Jamal Watkins

Jamal R. Watkins, a native of California and resident of Washington, DC, serves as the National Outreach Director for the AFL-CIO. In his role he is responsible for strengthening and growing National strategic partnerships with the labor movement across a range of priority campaigns and program work.

Prior to this Jamal held several leadership positions including:
• Deputy National Political Director at Service Employees International Union (SEIU);
• Chief of Staff at the Center for Social Inclusion (CSI);
• Managing Director of Campaigns for the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization – Amnesty International (AIUSA); and,
• Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director of City Year Los Angeles (CYLA), which is a national non-profit AmeriCorps organization.

Mr. Watkins has worked in several distinct areas including politics, campaigns, communications, education, human resources and fundraising playing key roles as a National Recruiter for the DNC, Fundraising Canvass Director for Grassroots Campaign, Florida State Director of the Young Voter Alliance during the 2004 Presidential Election, Regional Coordinator on the “Yes on Proposition 79” Campaign for Health Access of California, and most recently developing a voter mobilization and engagement field strategy for the 2014 mid-term election cycle.

Jamal earned his BA in Philosophy at Stanford University with a minor in Political Science and completed graduate level work at New York University for Speech and Interpersonal Communication. As a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated his motto is “onward and upward.”

Other sessions: The Truth and Racial Origin of Right-to-Work Laws

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