Rock the Congress: San Francisco & Peninsula: Full Schedule

8:30am PDT

Morning Plenary - With Betty Yee and Donnie Fowler

Abstract: After a welcoming address by Betty Yee, the California State Controller, Donnie Fowler will talk about how Progressives and the Democratic Party are in a mess that did not begin (nor will it end) with Donald Trump. It's been brewing for at least a decade, arguably for more than 50 years if you look at the clever, patient, and hard work that conservatives have been doing around the country. Campaigns, including the ones we're looking at in 2018, are really about choices. How we got to the historically low point we are at now -- with Democrats holding fewer elected offices nationwide than they have since the 1920s -- was a choice. What we do going forward also involves choices. And because no one is really in charge of the progressive movement and the Democratic Party right now, the choices that matter must be made by us.

Speakers

Donnie Fowler

Donnie Fowler, Co-founder of Democracy Labs and CEO of Tech4America, has spent three decades around Silicon Valley and national politics. He worked in Bill Clinton's White House and moved to California in 2001 to work at Silicon Valley's TechNet. He has worked on eight presidential... Read More →

State Controller Betty Yee

Betty T. Yee is an American politician and has served as California State Controller since 2015. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2004 to 2015.

Saturday March 24, 2018 8:30am - 9:45am PDT
0

Auditorium

10:00am PDT

Expanding the Map to Rock All 14

Democrats need to retake 24 seats to flip the House of Representatives, and the path to that victory starts in California. There are 14 California congressional seats held by Republicans who continue to vote against the interests of the state and their constituents. Nationwide, Hillary Clinton won in 22 Congressional Districts currently held by a Republican. Winning the districts that Clinton won will not be enough; we can and must do better. It’s time to expand the map of winnable seats in California. It’s time to Flip the 14. This session will review why it is important to compete in all 14 seats, and review the "lower 7" seats and the strategic opportunities to maximize chances of winning, both short term and long term. We will also discuss how to message in Red districts, and how to build a bench for the long term.

Speakers

Doug Linney

Doug Linney is the owner of The Next Generation, a progressive campaign consulting firm that has run over 150 state and local campaigns. He was Political Director of the California League of Conservation Voters and is currently a Board member. Doug co-founded Flip the 14, a PAC dedicated... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Little Theater

Little Theater

Tag Regional Races

10:00am PDT

Cultivating Sustainable Volunteer Communities

You’ve got great volunteers, but how do you get them to stay? This session will cover the ins and outs of volunteer management: data and record-keeping, orientation and training, engagement and retention; and accountability. You’ll leave with concrete actions you can implement to strengthen your volunteer program, however big or small.

Speakers

Margaret McCarthy

Margaret McCarthy has managed volunteer communities at organizations including 826 Valencia, Spark Program Bay Area, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, where she recently served as Interim Executive Director.

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Room 101

Room 101

Tag Captain, Leader

10:00am PDT

Values-Based Organizing: Knowing Your “Why”

Many Americans have ideas about how to change our country for the better, but why are we not always compelled by them? It’s likely because we don’t always hear the underlying values behind why they care about the change in the first place -- their “why.” Through this training, we will help you identify your own “why,” and practice communicating it in a clear, persuasive way that allows others to connect with your ideas and story.

Speakers

Elizabeth Erickson

Elizabeth Erickson currently works as the Training Director for Organizing for Action. Obsessed with how people learn and grow, she seeks to create experiences for volunteers across the country to be engaged with our democracy. In her free time, she enjoys finding and making good... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Room 102

Room 102

Tag Captain

10:00am PDT

Reaching Latino Voters

CD 10 is 40% Latino; 60,000 Latino voters are unregistered in San Mateo County. State-wide, 59% of unregistered potential voters are Latinos. Why aren't Latinos voting and taking power? How can we engage with, register, and activate Latino voters?

Speakers

Brigitte Davila

Brigitte Davila, J.D., is the President of the Board of Trustees, City College of San Francisco, and Lecturer in the Department of Latino/Latina Studies at SF State University.

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Room 104

Room 104

Tag Leader, Captain, Volunteer, Issues

10:00am PDT

Activism Sampler

Are you somewhat new to political activism? Looking for a way that you can enjoy being effective? Then come to this session and learn about some of the ways that volunteers can have a real impact on elections! It is a wonderful sampler of 1-on-1 activism: Learn about phone banking, text banking, canvassing, postcards, voter registration, and tabling. Find the ones that feel the most comfortable with, and then be sure to practice your new skills to help win elections!

Speakers

Judith Bolker

Judith Bolker has an extensive background in canvassing in California, Nevada and Virginia during all phases of a campaign. She serves on the Steering Committee for Democracy Action, is a Co-Lead for Swing Left San Francisco, and is on the Agenda Committee and Steering Committee for... Read More →

Susan Pfeifer

Agenda Committee, Rock the Congress

Susan Pfeifer is active in Democracy Action SF (also in Marin, & East Ba y), leading volunteers in phone banking and voter registration. She has served as an ele cted delegate from San Francisco's 19th CA Assembly District to the California State Democratic Convention f or the past... Read More →

Sylvia Russell

Sylvia Russell has been a political activist for the past 10 years. She is one of the Leaders and Lead Phone Bank Trainer for Democracy Action, Marin, and is a member of the Marin Leaders Network. Sylvia is also a member of the Central Committee and the San Francisco Steering Committee... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Room 152 - Buccaneer

Room 152 - Buccaneer

Tag Volunteer

10:00am PDT

DACA and Immigration: How to Talk to Voters

The overall goal of this presentation is to provide participants with a simple breakdown of the U.S. electoral system, and the importance and role of civic and voter engagement in the creation of local, state, and national policies that either protect, or further erode, individual rights, particularly those of the estimated 11 million+ undocumented immigrants in the U.S., currently under attack by the Trump administration.
We will give a basic demographic overview of the current eligible voter population, including average voter turn-out and other basic voter demographics locally, at the state, and at the national level. We will discuss the relationship between voter engagement (being a constituent), civic engagement/advocacy, and local, state, and national policy (i.e., laws that impact our everyday lives). And we will give local, state and national examples of how voter/civic engagement has impacted local policies, including DACA, Sanctuary Cities, Universal Legal Representation and other community driven policies/laws.

Speakers

Lariza Dugan-Cuadra

Lariza Dugan-Cuadra is Executive Director of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) of Northern CA, where she is committed to building on CARECEN SF’s 30-plus years of history, responding to the needs of the Central American diaspora, recently arrived immigrants and greater... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Room 210

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Issues

10:00am PDT

Why State Legislatures Matter

Over the past decade, the GOP has invested heavily in Project REDMAP to win state legislative seats, and unfortunately, it has paid off. The GOP has 26 trifecta states (where one party controls both chambers of state government, as well as the state governorship) while Democrats only have eight. In fact, Democrats lost nearly 1,000 state seats between 2008 and 2016.

With control of many state capitols, the GOP instituted gerrymandering and passed voter suppression laws. These in turn have created a vicious cycle of guaranteeing continued dominance on the state level and outsized advantages for U.S. House of Representatives seats, even when registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans. For example, in 2016 in Wisconsin, the GOP won 64 seats in the state assembly vs 35 won by Democrats. Yet an analysis commissioned by AP found that the Republican edge in Wisconsin’s assembly districts only had a 1 in 60,000 probability of occuring by chance. We must fix this imbalance before the Census-driven redistricting after 2020 locks down the gerrymanders for another decade. So come to this session to learn what you can do!

Sister District is committed to flipping or holding chambers blue by re-invigorating grassroots activists to realize the importance of state races. We’ve already help make history in the 2017 election for the Virginia House of Delegates when 13 seats we supported flipped from red to blue. This year, the blue tsunami continues with blue, down-ballot state upsets in Florida, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.

Speakers

Stephanie Engelsen

Stephanie Engelsen is a District Captain with the Sister District Project of San Francisco and co-chair of the Fundraising Committee, which raised over $40,000 for two winning VA legislative candidates in 2017.

Laura Xuereb

Laura Xuereb co-chairs the Sister District Project's phone banking group and has been working to flip state legislatures from red to blue because "it was the only way to stay calm."

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Room 212

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Regional Races, Volunteer, Issues

10:00am PDT

Developing The Coalition’s Foundation

This two-hour session will open with background on why the Coalition Committee formed, its history and mission. Most of the session will be group dialogue to help finalize the Coalition's vision, operating principles, objectives, processes and roles, and current key initiatives: www.norcalbluewave.org and Leadership Lab.

Speakers

Linda Herman

Linda Herman is a facilitator and project manager professionally and brings her leadership skills to the efforts to win elections. She began her activist career the night of Nov 9, 2016. She is the co-founder of Rock the Congress (with Pat Mundy), leads the formation of the RTC coalition... Read More →

Pat Mundy

Patrick Mundy began his activist career by marching against the first Iraq war, helped organize legal resistance to the dismantling of KPFA in 1999, and has done phone-banking and canvassing for any number of progressive campaigns. In the 2016 Democratic Primary, he led teams of canvassers... Read More →

Steve Pierson

Steve Pierson serves as the Swing Left Regional Organizing Coordinator for CA-25 and CA-39. He works to build coalitions of leaders to effectively utilize volunteers, and develop canvassing and volunteer export programs. Steve has also facilitating training workshops in the Southern... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 123

Room 123

Tag Coalition

10:00am PDT

Working Session: Determining The Coalition’s Shared Values

Based upon the current reality of the progressive landscape comprising a host of issue/interest focused groups/initiatives, the scope of this two-hour session is twofold: (1) Participants will explore the principles of effective collaboration essential to the success of building coalitions. Collaboration” is not just about “talking nice”. “Collaboration” is a collection of practices grounded in behavioral principles and shared language. (2) This session will draw upon participants' individual goals as activists, to discover the shared purposes underlying our work. The output of the session will be synthesized with the output of similar sessions that have been and will be conducted at all other Rock the Congress events, to produce a robust set of foundational values for the Coalition.

Speakers

Steve Barber

Steve Barber, of Barber & Gonzales Consulting, is a practitioner, consultant, trainer, facilitator, and author in organizational effectiveness and conflict management. His background in politics includes: successful campaign manager, legislative aide to two State Legislators, executive... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 10:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 154

Room 154

Tag Coalition

11:00am PDT

Major Voter Databases and Campaign Tools

PDI (MOE), NGP VAN, and NationBuilder are the three major voter databases and associated access software available through the DNC, unions, and major activist groups. They can manage voter, donor, volunteer, and membership data for election strategy, communications, and analysis, providing automated fundraising, phone banking lists, canvassing route maps, and much, much more. Focusing on MOE, because that's the official database of the California Democratic Party, this overview, suitable for both campaigners and technologists, discusses the basic capabilities of these software packages, their access to voter lists, coordination among user groups, and the legal considerations and costs for using them in campaigns. (Founded in 1987 and based in California, PDI has built the most comprehensive voter file in California, supporting organizations such as the CDP, DCCC, Labor, and progressive non-profits. It is currently expanding to support progressives in all 50 states.)

Speakers

Gary Brown

Gary Brown is the owner and President of Political Data Inc. (PDI) that develops and manages the MOE system exclusively for the California Democratic Party. (PDI is California’s largest provider of voter data and software to political campaigns and organizations.) Gary has almost... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Little Theater

Little Theater

Tag Tech, Captain, Leader

11:00am PDT

Leading Demonstrations and Rallies

Protests in the street are critical to any real positive change, all the more so for what it will take to drive out the Trump/Pence regime. What is the best time, place, and manner to get your message out to the world? This course will teach you how to galvanize a powerful social movement through mass protest. Street agitators can make an enormous impact. We will discuss why permitted protests are important and why and how you can fight for your permits. Non-permitted protests are also important and you will learn why. We will also discuss how to maintain a peaceful, safe demonstration.

The panel will also discuss how to plan and execute a rally with a Member of Congress (MOC), including details on preparing for the rally, building well researched agendas, getting in touch with the office and scheduling the meeting. We’ll discuss how to reach out to the community to include a diverse group of constituents, how to get them to be active participants, how to research pending legislation and voting records, and how to use resources and experts to prepare. In addition, we will discuss the importance of post-meeting debriefing and sharing the experience with other local/national activists. Holding rallies and lobbying your MOC is an important tool for progressive change.

Speakers

Stephanie Hibbert

Stephanie Hibbert is a member of the steering committee of the SF Bay Area Chapter of Refuse Fascism (refusefascism.org).

Catherine Klein

Katherine Klein, Environmental Scientist, is an IndivisibleSF Group Leader, member of the IndivisibleSF Steering Committee, and facilitator for the Harris Group.

Liliana Soroceanu

Liliana Soroceanu, PhD, is an IndivisibleSF Group Leader and co-facilitator for the Feinstein Group.

Barry Thornton

Barry Thornton is a member of steering committee of the SF Bay Area Chapter of Refuse Fascism, and is also a staff member of Revolution Books, Berkeley.

Saturday March 24, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 101

Room 101

Tag Captain, Leader

11:00am PDT

Media Narrative and Social Media

We'll show attendees how they can collect grassroots video clips, using the examples of how people feel about mass shootings & gun violence. Speakers will then explain what is a psychographic profile and how it's based on a person's values, and how one figures that out. In closing, we'll then discuss how you have to talk in relation to their 'values'.

Speakers

Sarah Hardwick

Shara Hardwick’s specialty is uncovering the psychological motivators behind purchase behavior and using those insights to improve digital marketing campaigns. She leads a team of academics, data scientists and creatives in pioneering real-time customer research and values profiling... Read More →

Deepak Puri

Deepak Puri, cofounder of DemLabs, is a veteran of Silicon Valley and was part of the early teams at Oracle, Netscape and VMware. Deepak specializes in identifying the right technology to solve business needs. He has extensive experience in structuring multi-party licensing deals... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 102

Room 102

Tag Leader, Tech

11:00am PDT

Voter Registration and Tabling

Visibility at public events is an excellent means to attract new volunteers, promote activities of your organization, and to register voters. There are several methods that fall under the term “Visibility”: Tabling, Canvassing, Walking around with clipboards, and setting up Voter Registration tables at events. This session will share handy tips on “Tabling,” including how and where to set up as well as best practices on how to register voters.

Speakers

Susan Pfeifer

Agenda Committee, Rock the Congress

Saturday March 24, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 104

Room 104

Tag Volunteer, Captain

11:00am PDT

Update on CD 10

Hear updates on the field program in California's 10th Congressional District. What are local activist groups and the Democratic Party doing regarding the race? How might the voter contact programs change moving forward? What are the various ways to be involved in this race as an individual or group leader living outside the district? This session is ideal for activists and organizers who are looking to get involved in CA-10 or who are already involved and wish to hear the latest developments. There will be an opportunity for Q&A.

Speakers

Lucia Nunez

Lucia Nuñez (noon-yez) is the Organizing Director in California's Tenth Congressional District for the California Democratic Party. She works to fight against the Trump agenda and hold Republican Representative Jeff Denham accountable by supporting local grassroots efforts and building... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 129

Room 129

Tag Regional Races

11:00am PDT

Effective Listening

In this training, we ground ourselves as listeners. In a recent study, 78% of the United States population indicated they were highly effective listeners, but only a quarter of the people polled could repeat back what was shared. This training focuses on the ability to listen for the underlying values that people try to convey when they speak, and how to build a connection based on shared ideas and beliefs. This is essential for any effective organizing work we do this year.

Speakers

Elizabeth Erickson

Saturday March 24, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 152 - Buccaneer

Room 152 - Buccaneer

Tag Captain, Leader

11:00am PDT

How to Advocate for Sensible Gun Laws

On average, 96 people in the United States fall victim to gun violence each day. This session will focus on how to advocate for the reforms needed to prevent tragedies like the one that occured in Parkland, Florida in February, as well as to stop the gun violence stemming from domestic violence, suicides, and accidental shootings that make up the majority of gun deaths in the United States.

Speakers

Ellen Ginsberg

Saturday March 24, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Room 210

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Issues

12:00pm PDT

Lunch and Afternoon Plenary with Congressman Eric Swalwell

Abstract: Congressman Eric Swalwell from CD 15 will wind up the first half of the day with an inspiring talk to everyone at the Conference before some of us leave to participate in March for our Lives at the Civic Center.

Speakers

Congressman Eric Swalwell

Congressman Eric Swalwell, 37, represents California’s 15th Congressional District, in the East Bay.As co-chairman of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, he helps set the caucus’ policy agenda and oversees committee assignments. As founder and chairman of Future Forum... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
0

Room 210 AND 212

1:40pm PDT

Digital Organizing with Mobilize America (Video Conference)

We will talk about digital organizing, utilizing the Mobilize America platform with grassroots groups and best practices for driving engagement online.

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 2:30pm PDT
Room 102

Room 102

Tag Tech, Leader

1:40pm PDT

Leading Canvassing and Travel Coordination

Advanced training in handling canvassing, volunteer recruitment, management, and retention. Managing a travel program, including travel arrangements and handling common issues with volunteers and voters.

Speakers

Mara Baron

Mara Baron is a Working America Data Administrator and former HRC team member.

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 2:30pm PDT
Room 104

Room 104

Tag Captain, Leader

1:40pm PDT

Update on CD 21 and CD 22

CD 21 and CD 22, two potential red-to-blue congressional districts in the San Joaquin Valley south of San Jose and surrounding (but not including) Fresno, are ripe for a Democratic victory, but only if we work hard. This panel discussion will focus on the issues important to voters in the districts, the groups working to win a blue victory, and what you can do as a volunteer! Come with your questions; we expect a lively Q&A.

Speakers

Jennifer Halsing

Jennifer Halsing works as a CFO for a telecommunications company. She is one of the founding members of Kitchen Table Resistance (KTR), a Swing Left group based in San Leandro. KTR organizes canvassing and voter registration events in CA-21 and is an active member of CA-21 Resistance... Read More →

Mary Trounstine

Mary Trounstine has been an activist for 50 years. She is currently active in Swing Left San Leandro and Sister District CA-13. Mary canvassed in Virginia for Kathy Tran and is currently registering community college students in CA-04 and CA-21.

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 2:30pm PDT
Room 129

Room 129

Tag Regional Races

1:40pm PDT

Introduction to Canvassing

What really works to build the Resistance and win elections? Face to Face Canvassing! Whether you are promoting a candidate, identifying voters and issues or canvassing in support of an issue, a respectful conversation at the door is the best way to engage voters. This training will cover the basics: 1. Know your candidate and know your issues; 2. Be prepared for the walk (what to wear and what to bring with you); 3. Understand the data tools (apps and maps); 4. Understand the types of canvassing and the conversations you'll have at the door. We'll talk about both classical canvassing and the metrics-driven, constantly evaluated approach used by Working America, the developers of the Deep Canvassing Technique to increase voter turnout. At the end of this session you'll feel comfortable with your first time knocking on doors to make a difference!

Speakers

Judith Bolker

Fran Schreiberg

Fran Schreiberg is a volunteer with Working America in the Central Valley and is on the 501(c)(3) board – the Working America Education Fund.

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 2:30pm PDT
Room 212

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Volunteer

1:40pm PDT

Overcoming Voter Disenfranchisement

The discussion will educate the audience on multiple voting suppression tactics such as gerrymandering, voter identification rules, and changes to voter registration rules in key states, and the effects these tactics have had on elections across the country. We will also highlight the tools we need to brandish to ensure voters have access to the polls going forward.

Speakers

Drew Ellsworth

Drew Ellsworth is a lawyer and a District Captain in Sister District SF, working with Theresa Kolish to run the Voter un-Suppression Project.

Theresa Kolish

Theresa Kolish is a lawyer and a District Captain in Sister District SF, working with Drew Ellsworth to run the Voter un-Suppression Project.

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 2:30pm PDT
Room 210

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Issues, Captain, Leader

1:40pm PDT

Deep Canvassing Parts 1 and 2

We’ll close this series of trainings (Value-Based Organizing, Effective Listening, Deep Canvassing) by reviewing proven techniques to hear shared values rather than ideological differences, thereby leading to common ground. We find these techniques particularly helpful when talking to our neighbors who are not actively involved in politics. This training will concentrate on best techniques in talking to voters - on their doorstep or on the phone - when encountering someone who does not agree with your point of view. These two sessions will include practicing Knowing Your Personal “Why” and your Effective Listening skills and prepare you for “hitting the doors” to canvass to win in 2018!

Speakers

Brandon Keating

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 3:30pm PDT
Room 152 - Buccaneer

Room 152 - Buccaneer

Tag Captain

1:40pm PDT

District Status Reports and Coalition Planning Workshop for Targeted Districts

This three-hour session will open with a report from the field on the status, electoral activity, and best practices in Congressional Districts 1, 4, 7, 10, 21. The session then will transition to breakout groups that engage all participants in the development of action plans to support each district.

Speakers

Linda Herman

Kook Huber

Kook Huber has been a volunteer with OFA Contra Costa since 2013, serving as the lead activist for the Affordable Care Act and OFA Fellow Manager. Since January, she has been the lead organizer for the Bay Area CD21 Action Coalition, with the mission to recruit volunteers to support... Read More →

Andrew Kim

Andrew Kim is the Field Director for Flip the 14. He has been a political entrepreneur, building winning campaign and business teams for over ten years. Andrew has recruited, trained, and deployed over 1,000 interns in congressional, gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Currently... Read More →

Steve Pierson

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 123

Room 123

Tag Coalition

1:40pm PDT

Workshop on Coalition Decision-Making

Participants are asked to bring decisions they face in working cross-organizationally to win elections. The first part of the three-hour session will be an overview of the Interest-Based Approach to Decision Making. The majority of the session will give participants an opportunity to practice applying the methodology to their upcoming decisions.

A helpful PREREQUISITE would be the morning session: Working Session: Determining The Coalition’s Shared Values OR attendance at LEADERSHIP LAB 3/17/2018.

Speakers

Steve Barber

Saturday March 24, 2018 1:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 154

Room 154

Tag Coalition

2:40pm PDT

Messaging & Strategic Communications

From packaging your candidate and your campaign for voters to recruiting new volunteers, boosting event attendance, or wrangling earned media opportunities, strategic messaging helps achieve your goals and maximize your impact. This session kicks off with an overview of what good messaging looks like along with the basic elements of a communications strategy. For the bulk of the following time, we’ll drill down to best practices for social media and media relations. You’ll get a crash course on how to establish your online image, and what and when you should post on various platforms. Then learn the dos and don’ts for working with media, plus how to write press releases and pitch them.

Speakers

Emily Gittleman

Emily Gittleman is the Digital Director at 50+1 Strategies, a top Bay Area political consulting firm. There, she leads on digital and social media advertising, email programs, and digital organizing. Emily got her her start in politics on Sen. Cory Booker’s special Senate election... Read More →

Christine Wei

Christine Wei is a former journalist with 10 years of experience in print and digital. She co-founded the media team at Indivisible SF in early 2017 and advises grassroots organizers throughout the Bay Area on their communication strategies. She serves as a communications lead for... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 2:40pm - 3:30pm PDT
Little Theater

Little Theater

Tag Leader, Captain

2:40pm PDT

Introduction to Phone Banking

Phone Banks work! But they work best when you have the tools and know-how before you start. From ID to GOTV calls and understanding the goals at each point of the process, to conquering your fears of the phone and connecting with strangers - training can make you your most powerful advocate. Come learn some tricks of the trade, including: how to make effective calls, the different types of calls and tools used to make them, and why phone banking is one of the best tools available to enable you to help flip the entire country to blue.

Speakers

Juli Uota

Juli Uota has organized phone banks for Democracy Action, oversaw all phone banks at the Hillary for America SF headquarters, the Obama 2012 phone bank on Fillmore, and the Obama 2008 GOTV phone bank on Market Street. Since 2009, Juli has been the Phone Bank Coordinator for the SF... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 2:40pm - 3:30pm PDT
Room 102

Room 102

Tag Volunteer

2:40pm PDT

Nevada Elections - How Can I Help?

In 2018 Democrats will compete in critical races across the United States. Currently, Republicans hold power over the White House, Senate, House, and 33 governorships. This election will help determine who will take the reins and have control over our country. Nevada has been named one of the states that can help wrest control from the Republicans and restore influence to the majority of the American people. To do so, we need to win races for governor, one U.S. Senate seat, and Congressional districts 1, 3, and 4 in Southern Nevada and district 2 in Northern Nevada.

Speakers

Denise Lopez

Denise Lopez, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Washoe County, has worked to promote meaningful civic engagement and political participation of diverse communities. She has extensive experience on national, state, and local electoral campaigns. She is a former candidate... Read More →

Donna West

Donna West, Chair of Clark County Democrats, became politically active as a teenager marching for the Equal Rights Amendment and in support of Roe v. Wade. She now works to elect Democrats up and down the ticket in each election. Donna is an active volunteer with organizations who... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 2:40pm - 3:30pm PDT
Room 129

Room 129

Tag Regional Races

2:40pm PDT

Organizing a Campaign: Strategies and Administration

In this first half of a two-part session, Jay and Adriel will talk through campaign administration, volunteer coordination, and recruitment, and tell you how it all fits together. They will discuss developing departmental goals and workplans, and they’ll introduce a cost-per-vote calculator for planning voter contact methods, including call banking, text banking, and canvassing.Then they’ll give you tech and administrative recommendations, some notes on campaign finance, and high-level information on helpful tools for volunteer-driven campaigns. Participants will leave with the knowledge of how to coordinate the essential functions of a grassroots political campaign.

Speakers

Jay Carmona

Jay Carmona has been a campaigner and strategist since 2000. Jay has worked on dozens of campaigns in a career spanning multiple arenas of the American left, including helping to roll out the world’s first campaigns to divest public pension funds from fossil fuels at 350.org. Jay... Read More →

Adriel Hampton

Adriel Hampton’s consultancy provides strategy, marketing, and branding for progressive political candidates, civic tech companies, and nonprofits. He currently advises state and federal candidate campaigns, including Gayle McLaughlin for California Lt. Governor. In 2009, he was... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 2:40pm - 3:30pm PDT
Room 212

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Leader

2:40pm PDT

Talking to Voters About Issues: ACA/Obamacare Changes, and The Trump Tax Scam

There are two issues that will have impact on the lives of all Californians - as well as most Americans - beginning in 2019. Understanding the basics on how to address these issues can help volunteers when talking to voters for the Mid-Term elections. Led by Susan Pfeifer, a Certified Enrollment Counselor for Covered California, this forum will be a general discussion on simple, basic talking points on these two issues. We’ll start with a brief history of the Affordable Care Act and how changes made by Donald Trump and the Republican congress will impact voters in 2019 and beyond. Then we’ll discuss who really benefits from the Trump Tax Scam, the impacts of the Tax Cuts on the national deficit, and Republican plans to cut social safety net programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security because of the deficit.

Speakers

Susan Pfeifer

Agenda Committee, Rock the Congress

Saturday March 24, 2018 2:40pm - 3:30pm PDT
Room 210

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Issues

3:40pm PDT

Turning Arizona Blue -- The Opportunity Next Door

Arizona is the largest urban Western state that is not yet reliably Democratic - and it’s right next door to California. In fact, the Phoenix metro area (the third largest metro area in the West, with nearly 5 million people) is as close to Los Angeles as is the San Francisco Bay Area.

While we are not yet where we’d like to be, Arizona is making the shift to a more progressive future. And with attention and assistance from our California neighbors, our turn will be all the faster and more stable, allowing us to hold on to the gains we are now making.

In 2016, we ended one-party Republican rule in the Phoenix metro area’s Maricopa County by electing Paul Penzone as Sheriff to defeat Joe Arpaio. In total, we ran 9 Democratic candidates for countywide offices (the most Democrats running for those offices since the 1930s), and 6 of those 9 candidates were elected. In fact, Paul Penzone won parts of Maricopa County that no other Democratic candidate has ever won. Phoenix’s Maricopa County, with over 60 percent of the state’s population, was formerly the stronghold of Republican Arizona. But that is true no longer.

In 2018, Democrats in Arizona are poised to take a U.S. Senate seat and we are likely to win the majority of our U.S. House delegation – 5 of 9 seats.

See how you can help turn Arizona blue - the opportunity with over 7 million people right next door.

Speakers

Alec Bash

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Little Theater

Little Theater

Tag Regional Races

3:40pm PDT

Text Banking and Postcard Writing

We often think of phone banking and canvassing as core organizing tools for volunteers. But what happens when you have volunteers who don't enjoy person-to-person contact, or who aren’t available for long blocks of time during the day or on weekends? In this session, we'll explore two initiatives that are rapidly gaining traction for volunteer toolkits: postcard writing and text banking. In this interactive workshop, you'll learn about the power of these new activism strategies and how they're being used in 2018. You’ll leave with a list of resources to run your own postcard parties and text banks. And you’ll also get to actually write postcards and participate in a text bank. Afterwards, you'll be equipped to start leveraging these methods to maximize your volunteer force and supercharge your group's organizing power.

Speakers

Amy Bayersdorfer

Amy Bayersdorfer is the Strategic Director of Postcards to Voters. We provide addresses and talking points for GOTV postcards supporting progressive candidates. In the past year, our writers have sent over 1 million postcards supporting 60+ candidates in special elections nationwide... Read More →

Jacinth Sohi

Jacinth Sohi is the COO at Rapid Resist, which uses peer-to-peer texting to put the resistance in office. Last year Rapid Resist was the largest peer texting operation in the U.S., edging out Planned Parenthood and MoveOn. Previously, Jacinth was at Uber and Google where she specialized... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 101

Room 101

Tag Captain, Leader, Volunteer

3:40pm PDT

How to Build a Phone Bank Program

You know phone banks work. You know how to make calls. Now you’re ready to take the next step and lead a phone bank. Establishing and running phone banks is more than just location, lingo, and wi-fi. In this session we will focus on: assessing and addressing logistical requirements, different types of calling tools, specifics on campaign approaches, creating a team, backup systems, volunteer management, getting lists, building capacity, and basic problem solving. Get the know-how you need so you and your team can successfully run phone banks, whether for a few volunteers or a thousand.

Speakers

Juli Uota

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 102

Room 102

Tag Captain

3:40pm PDT

Update on CD 21 and CD 22

Speakers

Jennifer Halsing

Mary Trounstine

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 104

Room 104

Tag Regional Races

3:40pm PDT

Update on CD 10

Speakers

Lucia Nunez

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 129

Room 129

Tag Regional Races

3:40pm PDT

Expanding the Map to Rock All 14

Speakers

Doug Linney

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 152 - Buccaneer

Room 152 - Buccaneer

Tag Regional Races

3:40pm PDT

How To Run An Effective Meeting

The session will be focused on sharing simple and effective ways to get the best results from meetings. A few straightforward tools will be shared which can be used by meeting organizers and facilitators to set and attain desired goals. When the tools are applied, meetings will be more productive, participants will be heard and outcomes will be met. People will leave with a sense of time well spent.
The session will present the tools and give all in attendance an opportunity to practice using them. Learn and practice the strategies and leave the session armed and ready to apply them at your next meeting and event.

Speakers

Susan Shain

Susan Shain is co-lead of Swing Left SF and a consultant specializing in leadership and organizational development. Before, she was the CEO of CORO Center for Civic Leadership, where she developed programs for future leaders from diverse constituencies. Prior to CORO, she was Director... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 210

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Leader, Captain

3:40pm PDT

Organizing a Campaign: Volunteer Management and Technologies

In this second half of a two-part session, Jay and Adriel will discuss volunteer recruitment and management, and how administrative systems and technology can facilitate massive, volunteer-led campaigns. They’ll take you through a complete campaign engagement cycle. They’ll show how different tools and platforms fit together, and they’ll give participants a tool for building their own tech infrastructure. This is a platform-neutral workshop.

Speakers

Jay Carmona

Adriel Hampton

Saturday March 24, 2018 3:40pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 212

Room 210 AND 212

Tag Leader, Tech

4:40pm PDT

Closing Plenary and Barnstorming with Dan P. of Pod Save America

Abstract: Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America and Senior Advisor to Barack Obama, will close the day with a talk and what promises to be a fascinating Q&A period!

Speakers

Dan Pfeiffer

Dan served President Obama for eight years as his Communications Director on both the 2008 Campaign and in the White House and finally as Senior Advisor to the President (this may or may not mean that he can’t hold a job).He is the current co-host of Pod Save America and the author... Read More →

Saturday March 24, 2018 4:40pm - 6:00pm PDT
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Auditorium