National Convening Program Books 2016 YEO National Convening Program Book | Page 7

YEO NATIONAL CONVENING 2016

From the Director
Dear friends:
Welcome to the 2016 Young Elected Officials Network National
Convening!
We are thrilled to be with you in this transformational year for our
country. Our theme this year is “Building the Power of Youth” because we
know that despite the toxic rhetoric surrounding so much of our politics
in recent months, young leaders have also changed the narrative in a
fundamental way. We have pushed the establishment to be more bold,
more unapologetically progressive, and have challenged the status quo in
communities across the country, from issues of minimum wage, to paid
leave, to the very concepts of crime and justice. Young people today are the
most diverse force in this nation’s history. They are the most progressive —
while also pragmatic in their approach to making change — and innovative
in their thinking. Our youth is a strength, and we will bring our energy to
bear on the challenges we face.
We honor those qualities with our host city this year. Chicago has
a remarkable history of social activism and community organizing
that continues to garner national attention, and we will build on that
momentum with this conference. We hope it will inspire you to action – to
fully engage over the course of this weekend, to learn and strategize with
your colleagues, and to create something meaningful when you return back
home.
We are thrilled to join you in celebrating your victories from the past year
and assessing what lies ahead for our movement and for our country. We
have designed our sessions and selected our partners based directly on your
input and feedback. Together, we will learn about new policy developments
and discover best practices so that we can be more effective public servants
on issues ranging from voting rights
to the future of work in our country.
We’ll also reconnect with old friends
and colleagues who offer us an
astounding breadth of experience.

We have pushed the establishment to
be more bold, more unapologetically
progressive, and have challenged the status
quo in communities across the country.

Thank you for your ongoing
service to the Network and to your
communities. For those of you who
are new to elected office or coming
to Convening for the first time, we’re
so pleased to welcome you. We hope you will experience that same sense of
solidarity and support, and stay engaged in the months and years to come.

Andrew D. Gillum
Executive Director
Young Elected Officials Network

WELCOME

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