BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Social Current - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Social Current X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.social-current.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Social Current REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20270314T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20271107T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260212T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260212T140000 DTSTAMP:20260411T154351 CREATED:20260106T150119Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260106T182650Z UID:10000577-1770901200-1770904800@www.social-current.org SUMMARY:Digital Influence & Public Voice: Amplifying Advocacy Through Media Relations DESCRIPTION:Register \n \n Media relations is a cornerstone of effective advocacy\, but navigating relationships and engaging with various outlets presents key challenges. This webinar will provide clear\, actionable guidance to help human service professionals communicate confidently and strategically. \nParticipants will learn how to craft compelling press releases\, frame stories that resonate\, and establish trusted\, long-term relationships with reporters. The session also will discuss strategies to prepare organizational leadership\, staff\, and individuals with lived experience to deliver clear\, authentic\, and impactful messages in interviews and public forums. \nThe webinar will address common challenges organizations face\, including limited media experience\, fast-moving news cycles\, and the nuances of supporting community members through public storytelling. Participants will gain practical tools to increase visibility\, strengthen message alignment\, and ensure their organization’s voice is heard. \nTakeaways\n\nConsiderations for writing effective press releases\nStrategies for pitching stories and building lasting relationships with journalists\nTechniques for preparing spokespeople to deliver confident\, mission-aligned messages\nApproaches for supporting community storytellers in media settings\n\nWho Should Attend\n\nExecutive leaders and program directors serving as organizational spokespeople\nCommunications\, marketing\, and advocacy staff\nCommunity engagement teams preparing lived-experience storytellers\nPolicy and government affairs teams elevating organizational priorities\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Blair Abelle-Kiser\, PhD\n \n Senior Director of Government Affairs\nSocial Current \n \n Biography\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Blair Abelle-Kiser\, PhD\n Senior Director of Government Affairs\nSocial Current \n \n Blair Kiser\, Ph.D.\, joined Social Current in 2022 after working in health policy on Capitol Hill\, the non-profit sector\, and as a biomedical researcher. Most recently\, Blair served as Director of Government Relations & Advocacy for NephCure Kidney International. \nDuring their time in public service\, they served as a Professional Staff Member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. They led a corporate investigation regarding insider trading and financial improprieties\, conflicts of interest associated with Operation Warp Speed’s leadership\, and scientific information politicization. Prior to joining the Select Subcommittee\, they worked for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)\, where they served as a Health Policy Fellow. In Senator Brown’s office\, they led a range of legislative and oversight efforts involving public health and healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic\, they worked with several community hospice advocacy organizations and a Republican office to help craft the bipartisan COVID-19 Hospice Respite Care Relief Act of 2020. \nPrior to public service\, Blair spent several years as a medical research scientist on several industry and NIH-funded projects. Their work focused on developing research projects and clinical trials to improve the lives of African Americans with Sickle Cell Disease. They earned a doctorate in Biomedical Science from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2017 and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Kentucky in 2011. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Abigail Levine\n \n Field Mobilization and Policy Manager\nSocial Current URL:https://www.social-current.org/event/digital-influence-public-voice-amplifying-advocacy-through-media-relations/ CATEGORIES:Policy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.social-current.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Policy-Advocacy_1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260218T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260218T140000 DTSTAMP:20260411T154351 CREATED:20260106T150932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260106T182737Z UID:10000578-1771419600-1771423200@www.social-current.org SUMMARY:Community-Driven Policy Development: Facilitating Powerful Listening Sessions and Gathering Authentic Input DESCRIPTION:Register \n \n Effective policy development requires a holistic understanding of individuals’ lived experiences to fully understand central issues and how they manifest. This webinar will review multifaceted strategies to better understand the unique concerns\, needs\, and challenges communities face and to translate shared wisdom into actionable policy priorities. \nParticipants will discuss strategies for planning and facilitating a range of engagement methods\, including listening sessions\, interviews\, surveys\, peer-led conversations\, and embedded feedback loops. The session will emphasize pathways to centralize informed consent\, guide evolving discussions\, and collaboratively develop sustainable policies. \nThe webinar will also introduce tools for capturing community insights in structured\, analyzable formats. Participants will discuss pathways to identify themes across stories\, map structural barriers\, minimize facilitator bias\, and translate qualitative input into clear policy recommendations. \nThe session will also address critical challenges\, including reaching underrepresented voices\, building trust\, and closing the feedback loop so communities see their influence reflected in policy. \nTakeaways\n\nGuidance to plan and facilitate accessible\, trauma-informed listening sessions\nPractices to continue building trust and fortifying community partnerships\, including through peer-led approaches\nTools for identifying policy themes and maintaining data integrity\nApproaches to integrate community input into formal advocacy agendas\, legislative priorities\, and systems-change strategies\n\nWho Should Attend\n\nMembers of the Social Current Grassroots Advocacy Network: Join online\nExecutive Directors and Senior Management: Leaders responsible for setting organizational strategy and engaging with policymakers and stakeholders\nAdvocacy and Policy Directors: Individuals who develop and implement advocacy strategies and engage in policy analysis and outreach\nCommunications and Public Relations Managers: Professionals focused on crafting and disseminating the organization’s message to the public and media\nProgram Managers and Coordinators: Staff who oversee program implementation and need to align program goals with advocacy efforts\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Blair Abelle-Kiser\, PhD\n \n Senior Director of Government Affairs\nSocial Current \n \n Biography\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Blair Abelle-Kiser\, PhD\n Senior Director of Government Affairs\nSocial Current \n \n Blair Kiser\, Ph.D.\, joined Social Current in 2022 after working in health policy on Capitol Hill\, the non-profit sector\, and as a biomedical researcher. Most recently\, Blair served as Director of Government Relations & Advocacy for NephCure Kidney International. \nDuring their time in public service\, they served as a Professional Staff Member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. They led a corporate investigation regarding insider trading and financial improprieties\, conflicts of interest associated with Operation Warp Speed’s leadership\, and scientific information politicization. Prior to joining the Select Subcommittee\, they worked for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)\, where they served as a Health Policy Fellow. In Senator Brown’s office\, they led a range of legislative and oversight efforts involving public health and healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic\, they worked with several community hospice advocacy organizations and a Republican office to help craft the bipartisan COVID-19 Hospice Respite Care Relief Act of 2020. \nPrior to public service\, Blair spent several years as a medical research scientist on several industry and NIH-funded projects. Their work focused on developing research projects and clinical trials to improve the lives of African Americans with Sickle Cell Disease. They earned a doctorate in Biomedical Science from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2017 and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Kentucky in 2011. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Abigail Levine\n \n Field Mobilization and Policy Manager\nSocial Current URL:https://www.social-current.org/event/community-driven-policy-development-facilitating-powerful-listening-sessions-and-gathering-authentic-input/ CATEGORIES:Policy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.social-current.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Policy-Advocacy_1.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR