BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Social Current - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH 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:20260318T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260318T140000 DTSTAMP:20260411T154420 CREATED:20260106T163559Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T161018Z UID:10000580-1773838800-1773842400@www.social-current.org SUMMARY:Cultivating Policy Expertise: Building Skills\, Confidence\, and Clarity Among Human Service Professionals DESCRIPTION:Register \n \n Engaging in policy and advocacy often presents complex challenges\, especially as the federal environment shifts rapidly and the resulting regulations and legislation carry far-reaching impacts. This webinar is designed to demystify policy conversations and provide practical tools to help staff feel informed\, confident\, and empowered to participate in advocacy efforts. \nParticipants will review strategies to simplify complex policies into clear\, relevant messaging\, while connecting program experiences to broader systemic issues. This session will include strategies for preparing staff to speak with legislators\, funders\, community partners\, and the media\, regardless of prior experience. Participants will explore how advocacy can amplify their organizations’ missions; discuss pathways to communicate unified\, strategic concerns; and review considerations to ensure advocacy does not restrict their roles and responsibilities. \nThe session will also address common challenges\, including differing levels of policy literacy\, uncertainty about nonprofit advocacy rules\, and anxiety around answering difficult questions. Facilitators will offer tools and templates to lead advocacy trainings and create a values-aligned culture that supports policy engagement. \nTakeaways\n\nApproaches to helping staff increase comfort\, fluency\, and preparedness for policy discussions\nTools to translate complex policies into accessible and action-oriented messaging\nTechniques to connect frontline experiences to systems-level challenges and opportunities\nGuidance to prepare staff for legislative meetings\, site visits\, public events\, and media interactions\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/cultivating-policy-expertise-building-skills-confidence-and-clarity-among-human-service-professionals/ CATEGORIES:Policy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.social-current.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Policy-Advocacy_1.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR