conversation about how these changes affect the work we do to build a better world.

Led by: Beth Becker

To win transformative victories, we need to build power in our communities from the ground up, 365 days a year. Relational organizing is not just an electoral buzzword for the most effective voter contact method at our disposal; it is a methodology at the center of how communities create change. From raising sub-minimum wages to getting identification for immigrants to fighting for better garbage collection, groups across the country have been utilizing relational organizing to advocate for issues that have lasting impact on their communities. Come learn how we’ve built people-powered victories through relational organizing—and how you can do it too.

Led by: Dima Alhesan, Cornelius Phelps

Storytelling has always been at the heart of how we relate to each other as people. In today’s digital landscape, we have the power to engage with and learn from the stories of different people—broadening our idea of what it means to live in our world and how we can work together to make it better. In this training, we’ll walk you through the basics of how to use digital tools to amplify your storytelling work and power your organizing efforts. We’ll walk you through every step of the process, from how to find and pick storytellers to how to amplify their voices and create community across social media platforms.

Led by: Megan Simons

When it comes to digital strategies, competitive intelligence and your opposition’s strategies aren’t a secret. Most of their strategies can be found in plain sight because everything in digital has a trail. Through a digital competitive analysis on our opposition, we can learn from their strengths to adapt our own or expose their weaknesses. We can learn where your audiences and targets are most at risk for competitive targeting, mistakes to avoid, which marketing mixes to adapt into your own strategy, and more. In this session, we’ll show you how to leverage available tech to perform your own digital competitive analysis for opposition research.

Led by: Britt Bischoff

Conventionally, writers and creators have tested messages at the last stage of production, such as which color in the background of a mailer or campaign advertisement is most likely to persuade someone of their message. But organizers in every industry need to engage in iterative message development and test throughout the process. In this training, we will share a framework for iterative message testing and work on a real-world example together. Our training will help storytellers develop persuasive messages for any channel: including digital, tv, texting, and peer-to-peer organizing.

Led by: Jason Toups

For over two years, we’ve navigated the transition from in-person to a fully virtual environment. We have adopted new ways to organize and fundraise by employing things like virtual events or peer-to-peer communications that could lead to new voter, supporters, or donors. Nonprofits have had to activate their communities through crises and critical moments by balancing the want to have people on the streets with the need for actions online. And now we face a midterm election where the landscape is shifting yet again. Join us to discuss innovations in technology, organizing, and small-dollar fundraising—and the question on all of our minds: Where do we go from here?

Led by: Michelle Ngwafon

Panelists: Elizabeth Fernandez, CeCe Grant, La'Tasha D. Mayes, Mary Grace Wolf

Our state courts hold tremendous power in our system of government. They can help ensure fair district maps, protect our freedom to vote, and even safeguard reproductive freedom. As state courts have taken center stage in these debates over our essential freedoms, extremist politicians are ramping up their attacks on fair and independent courts, and conservative dark money groups are preparing to dump tens of millions of dollars into state supreme court races this year. Join us to learn what’s at stake in your state and across the country, as state courts and constitutions play an increasingly central role in protecting voting rights and reproductive rights.

Led by: Kirstin Alvanitakis

Panelists: Douglas Keith, Kadida Kenner, Renee Parker Sekander, Melissa Price Kromm

The gun violence epidemic took the lives of 1,752 Pennsylvanians and injured roughly 3,000 more in 2020. Nationally, 45,222 Americans died from firearms in 2020. This public health crisis is destroying families and communities. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Data show that sensible gun safety laws and investment in community-based violence prevention programs are effective at reducing shootings. Join a Pittsburgh-based panel of community leaders and gun violence prevention policy advocates at the state and local levels to discuss the roots of the crisis, the policy solutions, the political landscape, and the path forward for the gun violence prevention movement in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and across the country.

Led by: Josh Fleitman

Panelists: Carolyn Ban, Eileen Smith, Tim Smith

In the last four years, Navigator Research has sought to understand how to craft an economic argument that resonates with a Americans while also dismantling the false conservative economic narrative centered around lower taxes, smaller government, and less regulation. What lessons can progressives learn from public opinion research to guide them towards a winning economic message? What language resonates most with Americans on the economy, and what falls flat? Pollsters, experts, and strategists will provide practical examples of how data can determine progressive economic messaging.

Led by: Rachael Russell

Panelists: Isaiah Bailey, Sarah Baron, Margie Omero

Activists who work to close the racial turnout gap fight disinformation on two fronts: they divert resources to counter false and misleading narratives that target their communities, and they seek greater accountability from the tech platforms where bad actors spread disinformation. This panel brings together a group of experts on the frontlines in the battle against election-related disinformation campaigns that can suppress voter turnout and support for progressive candidates. They will discuss the challenges they face, including the proliferation of non-English disinformation, the research- and policy-based solutions their organizations use to fight back, and share tactics your organization can use to counter disinformation.

Led by: Kyle Van Fleet

Panelists: Rose Lang-Maso, Liz Lebron, Ranada Robinson

States are limiting access to abortion, but anti-abortion centers (also known as crisis pregnancy centers) are proliferating. Under the guise of support for pregnant people, they serve as little more than propaganda centers for the anti-abortion movement, providing minuscule support and diverting millions away from programs that provide actual health care and support. Public funding for these kinds of programs originated in Pennsylvania. Hear from local and national advocates who are dismantling the lies and how to apply the same tactics in your home state.

Led by: Mary Alice Carter

Panelists: Moji Alawode-El, Tara Murtha, Ashley Underwood

Last cycle, campaigns had to shift in-person events like fundraisers, volunteer trainings, and rallies to virtual settings. As we move back to IRL, the benefits of virtual events are too powerful to ignore, but audiences are Zoomed out. This panel will explore how virtual and hybrid events can raise money live from a national audience, increase inclusivity, boost participation, and create viral moments that deliver the high-energy experience we know campaigns can do in person. We’ll gather the events teams behind Bernie Sanders, the WisDems, and some of the biggest success stories in live streams and virtual events to discuss what has proven to be irreplaceable for virtual and hybrid events moving forward.

Led by: Jordan Newman

Panelists: Chuck Engel, Michelle Lim, Jocelyn Macurdy Keatts

Learn how to secure your account, protect your information, and leverage our online safety tools to feel safe and empowered.

Led by: Genelle Adrien, Tracy Rohrbach

When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas are told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech across 33 states in America. “Boycott” traces the impact of state legislation designed to penalize individuals and companies that choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record. A legal thriller with “accidental plaintiffs” at the center of the story, “Boycott” is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation and an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech.

Panelists: Kate Schwartz

Join Pittsburgh United and local allies for a march/rally to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, just a few blocks from the Convention Center, as we collectively demand that UPMC pay what they owe. From Mt. Oliver to Morningside, Pittsburghers believe in caring for their families and leaving things better for generations to come. From teachers to delivery drivers to hospital workers, they volunteer in their communities and with those in need.

But for too long, the biggest landowner and employer in the region has cheated the system—claiming to be a “non-profit” while bringing in billions and not paying what they should in taxes. While many struggled under the crushing weight of a global pandemic, UPMC made record profits—their revenue more than doubled the NFL’s. Yet they refused to pay people the true value of their work.

For years, UPMC has gotten a free ride off, withholding critical resources and costing our communities. UPMC doesn’t own this city. Enough is enough. We’re standing together to demand that UPMC pay what they owe, so that Pittsburgh has funding for the infrastructure, neighborhood investments, schools, and housing that its communities need.

Meet outside the David Lawrence Convention Center at noon and we’ll march together to UPMC starting at 12:10 p.m.

Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show) returns to Netroots with an in-person version of Feminist Buzzkills Live!, the podcast from her reproductive rights organization Abortion Access Front. Join Lizz and cohosts Moji Alawode-El (writer, activist, marketing guru Abortion Access Front) and Marie Khan (activist and programs director at Midwest Access Coalition) as these hilarious and brilliant experts on all things abortion break down the news from patriarchy’s evil trilogy of misogyny, white supremacy, and anti-abortion extremism. Your Buzzkills will make sense of all the madness with policy experts and leaders in the reproductive health, rights, and justice movements, giving you news you’re not getting in the mainstream media. Or any media. Or really, anywhere—so grab your lunch and meet us for the latest on all things abortion.

Panelists: Moji Alawode-El, Marie Khan, Lizz Winstead

Bring your little one(s) and join us in the Town Square for Progressive Storytime! You and the kiddos can enjoy a reading of beloved books including “No! My First Book of Protest,” “Red, A Crayon’s Story,” “Click Clack Moo,” “A Is for All the Things You Are: A Joyful ABC Book,” and “Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race.”

Panelists: Alisa Roost, Eric Roost

Need a break to regroup and recenter? Join us for a mid-day mindfulness moment to reset after the morning sessions and stay grounded headed into the afternoon.

Join the organizers of the Exposing & Surviving Domestic Terrorism and the Crisis of Racism panel for a discussion with survivors of the recent shooting in Buffalo about the challenges survivors face, ways to support them and efforts we can take to end gun violence. Survivors of violence are welcome to join and share their own experiences.

Join labor organizers, leaders, activists and allies for to brainstorm and discuss the current state of the labor movement, challenges and opportunities and how we build power in this election and beyond.

Cannabis prohibition has a storied history of being weaponized to destroy and alienate communities. Now that cannabis consumption is becoming more mainstream and attractive due to its revenue generating capacity,we see powerful companies and policy makers scrambling to exclude those same communities from the growing industry.Come chat with Chelsea (Marijuana Justice) Kwesi (Chappin Consulting), and Brittny (ProCannaPAC) about the twisted and insidious implications that inequitable industry and policies will have for our communities. We will tackle the history of Cannabis Prohibition, the strategic weaponization of cannabis to strip Black and Brown people of their agency and political power, and how we can use our narrative power to reclaim the narratives being told about cannabis.

In order to build a progressive bench in states across the country, we must focus on engaging and training prospective candidates and supporting down-ballot candidates in every cycle. This caucus will bring people together to discuss how to get started and what you can do now.

It is estimated that 13% of Americans have a disability. The importance of the disabled community in elections and organizing can be seen through successful campaigns such as #CripTheVote. Making your organizing or your campaign accessible to disabled people is essential, and it’s also easy to do. First, we will start with a brief history of disabled activism. We’ll discuss lessons learned, talk about inclusive language, and give examples on how you can use that language to make your social media, events, and volunteer opportunities accessible for disabled folks. We will wrap up with a look at resources you can use to make your organizing more accessible.

Led by: Jessica Olson

Engagement rates for nonprofit Instagram posts are over 18 times higher than their posts on Facebook. In this workshop, we’ll learn how to go from engagement to movement-building. We’ll cover best practices for organizing on Instagram, go over case studies such as the Voices of Amazon account—an account that generated over 8,000 worker followers/leads within the span of a few months—and lead participants through a workshop to plan their own IG organizing campaigns. We’ll share templates and workshop creating clear goals, compelling content, and effective workflows. We’ll end with key metrics that organizations should track to make their Instagram organizing even stronger.

Led by: Bianka Nora, Chloe Sigal

In the final month of the 2020 election, VoteAmerica launched a first-of-its-kind inbound Voter Helpline built with an SMS/Slack integration to connect voters in need with trained volunteers around the country to provide timely and necessary information about the voting process. Our hundreds of Voter Helpline volunteers helped get thousands of voters to cast their ballots in only one month successfully. Join us to learn how your organization can leverage the power of inbound texts in 2022 and beyond.

Led by: Debra Cleaver, Brenna Cully

What if you had a massive email list that you could activate to raise thousands of dollars for your favorite candidates or write thousands of letters to Congress or your state legislature for bills that you support? PACs aren’t just for big corporations or lobbying groups—YOU can start one! This training will teach you how to create an online grassroots group with a minimal budget, with a big email list that amplifies your voice.

Led by: Kenton Ngo

You spend so much time writing emails to your supporters, but how can you ensure that your important messages end up in their inbox? Gmail, Yahoo, and other email providers are constantly changing how they sort your emails, and Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection adds new challenges to the deliverability space. Join Action Network’s deliverability expert Amy Chin-Lai to learn how to ensure your emails get to your supporters every time. We’ll cover how email providers determine what’s spam and what isn’t, how algorithms have changed, and how you can test your email program to ensure deliverability.

Led by: Amy Chin-Lai