I have greatly enjoyed my time thus far working as a Policy Intern at Lift Louisiana. I have engaged in a number of projects involving federal and state policy. One of the bigger projects I have worked on is the tracking of proposed federal legislation and pre-filed legislation in Louisiana. I have been working to set up a Policy Tracking database that will help Lift Louisiana compile reports detailing proposed policies that pertain to abortion, family planning, and sex education. These reports will soon be sent to other advocacy groups and Lift Louisiana’s email subscribers- helping people track important policy and motivating people to contact their representatives and express their position on a specific bill.
I have also complied an advocacy toolkit that outlines strategies for advocating for Women’s reproductive health throughout the Trump administration. This advocacy toolkit is based on the recently released toolkit titled, “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Administration,” which is a toolkit created by former congressional staffers. I have really enjoyed constructing this toolkit and have learned a lot about grass roots advocacy and state representatives through writing this toolkit. The toolkit, once finalized, will be available on Lift Louisiana’s website for download.
Also I went to Congressmen Cassidy’s Town Hall Meeting. At this meeting, Lift Louisiana handed out signs and spoke with attendants about how to protect women’s reproductive rights. While the town hall room reached capacity before I could enter the building, I stayed outside with a few hundred attendees who did not make it into the meeting room. While waiting outside, everyone gathered and shared personal stories about how the Trump administration and a Trump presidency may impact or has impacted individual lives. Hearing personal stories- often about personal reliance on the Affordable Care Act or concerns about public school funding- allowed me to view the federal policies through a local, personal lens.