This week, our class has put together a number of materials for a Public Relations campaign, including a press kit, for a story that was tied to the college and its students.
I was able to practice a lot of skills that I have learned from this course and from outside life experiences, such as setting tangible goals, assessing those goals, and how to drive traffic to your work.
The biggest lesson from this assignment though, was an affirmation that in our modern context, we all are constantly marketing, or selling ourselves and our products.
Working in the field of Public Relations for just a little while made me realize that while one must sell themselves to be successful, you can also hire people to sell you.
I am just one of many who are unsure of what this work will look like for certain as time progresses, but some safe assumptions are that we will continue to utilize the newest technological advances in order to reach larger audiences.
This work demands that you be seen, and if you do it well, make sure that you are in charge of how people see you. If you are not seen, you simply get left behind in the overwhelming amount of tweets. The next thing you know, your target audience has refreshed the page.
By far, the most important lesson from this project has been, if you want to be successful, people have to see it. So ultimately: go get seen, or hire someone to do that work for you.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Award Finalist Creates First Free Educational Opportunity In Nepal
PRESS RELEASE
Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Award Finalist
Creates First Free Educational Opportunity In Nepal
MaKayla Reed
NEPAL --
Surya Karki was named as one of seven finalists for the
Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards for his
work with Maya Universe Academy.
Maya Universe Academy is the first completely free education institution in Nepal and is run by the community. In exchange for their children’s education, parents have the opportunity to either teach in one of the three schools or to work for the Maya Farms two days each month.
Karki never imagined he’d have much opportunity to further his education. With more than half of the children in Nepal quitting school to go to work abroad for low labour jobs before they reach a lower secondary school level, the educational system in Nepal is in trouble. “I used to be one of the kids that I was going to serve” said Karki.
Karki received the unique opportunity to leave his village to further his education. After returning in 2011, Karki helped to found Maya Universe Academy. Karki sees his involvement with Maya Universe Academy as a way to give back to his community for the opportunities that he has received.
The seven finalists were chosen from 510 entries that came from 90 countries. Karki said that his hope is to increase exposure and support for Maya Universe Academy. On becoming a finalist, Karki said “I can’t believe it personally. It is certainly time for my team to prove to the judges that they took the right decision.”
The winner of the Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards will be announced on January 30, 2014 in London. The selected finalist will receive 50,000 in financial support and special mentoring. The remaining six finalists will receive 10,000 in support and mentoring.
Karki is a Davis United World College Scholar at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine and is expected to graduate in 2016.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Congresswoman Pingree Is ‘Always There’ For Her Constituents
WASHINGTON, DC --
There are pieces of information that most people would know about their elected officials. Congresswoman Pingree represents Maine’s 1st Congressional District and made waves as the first Democratic woman to represent Maine in U.S. House of Representatives. Pingree has three children: Hannah, Cecily, and Asa.
The island of North Haven has a year-round population of about three-hundred fifty people, so Pingrees’ arrival to the island was noticed by all. Chellie had a profound impact on the lives of island residents during her time there, but arguably her impact was felt most by Bauer’s parents. “I knew my parents were reliving their own youth, and they were appalled with what the island was doing. It’s very dear that they loved Chellie dearly. They loved Charlie and Chellie and cared so much for them, thought so much of them. So Chellie’s appearance in their lives meant a lot to them. It was a very mutual relationship there.”
After working for Bauer’s parents, the Pingrees moved to the mainland to further their education. Chellie attended the University of Southern Maine and went on to graduate in the first class of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor in 1979, while Charlie went to boat-building school.
Pingree’s daughter Hannah came back from college to work on the 2002 campaign and was recruited to run for the house district that covered their hometown and parts of Mount Desert Island. Pingree had this to say about her daughter entering politics; “I was really excited, I thought was great. I think she’s a great politician, and someday I’ll be able to retire and she’ll run the world, so I’m very happy.” Hannah would go on to become the Speaker of the House in Maine.
There are pieces of information that most people would know about their elected officials. Congresswoman Pingree represents Maine’s 1st Congressional District and made waves as the first Democratic woman to represent Maine in U.S. House of Representatives. Pingree has three children: Hannah, Cecily, and Asa.
Pingree was first elected in 1992 to the Maine State Senate and went on to win re-election until she was termed out in 2000, becoming the Senate Majority Leader in 1996.
In 2002, Pingree lost the U.S. Senate race to Susan Collins, but obtained 42% of the vote. In 2008, Pingree proceeded to run for the U.S. House of Representatives and won with 55% of the vote. In 2010, Pingree won re-election with 57% of the vote, and won again in 2012 with 65% of the vote. The Congresswoman is running for re-election in 2014.
Despite her professional career, every person has a personal story. The purpose of this profile is to look at the life of Congresswoman Pingree alongside her political career.
Pingree is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota and moved to Maine as a teenager after meeting Charlie Pingree at an Outward Bound program in the midwest. Charlie would go on to marry Chellie, but the two were not married when they first moved to the island of North Haven. Because of their age and marital status, the pair were not greeted well by many island residents.
Congresswoman Pingree talked about her decision to move to North Haven and said “it’s kind of a long story, but the short version is, I had moved to Maine and to the island of North Haven because I had followed a boy.”
Lucie Bauer, a resident of Rockport, spent her summers as a child in North Haven with her parents at their summer home. Bauer remembers when the Pingrees first moved to the island.
“Sometime in the early 1970s, Chellie and Charlie came to the island, no one would offer Chellie work. They were living in a little cabin that had belonged to Charlie’s grandmother. My parents, who were childhood sweethearts, met in their freshman year in high school. They really connected with Charlie and Chellie in this plight and they offered Chellie a job when no one else was offering her a job. Chellie worked for my parents for a couple of years. My parents really, really admired her. As you probably know, she’s extremely bright, very capable and able person. My parents loved this connection and so did Chellie... I think she was probably sixteen or seventeen. They were so brave, the two of them. They did it the hard way.”
Pingree said “the reason I knew Lucie was because I moved to North Haven in about 1971 and there weren’t a lot of jobs available for young women at the time... Lucie’s [parents] offered me a job coming over to their house, I don’t know, six hours a day or something, and I would do everything from cleaning to helping paint storm windows, or whatever other jobs they had available. Both her father and mother had fascinating stories of their lives. They’re no longer around now, but it was a great experience for me just to kind of work for them and get to know them better, it was fun.”
The island of North Haven has a year-round population of about three-hundred fifty people, so Pingrees’ arrival to the island was noticed by all. Chellie had a profound impact on the lives of island residents during her time there, but arguably her impact was felt most by Bauer’s parents. “I knew my parents were reliving their own youth, and they were appalled with what the island was doing. It’s very dear that they loved Chellie dearly. They loved Charlie and Chellie and cared so much for them, thought so much of them. So Chellie’s appearance in their lives meant a lot to them. It was a very mutual relationship there.”
After working for Bauer’s parents, the Pingrees moved to the mainland to further their education. Chellie attended the University of Southern Maine and went on to graduate in the first class of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor in 1979, while Charlie went to boat-building school.
Congresswoman Pingree said “after we lived on the island of North Haven for a couple of years, it was just clear that I was just too young and inexperienced to find any kind of job, and it was a little bit hard to get into farming when I didn’t know enough about it, so I just applied to College of the Atlantic.” Pingree had been up to the college once before when they were in their first years as a pilot project and decided it was where she wanted to go.
The pair returned to the island after school, where Charlie built boats and Chellie did really successful market gardening.
Bauer said “ Then Chellie started a knitting business. She was looking for ways to help island women make money. They developed something called North Island Yarn, which did knitting kits for sweaters, and that was very successful.” Pingree started North Island Yarn in 1981, which expanded and became North Island Designs.
In 1992, Chellie ran for the State Senate and continued in that capacity until she was termed out in 2000. By that time, Bauer says that Chellie was already well versed in activism.
“Chellie served in various capacities on the island. One of them was on the comprehensive planning ... my father was the chair of that committee. I was off teaching at Dartmouth and I would come home to see my folks. Chellie was on the comprehensive planning committee, she was on the board of assessors, and the school board at some point. I was used to her being in island politics, so to speak. Serving as a public servant on the island, and certainly accustomed to her having a real sense of responsibility, trying to see what she could do to help the island economy. That isn’t too big a stretch then when she ran for office. I was very excited when she first ran for office. I thought, ‘wow! This will be great!’ I think enormously highly of her. I felt absolutely delighted that she was running for office and I have been really overjoyed to watch her develop, to watch her just grow, and grow, and grow, and grow.”
Pingree’s daughter Hannah came back from college to work on the 2002 campaign and was recruited to run for the house district that covered their hometown and parts of Mount Desert Island. Pingree had this to say about her daughter entering politics; “I was really excited, I thought was great. I think she’s a great politician, and someday I’ll be able to retire and she’ll run the world, so I’m very happy.” Hannah would go on to become the Speaker of the House in Maine.
During her career in the State Senate, Pingree was selected as an Eisenhower fellow in 1997. Pingree went on to run for the U.S. Senate, and then the U.S. House of Representatives, where she currently resides. Pingree met Donald Sussman in 2007, and the pair became engaged in 2008. In 2011, Pingree and Sussman were married.
On her time in Congress, Pingree said “I’m trilled to be a member of Congress. I’m very lucky to be representing one of the two districts in Maine. Obviously the last couple of years have been a little frustrating in Congress, the Tea Party Republicans have dominated a lot of the activity in the House. A lot of us feel frustrated that we’re not able to do more. But I have been working on agricultural issues and wrote a title for the farm bill, so I got a chance to work on a lot of pieces of the farm bill, put some things in there to help support organic agriculture and sustainable agriculture and make it easier for people to buy food at farmers markets, or low-income people to buy healthy food, so that part has been really great. You kind of just have to find the issues that you can work on, even if it’s a time when Congress is stuck and can’t do anything.”
Bauer is now a constituent of Pingree and is very satisfied with her service. “I’m very pleased with her as a constituent, I know I can count on her. She was one of the greatest supporters of marriage all the way along. She was very involved. When we won in 2012, Chellie was also running at that time. When we won, I came down off the stage in Portland, there was Chellie and her husband. There they were, right there. They had come from her victory party. She won early, but there they were, celebrating with us.”
Pingree has remained true to her issues and constituents steadily, even during her early years in the State Senate.
“Annie and I have been together for twenty years now, and in 1996 we had a commitment ceremony," said Bauer. "There were over one hundred people who came here. Chellie was at that time President of the Maine State Senate and we invited her to come. She came, she was at our commitment ceremony and she came as a friend and the President of the Maine State Senate.”
Pingree has been a long outspoken advocate of rights for the LGBT community, even in the early days, said Bauer.
“When she came to our commitment ceremony, marriage was not on the horizon back then. It was for Annie and me, because that was our own story, our issue. We wanted to be legally married, so we were talking about it, but nobody else was on a national scale. In the state, we were just trying to get non-discrimination at that point, and we still had nine years to go. We lost in 2000 and we lost in 1998, so I’m talking about 1996. So for Chellie to even appear at the commitment ceremony of two women was a really strong thing to do, and a very courageous and bold thing to do.”
On the issue of LGBT rights, Pingree said “Even when I was a State Senator I thought it was important that no one should be discriminated against and everyone should be allowed to marry whoever they love. I’ve always been proud to work on these issues.”
Congresswoman Pingree enjoys the work she has accomplished in Congress and said “I’m actually very happy with what I do. I’m not one of those politicians who’s kind of always looking for the next job. I really like serving in Congress, and the longer you’re there, the more knowledgeable you get about the issues you work on, the more seniority you get. So I hope that I can continue to serve in Congress. I’m on the Agriculture and Appropriations Committee and the Interior Appropriations Committee, and those are great places to work and have a lot of interesting issues on those two committees, from food and farm policy to national parks and the Environmental Protection Agency. So I really like the issues that I work on and I am just hoping that Congress gets a little bit more functional so that we can get a little bit more done.”
Pingree is an established politician from Southern Maine, but what most do not know about elected officials, are aspects of who they are at a deeper human level. To constituents, those aspects matter the most. When their elected officials stand up as a strong advocate for them, constituents feel properly represented.
As the Congresswoman said, “there’s always something to be fixed or to be done, you just have to find a way to go about doing it.” Everyone has a story, and those who share their stories stand out. According to Constituents, Pingree is a stand-out politician with great integrity.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Creating Change Post (Tailored to a Digital Audience)
HOUSTON, Texas --
“I think it’s really big this year. We have I think four-thousand attendees here in Houston,” said Alison Gill, Director of Government Affairs at The Trevor Project about this year’s Creating Change Conference. Gill first attended Creating Change four years ago when it was hosted in Minnesota.
The Texas climate was especially appreciated by Gill, who works in Washington, D.C. “It’s really nice to be down here in the South where the weather is much warmer. It’s really cold in the northeast right now. It’s seventy out here today, so it’s beautiful weather.”
The five-day conference took place at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Services for the hotel are provided by Unite Here, Local twenty-three, a union of workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, laundry and airport industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Many at the conference expressed great excitement to be in Houston to collaborate with other advocates and activists for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Creating Change is hosted annually by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, an organization that has been advocating for equality for forty years.
The Task Force, as it is often called, boasts that Creating Change is the “national conference on LGBT equality. Creating Change is the largest annual gathering of activists, organizers, and leaders in the LGBT movement,” according to the Creating Change Facebook page.
The conference marks its twenty-sixth year in 2014. Many attendees are conference veterans. For some, this is a first, as it is for Ashby Dodge, Crisis Services Director of The Trevor Project. “It’s really diverse, really fun, and good energy. It’s a lot of people and can be overwhelming, although I think it’s spread out very well and it’s very well organized, so it doesn’t seem that overwhelming, but it’s pretty big,” Dodge said.
The licensed social worker has attended several workshops this year on subjects like life empowerment, how to be a trans ally, and intimate partner violence. She is planning on attending a workshop called ‘real talk for sex education.’
A number of HIV-focused groups are said to have been in attendance at Creating Change this year, with the issue being featured pretty prominently.
It was also a fun process for directors of the conference, Sue Hyde and Russell Royball, who said “we laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats!”
The Texas climate was especially appreciated by Gill, who works in Washington, D.C. “It’s really nice to be down here in the South where the weather is much warmer. It’s really cold in the northeast right now. It’s seventy out here today, so it’s beautiful weather.”
The five-day conference took place at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Services for the hotel are provided by Unite Here, Local twenty-three, a union of workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, laundry and airport industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Many at the conference expressed great excitement to be in Houston to collaborate with other advocates and activists for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Creating Change is hosted annually by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, an organization that has been advocating for equality for forty years.
The Task Force, as it is often called, boasts that Creating Change is the “national conference on LGBT equality. Creating Change is the largest annual gathering of activists, organizers, and leaders in the LGBT movement,” according to the Creating Change Facebook page.
The conference marks its twenty-sixth year in 2014. Many attendees are conference veterans. For some, this is a first, as it is for Ashby Dodge, Crisis Services Director of The Trevor Project. “It’s really diverse, really fun, and good energy. It’s a lot of people and can be overwhelming, although I think it’s spread out very well and it’s very well organized, so it doesn’t seem that overwhelming, but it’s pretty big,” Dodge said.
The licensed social worker has attended several workshops this year on subjects like life empowerment, how to be a trans ally, and intimate partner violence. She is planning on attending a workshop called ‘real talk for sex education.’
A number of HIV-focused groups are said to have been in attendance at Creating Change this year, with the issue being featured pretty prominently.
Creating Change offers a great variety of workshops to attendees. A common topic is the role of allies in LGBT community.
While social media has served as a platform for allies to more openly voice their support, this Twitter user emphasizes that allies are needed in the real world, not just in the world of social media, because allies show up for their LGBT counterparts.
Often discussed at Creating Change is the idea of intersectional oppression. While some people feel that it has more prominence than others, participants agree that it is a very important to recognize that oppression felt by the LGBT community extends to other minority groups, and that individuals may have multiple identities.
Dodge said “They’re definitely talking about it and educating about it. I haven’t experienced it happening. I haven’t felt a lot of it happening within the group, but it’s definitely a common subject on everyone’s tongue in different conversations.”
On the subject, Gill said “I do think it has some prominence. I think that’s one of the areas that creating change really tries to breach the forefront, is intersectional oppression. I think that the workshops really focus a lot in that area. They try to make it a really diverse group of workshops that bring that to the forefront. The main speeches may not do that as much, so I think that’s a change, and that’s what Laverne Cox brought to it.”
Laverne Cox is a black transgender woman who provided the opening keynote address at Creating Change. Cox is an actress and advocate who has made an appearance recently on Katie Couric’s show, ‘Katie,’ and stars in the Netflix original series ‘Orange Is The New Black’ where she plays a transgender inmate.
In her speech, Cox said that “justice is just love in public.” Facebook and Twitter were overrun with news about Laverne Cox and her moving speech. Moof Mayeda, Deputy Director of the Academy for Leadership at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force posted this status after Cox’s speech, along with a picture of the two of them.
“Laverne's presence was incredibly powerful for me. She was one of four fierce transgender women of color who spoke at the conference this year. It felt like a much-needed turning point in our movement to be taught and led by these smart, resilient, thoughtful women,” Mayeda said. Posts like this were typical of conference attendees, and everyone wanted a picture with Cox.
The impact of the speech was undeniable. One conference attendee said to me “She gave an amazing speech. I literally cried twice during it, it was very, very powerful. She’s an incredible speaker, I can’t say enough good things about it.”
Another said “It was just unbelievable. It was such an amazing speech. It was so terrific, I can’t even tell you. She really placed an emphasis on trans people and people of color, and the adjustments they make. Making it clear that we have to do more to protect those people and how it’s not acceptable the way society criminalizes them. It was just really amazing.”
These conference attendees were lost for words at times in communicating how Cox’s speech influenced them and their experience at Creating Change.
One conference attendee said that that Cox’s presence at the conference has been a stark contrast from what they have seen in the past.
“I thought it was really great that it shifted the focus. It made it clear where the needs are, urgency, and what needs to be accomplished yet. It’s not what people normally hear about, it’s not marriage equality, it’s not non-discrimination, and everything else. And it’s all great work that’s being done locally that’s not ever emphasized. I find in that way, it’s a turn from the usual narrative.”
Former Communications Director of EqualityMaine, Ian Grady, said “I leave CC energized and refocused on the importance of our movement's work, from marriage to trans* rights to youth and elder issues. It is always empowering to meet with folks who are engaged in the same struggles we are in cities and states across the country.”
Ian said that he is hoping to attend the conference next year.
Young people had a great presence at Creating Change this year and mark the next generation of activists who will take on continuing the movement toward full equality for the LGBT community.
Members of The Trevor Project Youth Advisory Council posed for a picture after the organization featured its first all-day institute that drew an audience of sixty people.
These young people are a few of twenty youth and young adults that serve in a volunteer capacity as a liaison between the national organization and youth nationwide.
Many LGBT elders have embraced the idea that young people are leading the movement, and will be the leaders of tomorrow, and focus on providing the necessary skills that the work will require.
When asked why they attend Creating Change, an attendee said “it’s really great to be able to see people from across the country, advocates, and talk about what our work is, talk about the work that needs to be done and find out what they’re doing, and find out how we can best work together. So for me it’s really about collaboration. Seeing people who work to strengthen the movement and sharing our work. I just love that aspect of this conference.”
With the conference coming to a close, attendees pack their bags and go home with new skills in their ‘toolboxes’ to effect meaningful change in their communities.
Future attendees can look forward to coming back together next year for more collaborative work and skill building.
Friday, February 7, 2014
4,000 are Creating Change in Houston
HOUSTON, Texas --
“I think it’s really big this year. We have I think four-thousand attendees here in Houston,” said Alison Gill, Director of Government Affairs at The Trevor Project about this year’s Creating Change Conference. Gill first attended Creating Change four years ago when it was hosted in Minnesota.
The Texas climate was especially appreciated by Gill, who works in Washington, D.C. “It’s really nice to be down here in the South where the weather is much warmer. It’s really cold in the northeast right now. It’s seventy out here today, so it’s beautiful weather.” The five-day conference took place at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Services for the hotel are provided by Unite Here, Local twenty-three, a union of workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, laundry and airport industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Many at the conference expressed great excitement to be in Houston to collaborate with other advocates and activists for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Creating Change is hosted annually by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, an organization that has been advocating for equality for forty years. The Task Force, as it is often called, boasts that Creating Change is the “national conference on LGBT equality. Creating Change is the largest annual gathering of activists, organizers, and leaders in the LGBT movement,” according to the Creating Change Facebook page.
The conference marks its twenty-sixth year in 2014. Many attendees are conference veterans. For some, this is a first, as it is for Ashby Dodge, Crisis Services Director of The Trevor Project. “It’s really diverse, really fun, and good energy. It’s a lot of people and can be overwhelming, although I think it’s spread out very well and it’s very well organized, so it doesn’t seem that overwhelming, but it’s pretty big,” Dodge said.
The licensed social worker has attended several workshops this year on subjects like life empowerment, how to be a trans ally, and intimate partner violence. She is planning on attending a workshop called ‘real talk for sex education.’ A number of HIV-focused groups are said to have been in attendance at Creating Change this year, with the issue being featured pretty prominently.
Creating Change offers a great variety of workshops to attendees. A common topic is the role of allies in LGBT community. While social media has served as a platform for allies to more openly voice their support, this Twitter user emphasizes that allies are needed in the real world, not just in the world of social media, because allies show up for their LGBT counterparts.
Often discussed at Creating Change is the idea of intersectional oppression. While some people feel that it has more prominence than others, participants agree that it is a very important to recognize that oppression felt by the LGBT community extends to other minority groups, and that individuals may have multiple identities.
Dodge said “They’re definitely talking about it and educating about it. I haven’t experienced it happening. I haven’t felt a lot of it happening within the group, but it’s definitely a common subject on everyone’s tongue in different conversations.”
On the subject, Gill said “I do think it has some prominence. I think that’s one of the areas that creating change really tries to breach the forefront, is intersectional oppression. I think that the workshops really focus a lot in that area. They try to make it a really diverse group of workshops that bring that to the forefront. The main speeches may not do that as much, so I think that’s a change, and that’s what Laverne Cox brought to it.”
Laverne Cox is a black transgender woman who provided the opening keynote address at Creating Change. Cox is an actress and advocate who has made an appearance recently on Katie Couric’s show, ‘Katie,’ and stars in the Netflix original series ‘Orange Is The New Black’ where she plays a transgender inmate.
In her speech, Cox said that “justice is just love in public.” Facebook and Twitter were overrun with news about Laverne Cox and her moving speech.
Moof Mayeda, Deputy Director of the Academy for Leadership at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force posted this status after Cox’s speech, along with a picture of the two of them. “Laverne's presence was incredibly powerful for me. She was one of four fierce transgender women of color who spoke at the conference this year. It felt like a much-needed turning point in our movement to be taught and led by these smart, resilient, thoughtful women,” Mayeda said. Posts like this were typical of conference attendees, and everyone wanted a picture with Cox.
The impact of the speech was undeniable. One conference attendee said to me “She gave an amazing speech. I literally cried twice during it, it was very, very powerful. She’s an incredible speaker, I can’t say enough good things about it.” Another said “It was just unbelievable. It was such an amazing speech. It was so terrific, I can’t even tell you. She really placed an emphasis on trans people and people of color, and the adjustments they make. Making it clear that we have to do more to protect those people and how it’s not acceptable the way society criminalizes them. It was just really amazing.” These conference attendees were lost for words at times in communicating how Cox’s speech influenced them and their experience at Creating Change.
One conference attendee said that that Cox’s presence at the conference has been a stark contrast from what they have seen in the past. “I thought it was really great that it shifted the focus. It made it clear where the needs are, urgency, and what needs to be accomplished yet. It’s not what people normally hear about, it’s not marriage equality, it’s not non-discrimination, and everything else. And it’s all great work that’s being done locally that’s not ever emphasized. I find in that way, it’s a turn from the usual narrative.” All attendees I spoke with were very satisfied with their experience at Creating Change this year.
Young people had a great presence at Creating Change this year and mark the next generation of activists who will take on continuing the movement toward full equality for the LGBT community.
Members of The Trevor Project Youth Advisory Council posed for a picture after the organization featured its first all-day institute that drew an audience of sixty people. These young people are a few of twenty youth and young adults that serve in a volunteer capacity as a liaison between the national organization and youth nationwide. Many LGBT elders have embraced the idea that young people are leading the movement, and will be the leaders of tomorrow, and focus on providing the necessary skills that the work will require.
When asked why they attend Creating Change, an attendee said “it’s really great to be able to see people from across the country, advocates, and talk about what our work is, talk about the work that needs to be done and find out what they’re doing, and find out how we can best work together. So for me it’s really about collaboration. Seeing people who work to strengthen the movement and sharing our work. I just love that aspect of this conference.”
It was also a fun process for directors of the conference, Sue Hyde and Russell Royball, who said “we laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats!”
With the conference coming to a close, attendees pack their bags and go home with new skills in their ‘toolboxes’ to effect meaningful change in their communities. Future attendees can look forward to coming back together next year for more collaborative work and skill building.
“I think it’s really big this year. We have I think four-thousand attendees here in Houston,” said Alison Gill, Director of Government Affairs at The Trevor Project about this year’s Creating Change Conference. Gill first attended Creating Change four years ago when it was hosted in Minnesota.
The Texas climate was especially appreciated by Gill, who works in Washington, D.C. “It’s really nice to be down here in the South where the weather is much warmer. It’s really cold in the northeast right now. It’s seventy out here today, so it’s beautiful weather.” The five-day conference took place at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Services for the hotel are provided by Unite Here, Local twenty-three, a union of workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, laundry and airport industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Many at the conference expressed great excitement to be in Houston to collaborate with other advocates and activists for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Creating Change is hosted annually by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, an organization that has been advocating for equality for forty years. The Task Force, as it is often called, boasts that Creating Change is the “national conference on LGBT equality. Creating Change is the largest annual gathering of activists, organizers, and leaders in the LGBT movement,” according to the Creating Change Facebook page.
The conference marks its twenty-sixth year in 2014. Many attendees are conference veterans. For some, this is a first, as it is for Ashby Dodge, Crisis Services Director of The Trevor Project. “It’s really diverse, really fun, and good energy. It’s a lot of people and can be overwhelming, although I think it’s spread out very well and it’s very well organized, so it doesn’t seem that overwhelming, but it’s pretty big,” Dodge said.
The licensed social worker has attended several workshops this year on subjects like life empowerment, how to be a trans ally, and intimate partner violence. She is planning on attending a workshop called ‘real talk for sex education.’ A number of HIV-focused groups are said to have been in attendance at Creating Change this year, with the issue being featured pretty prominently.
Creating Change offers a great variety of workshops to attendees. A common topic is the role of allies in LGBT community. While social media has served as a platform for allies to more openly voice their support, this Twitter user emphasizes that allies are needed in the real world, not just in the world of social media, because allies show up for their LGBT counterparts.
Often discussed at Creating Change is the idea of intersectional oppression. While some people feel that it has more prominence than others, participants agree that it is a very important to recognize that oppression felt by the LGBT community extends to other minority groups, and that individuals may have multiple identities.
Dodge said “They’re definitely talking about it and educating about it. I haven’t experienced it happening. I haven’t felt a lot of it happening within the group, but it’s definitely a common subject on everyone’s tongue in different conversations.”
On the subject, Gill said “I do think it has some prominence. I think that’s one of the areas that creating change really tries to breach the forefront, is intersectional oppression. I think that the workshops really focus a lot in that area. They try to make it a really diverse group of workshops that bring that to the forefront. The main speeches may not do that as much, so I think that’s a change, and that’s what Laverne Cox brought to it.”
Laverne Cox is a black transgender woman who provided the opening keynote address at Creating Change. Cox is an actress and advocate who has made an appearance recently on Katie Couric’s show, ‘Katie,’ and stars in the Netflix original series ‘Orange Is The New Black’ where she plays a transgender inmate.
Moof Mayeda, Deputy Director of the Academy for Leadership at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force posted this status after Cox’s speech, along with a picture of the two of them. “Laverne's presence was incredibly powerful for me. She was one of four fierce transgender women of color who spoke at the conference this year. It felt like a much-needed turning point in our movement to be taught and led by these smart, resilient, thoughtful women,” Mayeda said. Posts like this were typical of conference attendees, and everyone wanted a picture with Cox.
The impact of the speech was undeniable. One conference attendee said to me “She gave an amazing speech. I literally cried twice during it, it was very, very powerful. She’s an incredible speaker, I can’t say enough good things about it.” Another said “It was just unbelievable. It was such an amazing speech. It was so terrific, I can’t even tell you. She really placed an emphasis on trans people and people of color, and the adjustments they make. Making it clear that we have to do more to protect those people and how it’s not acceptable the way society criminalizes them. It was just really amazing.” These conference attendees were lost for words at times in communicating how Cox’s speech influenced them and their experience at Creating Change.
One conference attendee said that that Cox’s presence at the conference has been a stark contrast from what they have seen in the past. “I thought it was really great that it shifted the focus. It made it clear where the needs are, urgency, and what needs to be accomplished yet. It’s not what people normally hear about, it’s not marriage equality, it’s not non-discrimination, and everything else. And it’s all great work that’s being done locally that’s not ever emphasized. I find in that way, it’s a turn from the usual narrative.” All attendees I spoke with were very satisfied with their experience at Creating Change this year.
Former Communications Director of EqualityMaine, Ian Grady, said “I leave CC energized and refocused on the importance of our movement's work, from marriage to trans* rights to youth and elder issues. It is always empowering to meet with folks who are engaged in the same struggles we are in cities and states across the country.” Ian said that he is hoping to attend the conference next year.
Members of The Trevor Project Youth Advisory Council posed for a picture after the organization featured its first all-day institute that drew an audience of sixty people. These young people are a few of twenty youth and young adults that serve in a volunteer capacity as a liaison between the national organization and youth nationwide. Many LGBT elders have embraced the idea that young people are leading the movement, and will be the leaders of tomorrow, and focus on providing the necessary skills that the work will require.
When asked why they attend Creating Change, an attendee said “it’s really great to be able to see people from across the country, advocates, and talk about what our work is, talk about the work that needs to be done and find out what they’re doing, and find out how we can best work together. So for me it’s really about collaboration. Seeing people who work to strengthen the movement and sharing our work. I just love that aspect of this conference.”
It was also a fun process for directors of the conference, Sue Hyde and Russell Royball, who said “we laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats!”
With the conference coming to a close, attendees pack their bags and go home with new skills in their ‘toolboxes’ to effect meaningful change in their communities. Future attendees can look forward to coming back together next year for more collaborative work and skill building.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Social Media & Journalism
The world is progressively more fast-paced and everything is online. For those who don't have a handle on computers, watch out! People are now using their mobile devices to access e-mails, social media sites, the news, etc. Whew! That's a lot to take in.
Journalism has its roots in the printed media, and many consumers still appreciate the pleasing aesthetics of flipping the pages of a newspaper. News Aesthetics explores what components of newspapers and online news media are appealing to consumers. A common thread is infographics. Infographics communicate data to consumers in a simplistic format that is pleasing to the eye. Rather than reading about a study, consumers can easily digest the information with ease.
A thread in this shift from print media to online media is speed. With a fast-paced world comes fast-paced people. Rather than spending evenings sitting in a chair to read the newspaper, people are consuming the news during their commute, throughout the day, in fast snippets.
If a journalist looks to remain viable in the 21st Century, they too must conform. Whether or not this shift is sustainable, or a good direction for journalism, remains to be seen. However, journalists can either conform and move with the wave, or have it crash upon them and getting left behind.
The fastest means to communicate stories is Twitter. Twitter allows 140 characters worth of text only, forcing a concise message to advertise their story. Twitter ensures that your story gets out there, but keep in mind that with the speed, it is bogged down in the constant stream. In order to keep up, you need to maintain it rather frequently.
Social media requires more time and attention of journalists, forcing fast stories and overall more work to maintain relevance. Social media does provides a new platform for journalists to communicate to a wider audience in some cases, so that ever-evolving field moves from a local audience to a more global audience.
Social media is going to continue to exist and assert its dominance. For journalism to take advantage of this new platform is a smart move, while at the same time changing the old art forever, which is the consequence. My parting words are that journalists should remain mindful of the changes that are happening in their field and in the world; social media can either be viewed as inhibiting force, or as a great tool. It's up to the journalist to decide if they want to walk with, or against the wind.
Journalism has its roots in the printed media, and many consumers still appreciate the pleasing aesthetics of flipping the pages of a newspaper. News Aesthetics explores what components of newspapers and online news media are appealing to consumers. A common thread is infographics. Infographics communicate data to consumers in a simplistic format that is pleasing to the eye. Rather than reading about a study, consumers can easily digest the information with ease.
A thread in this shift from print media to online media is speed. With a fast-paced world comes fast-paced people. Rather than spending evenings sitting in a chair to read the newspaper, people are consuming the news during their commute, throughout the day, in fast snippets.
If a journalist looks to remain viable in the 21st Century, they too must conform. Whether or not this shift is sustainable, or a good direction for journalism, remains to be seen. However, journalists can either conform and move with the wave, or have it crash upon them and getting left behind.
The fastest means to communicate stories is Twitter. Twitter allows 140 characters worth of text only, forcing a concise message to advertise their story. Twitter ensures that your story gets out there, but keep in mind that with the speed, it is bogged down in the constant stream. In order to keep up, you need to maintain it rather frequently.
Social media requires more time and attention of journalists, forcing fast stories and overall more work to maintain relevance. Social media does provides a new platform for journalists to communicate to a wider audience in some cases, so that ever-evolving field moves from a local audience to a more global audience.
Social media is going to continue to exist and assert its dominance. For journalism to take advantage of this new platform is a smart move, while at the same time changing the old art forever, which is the consequence. My parting words are that journalists should remain mindful of the changes that are happening in their field and in the world; social media can either be viewed as inhibiting force, or as a great tool. It's up to the journalist to decide if they want to walk with, or against the wind.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Ice Storm in Houston Delays Creating Change Participants
An ice storm spanning from Pittsburgh to Houston has delayed those in the Northeast planning to attend the annual Creating Change conference. Hundreds of flights were cancelled for Tuesday, an ideal flying day for conference participants.
Creating Change is scheduled to begin on Wednesday and will go through the weekend. Many participants who have not already flown to Houston will be forced to miss workshop sessions for Wednesday. This change in scheduling is an inconvenience for participants, but for those coming from the Northeast, they'll know exactly how to handle the ice and snow that has overwhelmed Houston.
For those who are not used to the inclement weather that has descended upon Texas, it is advised to look to your friends from colder parts of the country for some tips on how to stay warm.
Creating Change is an annual conference on organizing and building skills for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community and their allies. The conference is organized by the Gay & Lesbian Task Force and draws in roughly 3,500 people every year from across the United States.
Creating Change is scheduled to begin on Wednesday and will go through the weekend. Many participants who have not already flown to Houston will be forced to miss workshop sessions for Wednesday. This change in scheduling is an inconvenience for participants, but for those coming from the Northeast, they'll know exactly how to handle the ice and snow that has overwhelmed Houston.
For those who are not used to the inclement weather that has descended upon Texas, it is advised to look to your friends from colder parts of the country for some tips on how to stay warm.
Creating Change is an annual conference on organizing and building skills for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community and their allies. The conference is organized by the Gay & Lesbian Task Force and draws in roughly 3,500 people every year from across the United States.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Ethics: I always find a way to mention Scalia
Hello friends,
For Monday we have been asked to respond to the following prompt:
"For at least a year, reporters on your paper have heard rumors that a retirement home is negligent in its care of the elderly. Your editor asks you to get a job there as a janitor and to report what you find. What would be your response, and why?"
Okay. So this is quite the theoretical question and feels like taking a major turn from what is normally a political blog. Moderation is key, right?
Alright, so the way I look at this, it makes sense to take the janitorial job in order to try and uncover potential negligence.
The alternative to uncovering negligence would be the preferable result, and would only result in an awkward exchange where I would have to discontinue my janitorial duties and quit. That doesn't sound like it would be too bad in the scheme of things.
The ideal situation would be to not have a story to write at all. These ongoing rumors would either be validated, or would be discontinued, and that would benefit the entire community to end speculation.
If negligence were occurring, the story would benefit those in the retirement community that are being mistreated.
Taking action by accepting the assignment using the potter box is how that determination could (and should) be made. Combining values, principles, and loyalties to determine judgment result in the right decision for the individual in the situation. Because I am speaking from my position, I can only say that taking action is what I determine to be the right thing.
I would like to utilize situation ethics to say that this story is very situational and can justify taking action. In this assignment by applying the ethics of final ends, which I feel is appropriate, taking action by accepting the assignment from the editor and posing as a janitor in the retirement home would be the best course of action.
I reject the idea that an absolutist approach should be taken in this, or any situation. If I learned one thing from constitutional law, it is that there are no absolutes. Not even Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia can pull off trying to be an absolutist, although he will continue to claim that he is despite the facts against him that prove otherwise.
For Monday we have been asked to respond to the following prompt:
"For at least a year, reporters on your paper have heard rumors that a retirement home is negligent in its care of the elderly. Your editor asks you to get a job there as a janitor and to report what you find. What would be your response, and why?"
Okay. So this is quite the theoretical question and feels like taking a major turn from what is normally a political blog. Moderation is key, right?
Alright, so the way I look at this, it makes sense to take the janitorial job in order to try and uncover potential negligence.
The alternative to uncovering negligence would be the preferable result, and would only result in an awkward exchange where I would have to discontinue my janitorial duties and quit. That doesn't sound like it would be too bad in the scheme of things.
The ideal situation would be to not have a story to write at all. These ongoing rumors would either be validated, or would be discontinued, and that would benefit the entire community to end speculation.
If negligence were occurring, the story would benefit those in the retirement community that are being mistreated.
Taking action by accepting the assignment using the potter box is how that determination could (and should) be made. Combining values, principles, and loyalties to determine judgment result in the right decision for the individual in the situation. Because I am speaking from my position, I can only say that taking action is what I determine to be the right thing.
I would like to utilize situation ethics to say that this story is very situational and can justify taking action. In this assignment by applying the ethics of final ends, which I feel is appropriate, taking action by accepting the assignment from the editor and posing as a janitor in the retirement home would be the best course of action.
I reject the idea that an absolutist approach should be taken in this, or any situation. If I learned one thing from constitutional law, it is that there are no absolutes. Not even Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia can pull off trying to be an absolutist, although he will continue to claim that he is despite the facts against him that prove otherwise.
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