Hi all! 

I've just completed my first full week of my LiA project here in Oakland, California, so I thought I'd share a bit about what I'm going to be up to this summer! For my LiA project, I'm working with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit organization doing amazing abolitionist organizing in the Bay Area.  I'm working with their development team to learn how one finances policy work and get insight on sustaining a movement. I'll be helping them with various fundraising initiatives and providing support at any and all programming throughout the summer (court support, mutual aid fundraiser, protest, lobbying at the state capital, prison visit, etc.) While it's not been much time, I already feel I've learned so much, both about nonprofits and about how abolitionist demands are formulated to a real-world audience, as opposed to a room full of academics. I really admire that the organization does both policy and direct impact work-- lobbying for long-term changes in the criminal punishment system while simultaneously addressing the immediate needs of systems-impacted community members. This summer, I hope to take the theory I've read ten times over throughout my Laidlaw/Barnard experiences and see it/put it into praxis. So far, the Ella Baker Center seems to be a great place to do that. I'm very excited about what's to come. If you're in the Bay Area this summer- reach out! Would love to connect. 

Here's a link to the Ella Baker Center if you're curious to learn more: https://ellabakercenter.org/our-work/ 

And some photos from our amazing office space!