February 27, 2008

Policy open house tomorrow, Students Speak Out and more

Get involved - and get your kids involved - with the Citizens League ongoing and upcoming policy projects.

Interested in our upcoming water policy and poverty projects? How about legislative redistricting, school funding and property taxes, or long term care? Help us frame these projects at the Policy Open House!

Have a student in the house? Send them to www.StudentsSpeakOut.org to talk about their experiences in schools - and be entered in a raffle to win a Sony camcorder!
Welcome Sean Skibbie!

The Citizens League is pleased to welcome our new office manager and external relations assistant, Sean Skibbie. Sean maintains daily office functions, serves as assistant to Sean Kershaw, and guides current and prospective members on their involvement with the activities of the Citizens League.

Before joining the staff of the Citizens League, Sean served as co-chair of our Energy and the Environment Action Group and worked at Capella University. He lives in North Minneapolis with his wife Vang, daughter Emma and dog Millie.

We are delighted that Sean has joined our team. Be sure to say hello when you see him at an upcoming event!

Apply to serve on the Water Policy Study Committee

This spring, the Citizens League is preparing for a study committee on water policy - and we are starting to recruit members now!

Some of the questions the committee will explore include:
  • What are the demands for water in Minnesota and how are they changing?
  • What major principles should be applied to all water policies?
  • What types of institutions can best address emerging water issues?
  • How can citizens be more meaningfully involved in water policy development and implementation?
The Water Policy Study Committee will meet approximately every other week from the end of May through November 2008. We're looking for members with a wide range of backgrounds - everyone knows something about water! - so apply online.

Click here for more information or to apply to serve on the committee.
Policy Open House

We hope you'll join us for the Policy Open House - and please forward this invitation to your friends and colleagues. It will be a great introduction to the Citizens League!

Thursday, February 28, 2008 (that's tomorrow!)
4:00 - 8:00 p.m.
St. Paul College, 235 Marshall Ave., St. Paul

Join us to find out more about 2008 Citizens League policy agenda - and how you can get involved. The event will feature various policy activities scattered throughout the evening. From transportation policy to student videos, the Open House will give members an opportunity to learn from each other about key issues for the coming year. Information on our current work will be available the whole time, and other Citizens League members and staff will be on hand to talk about this year's policy priorities. The event is free and open to the public. Stop by for half an hour or stay for longer -- doors will be open all evening. Click here to read more about some of the activities and to sign up. (Online registration will close soon, but walk-ins are welcome.)

We need volunteers for the Policy Open House. Volunteers will be needed in several areas, including to help host information tables on various projects, to record summaries of the break-out sessions for posting on the Citizens League website, and just to be on hand to discuss Citizens League projects you've been part of with other attendees. Interested volunteers should contact Annie Levenson-Falk at alevensonfalk [at] citizensleague.org.

Students Speak Out

Last summer, the Citizens League launched www.StudentsSpeakOut.org, a social networking website designed to elevate student voices in education policy conversations. Now, two student leadership groups are using the website to gather stories from other students about their experiences in schools.

One group is focusing on bullying and harassment in schools, and whether an increase in trust between students and teachers could help decrease bullying. The other group is investigating the assumptions people make about alternative school students and how those assumptions impact alternative schools and who attends them.

Students and recent graduates who share their stories on will be entered into a raffle to win a Sony camcorder - so invite your kids and their friends to check it out. More details and full contest rules are at www.StudentsSpeakOut.org.

Important Provisions in the Transportation Bill

The veto override of the transportation finance bill (HF2800) included several provisions that advance the Citizens League policy agenda on transportation, including the Urban Partnership Agreement, and a value capture study. Click here for more information on these provisions and what they mean for Minnesota.

Connect for a Cause and Mental Health Innovations Conference photos

Attended either of these event and want to see the photos, or unable to attend and would like to see what you missed out on? Click this link to see photos from the February 11th Connect for a Cause event where local nonprofits and eager volunteers "got acquainted." Click on this link to see photos from the Mental Health Innovations Conference. This event was the culmination of a several year initiative convened by the Citizens League.

Posted by Annie Levenson-Falk at February 27, 2008 1:10 PM