Be Counted and Heard! Advocacy, Outreach, and Organizing during COVID-19 (LLN Event)

This virtual gathering of the Literacy Learning Network will be a great opportunity to learn from local and national experts on WHY individual civic engagement is important and HOW campaigns can elevate important issues and mobilize providers and learners. Please join us for the special networking session.

Speakers:

Patti Morgenstern-Clarren, Seeds of Literacy Tutor 

Patti Morgenstern-Clarren served as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Ohio from 1995 until her retirement in 2017.  Before her appointment, she practiced law for 18 years. She is a graduate of The London School of Economics, CWRU School of Law, and the University of Michigan.

James Hayes, Ohio Voice 

James Hayes is Ohio Voice’s Deputy Director, and works in close partnership with the Executive Director to set and meet organizational goals and budgets, develop strong relationships with partners and other stakeholders, and more. In 2012, James co-founded the Ohio Student Association (OSA) where he served as Co-Director for four years. In 2015, James was named to the Root 100 as one of the one hundred most influential Black leaders in the country.Most recently, James worked as Training Director for the Ayni Institute where he designed and led training programs on organizing and movement building for leaders from across the nation and across different movements.

Sharon Bonney, COABE

Sharon Bonney began her career with the Coalition On Adult Basic Education as a part-time administrator in 2009, moving up in the organization as she showed an unparalleled commitment to the field of adult education. Sharon has helped advance the organization on a number of fronts, including managing efforts to move it from a 1,300-member group in 2009 to 23,000 active members in 2019.She was the guiding force behind designing and implementing a new national conference model; developing new state, national and workforce partnerships with more than 100 organizations; re-branding the COABE research journal and a related research-to-practice initiative; and designing all new professional development offerings, including webinars that engage more than 18,000 members. Bonney spearheaded the development of the internationally acclaimed, six-time award-winning Educate and Elevate public awareness campaign, which brought much-needed visibility to the value of adult education and prompted more than 128,000 contacts with legislators at the local, state and federal levels. These efforts staved off $200 million in funding cuts and added a $75 million increase in funding for adult education. 

Census 2020 Be Counted Ohio