Rock The Congress: East Bay: Full Schedule

9:00am PDT

Welcome & Land Acknowledgment

Saturday September 7, 2019 9:00am - 9:20am PDT
Berkeley City College Auditorium 2050 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA

9:20am PDT

Opening Keynote: Aimee Allison of She the People

Speakers

Aimee Allison

Founder, She the People

Aimee Allison is the Founder of She the People, the national network elevating the political voice and power of women of color. By bringing together the most promising women of color candidates, strategists, and movement leaders, Ms. Allison is one of the primary architects for the... Read More →

Saturday September 7, 2019 9:20am - 9:50am PDT
Berkeley City College Auditorium 2050 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA

9:50am PDT

Break

Saturday September 7, 2019 9:50am - 10:00am PDT

10:00am PDT

National Group Strategies to Win in 2020

Objectives of the morning panel discussion are to deepen awareness and understanding about: 1) key strategies being employed by national activist organizations -- some electorally-focused, and some issue-focused -- to advance the progressive agenda; 2) how issue-focused and electorally-focused organizations collaborate to achieve shared progressive goals; 3) opportunities for new and/or more powerful synergies; and 4) next steps for local activists on the ground to participate in the work of these organizations

Moderators

Shawn Kumagai

City Councilmember, City of Dublin

Shawn Kumagai is a Dublin City Councilmember, Navy Reserve Master Chief, and District Director for Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan (AD-16). He also serves as a delegate to the California Democratic Party (CDP), as the Northern Chair for the CDP API Caucus, as a Board Member for APAPA Tri-Valley... Read More →

Speakers

Fran Schreiberg

Fran Schreiberg is Of Counsel at Kazan McClain Satterley & Greenwood in Oakland. The firm represents asbestos victims nationally. She is a volunteer with Working America and on the 501c3 Working America Education Fund board. Working America is the community union of the AFL-CIO... Read More →

Colleen McCarthy

Northern California Field Director, Swing Left

Colleen McCarthy is the Northern California Field Director for Swing Left. She has been a long time volunteer and leader in nonprofits, with a specific focus on organizations that engage volunteers in activism. More recently, Colleen joined Swing Left to provide support for around... Read More →

Laurie Wolfe

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Laurie Wolfe has been a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America since September 2015, serving in roles focusing on volunteers and membership, and is currently the "Data Lead" for the Diablo Valley group. Moms Demand has 6 million supporters, with chapters in every... Read More →

Lisa Danz

Citizens Climate Lobby

Lisa Danz has been a volunteer with Citizens Climate Lobby for about 5 years. In her time there, she's been a member of 4 different Bay Area chapters, has been a chapter co-lead, and is on the steering committee of the Environmental Justice Action team.

Margaret Martinez Franks

Planned Parenthood

Margaret Martinez Franks is a Bay Area native and the Public Affairs Officer for Planned Parenthood Northern California Action Fund. She is the Communications Director of the Diablo Valley Democrats and is a member of the Solano County Census Complete Count Committee, the Contra Costa... Read More →

Donald Lathbury

Flip the West

Donald Lathbury is Communications Director and Strategist for Flip the West, previously known as Flip the 14, an organization devoted to helping Democrats take back the Senate and White House while defending and expanding our gains in the House. He previously worked in Congress for... Read More →

Saturday September 7, 2019 10:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Berkeley City College Auditorium 2050 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA

12:00pm PDT

Lunch/Networking/Tabling by coalition organizations

Grab some lunch, connect with other activists, and learn from leaders representing organizations who have contributed generously to this event: Flip the West, Swing Left East Bay, East Bay Activist Alliance, Citizens Climate Lobby, Indivisible East Bay, Census 2020, Democrats of Rossmoor, Berkeley Democratic Club, El Cerrito Democratic Club, West County Democratic Club, Diablo Valley Democratic Club, Berkeley City College, and Vocal Rush.

Saturday September 7, 2019 12:00pm - 12:50pm PDT
Atrium

12:50pm PDT

A bunch of randos walk into a protest: One grassroots group’s adventures in addressing the challenges of member engagement

Almost every grassroots group faces the challenge of mobilizing and activating members. At this session, two members of Indivisible East Bay’s (IEB) Governance Committee will share their story of how they have sought to address this challenge, as they faced attrition in people attending meetings, and with fewer people raising their hands for leadership roles. They will present what the research says about how to activate members, and discuss how they put that research into practice, conducting an IEB retreat focusing on how to improve member engagement. They’ll tell you what they did, and what the results were – what’s different now? What’s the same? This session is also experiential. They will facilitate an exercise to develop a “member engagement vision statement." The session will end with a group discussion of insights from that exercise, and of ideas from those in the room about what has worked to activate membership.

Speakers

Andrea Lum

Indivisible East Bay

Andrea Lum is the volunteer coordinator for Indivisible East Bay and a member of the Governance Committee. She has worked in the Office of the President at CSU East Bay for eight years and volunteers as a mentor with the East Bay College Fund.

Nancy Latham

Indivisible East Bay

Nancy Latham is a founding member of Indivisible East Bay and sits on its Governance Committee. In her day job, she works at Learning for Action, a firm supporting nonprofits to pursue equity and justice. With a Ph.D. in Sociology, she brings her social science background to her... Read More →

Saturday September 7, 2019 12:50pm - 2:05pm PDT
Room 015

12:50pm PDT

Census 2020: Everyone Counts

The goal of this session is to address the following questions:

What is Census 2020?
Why the Census?
What is at stake if not everyone is counted?
How does the current political environment affect the counting, especially the “hard to count” population?
Who are included in the “hard to count” population?
What is the planning and implementation strategy at the state, and Contra Costa and Almeda County levels to make sure everyone is counted?
How is the operation funded?
What opportunities are there for volunteers to help?
Are there paid staff whose job is to organize and coordinate the volunteers?

Moderators

Susanne Huttner

All On the Line Bay Area

Susanne is a community organizer focusing on helping people engage in civic action that can make lasting change for their communities. She leads teams that use organizing-at-a-distance strategies, for example in CA 21 and in All On The Line’s 11 target states. Her priorities... Read More →

Speakers

Alessia Simmonds

Outreach Manager, Alameda County Complete Count Committee

Alessia is a graduate of UC Berkeley. She has worked in both the public and private sectors for Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney and Craig Communications. For Alameda County, she leads Census outreach to various organizations, particularly in the faith community... Read More →

Zhiyuan "John" Zhang

Partnership Specialist, Los Angeles Regional Census Center, U.S. Census Bureau

John worked as the liaison and primary point of contact to the local governments, organizations, businesses, communities and the general public; participated in interagency meetings as the agency representative; conducted presentations and workshops to the local communities on the... Read More →

Teresa Gerringer

Communications Director, District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis

Teresa advises the Supervisor on special projects, including the Census 2020 effort. Recently elected to the Lafayette City Council. Previously, Teresa served as District Director to State Senator Steve Glazer, and was a political strategist, working with schools, public agencies... Read More →

Saturday September 7, 2019 12:50pm - 2:05pm PDT
Room 033

12:50pm PDT

Know the Facts: Asylum, Migrant Protection, and Mass Deportation

Join this interactive breakout session with Raquel Ortega of ACLU Northern California and Ali Saidi of Stand Together Contra Costa. Learn about the efforts at the southern border, the migrant protection protocol, and deportation rapid response networks in both Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

How can you help the people and communities at the southern border? What can you do locally? Come ask questions and find out how you can provide impactful support to the immigrant community. Dehumanization and the intersectionality of mass deportation and mass incarceration will also be discussed.

Speakers

Raquel Ortega

ACLU Northern California

Ali Saidi

Stand Together Contra Costa

Saturday September 7, 2019 12:50pm - 2:05pm PDT
Room 032

12:50pm PDT

Not My Local: Working Out of State from Anywhere

Living in the blue bubble of the bay area, it is easy to feel powerless to impact the political reality of our country. In today's interconnected world however, what you do here in the East Bay can have reverberations across the country if you know how to harness your power and direct it strategically. East Bay Activist Alliance and Swing Left have developed innovative approaches that engage activists from regions both red and blue to influence elections and voter registration efforts in key swing states. Reclaim Our Vote is a volunteer-driven, nonpartisan voter outreach campaign to fight voter suppression in various states that have been severely impacted by it, especially in the South. Come learn how you can engage in this work and make a real difference between now and 2020.

Speakers

Colleen McCarthy

Northern California Field Director, Swing Left

Debbie Raucher

Debbie Raucher lives in Oakland and works as volunteer with Swing Left East Bay, coordinating local activities and managing the group's steering committee. Her “day job” is lobbying in Sacramento on behalf of transition age foster youth and youth experiencing homelessness.

Caitlin Patterson

Caitlin Patterson lives in Berkeley. She is a volunteer with Reclaim Our Vote, focused on organizing volunteer efforts in the East Bay including outreach to voters in North Carolina and Virginia.

Andrea MacRae

East Bay Activist Alliance

Andrea MacRae is an organiser for the East Bay Activist Alliance. We focus on grassroots organising for a slate of state and national campaigns that really need the help in areas where helping get out the Democratic vote will shift the balance of power. We've been helping out-of-state... Read More →

Saturday September 7, 2019 12:50pm - 2:05pm PDT
Room 034

12:50pm PDT

Under 30, Leading Change

Topics to be covered in this session:

There are many ways to be civically engaged; why it’s important to be engaged
Why it’s never too soon or too late to start

Panelists' personal stories may touch on the following:

How did you get started with civic engagement?
What was the issue or moment that motivated you to join the fight?
Once you identified the issue, how did you decide where or how to work on the issue? (e.g. elected or appointed office, issue-based advocacy)
What was your first step?
Did you have to overcome any challenges (external and internal) to get involved, and if so, what were they? Given the path that you mapped out for yourself, how did it unfold?
Has there been anything unexpected, and if so, please describe.
Any milestones or particular achievements so far that you would like to share?
Biggest frustration or disappointment so far?
What have you had to sacrifice to do what you’re doing?
What keeps you motivated, as democracy is so tested in this era? When progress feels insurmountable?

How do we inspire young people to become involved? Best ways to pull people in, share the message?

Moderators

Rebecca Faith Barrett

President of the Contra Costa Young Democrats, and a ContraCosta Community College Board member

Speakers

Demnlus Johnson III

City Council Member, City of Richmond

Demnlus Johnson III grew up in the Iron Triangle. After graduating from Howard University, he returned to Richmond to serve his community. In the 2018 election cycle he made history by becoming the youngest person ever elected to Richmond City Council. Before becoming a council person... Read More →

Rigel Robinson

City Council Member, City of Berkeley

Berkeley City Councilman elected to represent District 7 on November 6th, 2018. Elected at 22, Robinson is the youngest person to ever serve on the Berkeley City Council. You can keep up with him on Twitter: @RigelRobinson.

Victor Tiglao

Digital Media Coordinator, Contra Costa Young Democrats

Victor Tiglao Digital Media Coordinator for the Contra Costa Young Democrats, former Committee Member for the Concord City Council Blue Ribbon Committee

Shagoofa Khan

Chairperson, Delta Dem Club

Shagoofa Khan, First generation American, who cares deeply for the communities around her. Chairperson – Delta Dem Club; Delegate for CA DEM Party

Abel Pineda

Council Member, San Pablo

Abel was appointed as Council Member of San Pablo until November 2020 to fill the vacancy left by Cecilia Valdez. Previously, he served as a field representative for former state Assembly member Tony Thurmond. Pineda calls himself a “proud first-generation college graduate... Read More →

Saturday September 7, 2019 12:50pm - 2:05pm PDT
Room 014

2:05pm PDT

Break

Saturday September 7, 2019 2:05pm - 2:15pm PDT

2:20pm PDT

Centering Community Care in Social and Racial Justice Advocacy: Developing In-Community Power for Sustainability

Identifying and developing the community power to lead advocacy efforts; building equity and sustainability by following the lead of the community most affected by any issue.

Speakers

Marilyn Cachola Lucey

Tamisha Torres

Saturday September 7, 2019 2:20pm - 3:35pm PDT
Room 032

2:20pm PDT

Climate Challenge: Calls to Action

Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) exists to create the political will for climate solutions by enabling individual breakthroughs in the exercise of personal and political power.

By focusing on shared values rather than partisan divides, we build relationships with community leaders and with Congress, always starting from a place of respect, gratitude, and appreciation. This approach often reveals a surprising openness to climate action on the part of officials who have yet to publicly embrace climate solutions. We successfully worked with Congress to introduce (H.R. 763) The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019. CCL supports this bill and is working towards its re-introduction in the Senate and its passage through Congress.

Join our session to learn about our work and strategize with fellow activists about how to engage people of all political backgrounds and move them toward being climate champions. Find us online at cclusa.org to learn more and to join your local chapter.

Speakers

Lisa Danz

Citizens Climate Lobby

Dina DeLeon

Citizens Climate Lobby

Dina DeLeon has been a member of Citizens Climate Lobby for 8 months. She is a communications major and advocate for climate change because she believes that in order to see any change it takes one person to make a difference.

Saturday September 7, 2019 2:20pm - 3:35pm PDT
Room 015

2:20pm PDT

Exploring the Relationship between Grassroots Activism and the Democratic Party

Objectives:

To deepen awareness and understanding about the role of grassroots activism and the Democratic Party in healing and strengthening our democracy.
To identify pathways to action to win in 2020 and advance progressive causes.

Speakers

Kathryn Durham Hammer

An Oakland, California native, Kathryn Durham-Hammer majored in Politics and Environmental Studies at Oberlin College and earned her JD from UC Berkeley Law School. Kathryn organized the Indivisible ReSisters of Walnut Creek, and is President of the Diablo Valley Democratic Club... Read More →

Renée Zeimer

Renée Zeimer is a founding member and chapter lead of Organizing For Action. She is Chair of the Economic Opportunity Council of Contra Costa County, delegate to the California Democratic Party, Regional Chair of the Rural Caucus, Elections Chair of the Democratic Party of Contra... Read More →

Saturday September 7, 2019 2:20pm - 3:35pm PDT
Room 034

2:20pm PDT

Keep Central Valley Blue

Objective of the breakout session:
To familiarize activists with Congressional Districts 10 and 21, help them understand what contributed
to the 2018 wins, and lay out the plan and tactics for 2020 (with special attention
to roles for East Bay activists)Questions for panelists:

Where are CD10 and CD21?
What are the voter demographics? How do they affect voter participation?
What were key factors in turning these districts blue in 2018? What were the winning margins?
What was the role of East Bay activists?
What will be the key factors and challenges in winning, again, in 2020?
What needs to be done, when and where? How can East Bay activists help?
What have Congressmen TJ and Hosh Harder accomplished since entering office?

Speakers

Vecky Elliott

Vecky Elliott is a political consultant, community organizer and a social and environmental justice activist in Tracy, CA. Her background is in political science, comparative politics, international relations and civic engagement. She has taught at the Tyler Junior College and at... Read More →

Wei Ling Huber

Wei Ling Huber is a parent volunteer for the Oakland School for the Art’s Alliance of Parents and Teachers. She is also the President of UNITE HERE Local 2850 and a General Vice President of her international union. Her union represents nearly 3,000 East Bay workers, including hotel... Read More →

Steve Zelezny

March Forward Field Manager, CD 10, DCCC

Steve is the March Forward Field Manager for CD-10, where he’ll be coordinating the district’s grassroots strategy to ensure Rep. Josh Harder is re-elected in 2020. In particular, Steve is focused on driving youth engagement in the district — ensuring our youth not only have... Read More →

Krista De La Torre

Field Manager, CD 21, DCCC

Krista is a DCCC Field Manager in CA-21 and is concentrating on bolstering grassroots voter outreach and engagement initiatives to help re-elect Democrat TJ Cox in 2020. As a Fresno native, Krista is excited to be coordinating voter registration drives and issue-based canvasses to... Read More →

Mary Boergers

Mary Boergers was the Deputy Field Director for Congressman TJ Cox’s 2018 campaign organizing canvasses in CD21. Prior to that she organized numerous volunteer efforts for Congressional, Senate and Presidential candidates. She also developed and directed a political leadership... Read More →

Susanne Huttner

All On the Line Bay Area

Saturday September 7, 2019 2:20pm - 3:35pm PDT
Room 033

2:20pm PDT

Under 30, Leading Change (Repeated)

Topics to be covered in this session:

There are many ways to be civically engaged; why it’s important to be engaged
Why it’s never too soon or too late to start

Panelists' personal stories may touch on the following:

How did you get started with civic engagement?
What was the issue or moment that motivated you to join the fight?
Once you identified the issue, how did you decide where or how to work on the issue? (e.g. elected or appointed office, issue-based advocacy)
What was your first step?
Did you have to overcome any challenges (external and internal) to get involved, and if so, what were they? Given the path that you mapped out for yourself, how did it unfold?
Has there been anything unexpected, and if so, please describe.
Any milestones or particular achievements so far that you would like to share?
Biggest frustration or disappointment so far?
What have you had to sacrifice to do what you’re doing?
What keeps you motivated, as democracy is so tested in this era? When progress feels insurmountable?

How do we inspire young people to become involved? Best ways to pull people in, share the message?

Moderators

Rebecca Faith Barrett

President of the Contra Costa Young Democrats, and a ContraCosta Community College Board member

Speakers

Demnlus Johnson III

City Council Member, City of Richmond

Rigel Robinson

City Council Member, City of Berkeley

Victor Tiglao

Digital Media Coordinator, Contra Costa Young Democrats

Victor Tiglao Digital Media Coordinator for the Contra Costa Young Democrats, former Committee Member for the Concord City Council Blue Ribbon Committee

Shagoofa Khan

Chairperson, Delta Dem Club

Shagoofa Khan, First generation American, who cares deeply for the communities around her. Chairperson – Delta Dem Club; Delegate for CA DEM Party

Abel Pineda

Council Member, San Pablo

Saturday September 7, 2019 2:20pm - 3:35pm PDT
Room 014

3:35pm PDT

Break

Saturday September 7, 2019 3:35pm - 3:45pm PDT
Berkeley City College Auditorium 2050 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA

3:50pm PDT

Closing Session with Vocal Rush

Vocal Rush is a two-time national champion a cappella ensemble based out of Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) and comprised of singers ages 15-18. Combining passion, talent and dedication, along with the vision of director/founder Lisa Forkish, Vocal Rush has become one of the most respected high school a cappella groups in the U.S. since their inception in March, 2011. Vocal Rush has received numerous accolades, including national championship titles in 2012 and 2013, a first place win at the L.A. A Cappella Festival, and most recently, a spot on NBC's hit a cappella competition show, "The Sing-Off."

Speakers

Wei Ling Huber

Saturday September 7, 2019 3:50pm - 4:15pm PDT
Berkeley City College Auditorium 2050 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA