Detailed Agenda
MATTHEW LESSER Connecticut General Assembly
Matt Lesser is serving his fourth term in the Connecticut General Assembly where he serves as house chair of the Banking Committee . He authored the nation ’ s first student loan bill of rights and pro-consumer financial legislation covering everything from debt collection to subprime auto loans to mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts . Two years ago he co-authored Connecticut ’ s hydraulic fracturing waste moratorium with fellow YEO James Albis . In 2015 , he traveled across Europe as a Marshall Memorial Fellow where he studied foreign policy and economic issues . He previously served on his party ’ s National Platform Committee .
Meaningful Mobilization : Listening to and Engaging with Youth Great Room 2
Young people face steep challenges , from mounting student debt , to growing inequity , to the impacts of climate change . While there is much speculation around the political interests and voting behaviors of millennials and their younger counterparts , we know that the youngest generations are our country ’ s most diverse and progressive – and they are making a tremendous mark on the political narrative in our country this year . This session will showcase the importance of meaningful youth engagement and best practices to empower – and learn from – young people as they navigate the political landscape .
BREANNA CHAMPION Chicago Votes
Breanna Champion is a Chicago native who grew up on the city ’ s south side . After attending a year of school at the University of Missouri , Champion moved back to Chicago in the summer of 2012 where she began volunteering and attending rallies amid the historic mass public school closures . While a student at University of Illinois at Chicago , Champion joined the Black Youth Project 100 and the IIRON Student network as a student organizer . As a newly trained organizer , she registered over 1,000 young people to vote , joined the We Charge Genocide youth delegation to present a report on police torture in Chicago at the United Nations , and managed a victorious aldermanic campaign . She is now the organizing co-chair of the BYP 100 Chicago Chapter and Chicago Votes ’ new field director .
CHRISTIAN DIAZ Chicago Votes
Christian Diaz is the executive director of Chicago Votes and identifies as queer , Latino , and immigrant . He grew up on the northwest side of Chicago in Logan Square . He brings years of experience in nonprofits , having worked in coalitions to win driver ’ s licenses for undocumented residents , to require data transparency on student arrests in all publiclyfunded schools , and to ban 10-day suspensions for high school students in Illinois . Diaz was previously the Youth Employment Director at Logan Square Neighborhood Association . He was also a New Americans Democracy Project Fellow with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights during the 2012 general elections .
20 DETAILED AGENDA