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"Many of our members have been in the industry for quite some
time and are seasoned in speaking with their elected officials. I heard
many say they found your program valuable in bringing them a renewed
focus and a new approach to their work in advocating for public transportation
funding… Your insight into how things really work in Congress and
tips on communicating effectively were just what we needed.
- Martha Pierce, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Public Transportation
Association
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Wondering whether and how you can impact transportation issues at the
local, state and federal level?
Want to know more about the budget and appropriations process?
Interested in grassroots motivation and activation, as well as coalition-building
and getting your message out to the media?
Planning a conference and want to include a dynamic, entertaining and
effective grassroots motivator at no cost to you?
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, consider applying for a
grassroots training session courtesy of APTA and the Public Transportation
Partnership for Tomorrow (PT)2 campaign. APTA/(PT)2 has contracted with nationally
recognized advocacy trainer, Stephanie Vance (also known as the "Advocacy
Guru") to offer advocacy training sessions throughout the year. With
the ongoing reauthorization of TEA-21 as well as the eventual shift in focus
to extracting funds from state and local authorities, your voice is needed
now more than ever. An advocacy training session with Stephanie Vance can
help you and your members make an impact on the future of public transportation
at the local, state and/or federal level.
Learning Opportunities
Each session can be customized to include the following elements or other
advocacy topics of interest to the organization. Topics include:
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Effective Advocacy 101: Getting Your Elected Officials on Board:
In this workshop, participants gain insight into the elements of effective
communication, including knowing what you want, who to ask, how to ask,
and how to follow-up. The session emphasizes the importance of ongoing advocacy
and building long-term relationships, and can be tailored for local, state,
or federal level advocacy efforts. Plus, it includes a fun, interactive
role-playing exercise for participants to practice the techniques they've
learned.
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Civics 101 - Detailed Legislative Process: Participants discover
how legislation moves through the process, from bill drafting and introduction
to the Presidential signature/veto process. In addition, participants gain
an understanding of the Budget and Appropriations process, as well as a
few legislative "key themes".
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Making a Difference from the Safety of Your Couch: This workshop
focuses on effective use of the Internet and web-based tools for advocacy
efforts. A key component of the session is providing information on valuable
resources available for free over the Internet, as well as how to use these
resources most effectively. Resources discussed include: learning about
policy issues, locating elected officials on the net, effective methods
for delivering the message,
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Field Trip to the Floor: Participants experience a virtual Congressional
debate. Up to 10 people play debaters, while the remaining individuals play
other roles, such as strong supporter, strongly opposed, or undecided. During
the course of the debate, updates are added, including number of constituents
writing in, major reports coming out, and news stories. At the end, the
participants vote on the issue.
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Advocacy Campaign Development: Using a real-life topic of the
client's choosing or an interesting "outside the box" potential
legislative situation, this session gives participants the opportunity to
learn more about developing effective advocacy campaigns, engaging grassroots,
building coalitions and using the media in creative ways on a limited budget,
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Grassroots Organizational Development: In this session, participants
work to develop grassroots organizational structures that make sense for
their unique situations. Everything from phone lists to list serves and
from motivating the grassroots to databases for managing volunteers will
be discussed.
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"Your presentation was by far the most interesting at the conference."
- Participant at Florida Commission for Transportation Disadvantaged
12th Annual Transportation Training and Technology Conference
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Details on the Trainer
Advocacy Guru Stephanie Vance, author of "Government by the People:
How to Communicate with Congress," believes that government isn't broken
and she helps groups around the country learn how to work the system to beat
the odds. Ms. Vance has more than 15 years of experience in Congressional
and intergovernmental affairs. Having worked as Legislative Director and Staff
Director for Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), a member of the House Transportation
Committee, she also has extensive experience in the transportation arena.
As Congressman Blumenauer's transportation and livability aide, Stephanie
managed the livable communities taskforce and handled a range of environmental,
transportation, and energy issues. In her current work as an advocacy trainer,
consultant, and writer, Stephanie has worked with dozens of transportation
organizations, including the American Public Transportation Association, STPP
and the League of American Bicyclists. She currently manages the Center for
Transportation Excellence, and assists APTA with the National Alliance of
Public Transportation Advocates.
Pricing (It's FREE!)
As part of its commitment to grassroots, APTA/(PT)2 is making a limited number
of these 1.5 to 2 hour workshops available to NAPTA and APTA members at no
cost (speaker fees and travel are covered!). If you're interested, please
let us know TODAY. Please note that preference will be given to active NAPTA
members that are able to demonstrate an ongoing use for this training.
Application
Please click here to download
a short application form, and then mail it, along with a one-page letter of
interest, to:
Demaune Millard,
APTA,
1666 K St., NW,
Washington, DC 20036
or email it to: pt2info@apta.com.
Deadline is: April 8th, 2005.
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
