I'm back in Berkeley, safe and sound. When I get a second to myself, I'll update with tales of my last two days in Denver- To include the adventure I had in sneaking into the actual convention to see Biden accept his vice-presidential nomination!
Check out all the photos online at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2355184&l=b5ff7&id=1226304
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday!
Tuesday was a lot of Caucus attending.
We went to the Youth Caucus (which wasn't very good..), Sarah and Clair went to the Faith Caucus, and I went to the Veterans/Military Families Caucus.
Clair, Joe, Sarah and I all went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and took a few hours off- It was lovely! Then we met up with John and went to dinner (although Joe split off to successfully sneak into the actual Convention to see Hilary speak).
I met up with old family friends Kirsten and Diane Lindholm and did some catching up- Then after a very confusing evening of driving around and losing touch with Joe, we finally ended up home where we collapsed.
It's amazing how tired political schmoozing can make you!
Pictures, as usual: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2355184&l=b5ff7&id=1226304
We went to the Youth Caucus (which wasn't very good..), Sarah and Clair went to the Faith Caucus, and I went to the Veterans/Military Families Caucus.
Clair, Joe, Sarah and I all went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and took a few hours off- It was lovely! Then we met up with John and went to dinner (although Joe split off to successfully sneak into the actual Convention to see Hilary speak).
I met up with old family friends Kirsten and Diane Lindholm and did some catching up- Then after a very confusing evening of driving around and losing touch with Joe, we finally ended up home where we collapsed.
It's amazing how tired political schmoozing can make you!
Pictures, as usual: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2355184&l=b5ff7&id=1226304
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Day One!
I arrived in Denver after a slightly delayed flight on Sunday evening around 9:15. After getting the rental and dropping off some co-workers, we arrived at my good family friend Kim's house in Westminster and collapsed.
Monday morning we met up wtih the rest of our partners- Alex Cleghorn, the chair of the Transgender Law Center board; Mara Keisling, the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality; Shannon Minter, the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights; Lisa Mottett, the Transgender Policy Director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; John Newsome, acting director of And Castro for All; Sarah H., former Hargraves Fellow; Joseph P., Hargraves Fellow and employee at LYRIC; and Clair F., from the Transgender Economic Employment Initiative.
We talked about our role at the convention, how to talk to people, what to say, etc. Mara had some great stories of Conventions past, and gave us some good insight on how to start conversations with people.
We started the day by going to the LGBT Caucus in the Convention Center. The caucus itself was pretty boring- the highlights were hearing Tammy Baldwin and Shannon Minter speak. We made a lot of connections and handed out a lot of buttons and stickers before the caucus- Its a lot scarier than i thought to start conversations with strangers who could very well be high powered legislators!
After the caucus we headed over to the Stonewall Democrats Tea. There was some phenomenal food (scones, tea sandwhiches, REAL CLOTTED CREAM!), and a few more boring speeches- I met Babs Casbar and Amanda Simpson, two of the transgender delegates. I also met Linda Ketner, a amazing out lesbian from South Carolina who's running for Congress.
After Sarah and I spent an hour decompressing in the parking garage (where we got written up by security for being "out of place"), we met up for dinner with Joe, Alex, Clair, and John. After dinner we went to Lannies Clocktower Cabaret and watched Michelle Obama's speech while drinking a beer.
On the way to drop off Clair and Joe at the place they're staying I was pulled over by a Denver cop for some obscure traffic violation. I just got a warning, but it was hard not to ask the cop why he wasnt policing something more significant. He did give us a police escort to where my friends were staying, though.
The weather in Denver is AMAZING. Kim and Kevin have been phenomenal hosts. Their 2 year old daughter is adorable and it's so good to catch up with them (its been over three years since I saw them!).
Today we're going to check out the Youth Caucus, the Labor Caucus, the Women's Caucus and another Stonewall event later tonight. It's busy and crazy, but fun!
Here are pictures!
Monday morning we met up wtih the rest of our partners- Alex Cleghorn, the chair of the Transgender Law Center board; Mara Keisling, the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality; Shannon Minter, the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights; Lisa Mottett, the Transgender Policy Director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; John Newsome, acting director of And Castro for All; Sarah H., former Hargraves Fellow; Joseph P., Hargraves Fellow and employee at LYRIC; and Clair F., from the Transgender Economic Employment Initiative.
We talked about our role at the convention, how to talk to people, what to say, etc. Mara had some great stories of Conventions past, and gave us some good insight on how to start conversations with people.
We started the day by going to the LGBT Caucus in the Convention Center. The caucus itself was pretty boring- the highlights were hearing Tammy Baldwin and Shannon Minter speak. We made a lot of connections and handed out a lot of buttons and stickers before the caucus- Its a lot scarier than i thought to start conversations with strangers who could very well be high powered legislators!
After the caucus we headed over to the Stonewall Democrats Tea. There was some phenomenal food (scones, tea sandwhiches, REAL CLOTTED CREAM!), and a few more boring speeches- I met Babs Casbar and Amanda Simpson, two of the transgender delegates. I also met Linda Ketner, a amazing out lesbian from South Carolina who's running for Congress.
After Sarah and I spent an hour decompressing in the parking garage (where we got written up by security for being "out of place"), we met up for dinner with Joe, Alex, Clair, and John. After dinner we went to Lannies Clocktower Cabaret and watched Michelle Obama's speech while drinking a beer.
On the way to drop off Clair and Joe at the place they're staying I was pulled over by a Denver cop for some obscure traffic violation. I just got a warning, but it was hard not to ask the cop why he wasnt policing something more significant. He did give us a police escort to where my friends were staying, though.
The weather in Denver is AMAZING. Kim and Kevin have been phenomenal hosts. Their 2 year old daughter is adorable and it's so good to catch up with them (its been over three years since I saw them!).
Today we're going to check out the Youth Caucus, the Labor Caucus, the Women's Caucus and another Stonewall event later tonight. It's busy and crazy, but fun!
Here are pictures!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Politics!
Friday was a bit of a stressful day- Miscommunication, cross-communication, and a general lack of communication caused some drama.
Luckily, after some good ol' fashioned communication, everything seems to have been resolved!
This experience is certainly giving me an interesting perspective on the internal politics of large scale national coalitions.
I watched a little bit of Fox News and CNN today to get a taste of what the rest of the country will be seeing of the DNC. I feel SO lucky to be able to go to the Convention first hand. Although I'm not much of a fan of traditional politics, being present for this meeting of influential desicion makers is going to be a great way to see how my non-traditional organizing will fair in the next few years....
I'm excited and terrified to be leaving for the DNC tomorrow. Because I love to overbook myself, I'll be doing a photoshoot in the city before my flight- So I'll be travelling directly from the photoshoot to the airport. I'm going to do my best to pack lightly- We'll see how effective I am!
So here goes nothing! Back to my old stomping grounds to influence policy makers to work for furthering LGBT rights!
Luckily, after some good ol' fashioned communication, everything seems to have been resolved!
This experience is certainly giving me an interesting perspective on the internal politics of large scale national coalitions.
I watched a little bit of Fox News and CNN today to get a taste of what the rest of the country will be seeing of the DNC. I feel SO lucky to be able to go to the Convention first hand. Although I'm not much of a fan of traditional politics, being present for this meeting of influential desicion makers is going to be a great way to see how my non-traditional organizing will fair in the next few years....
I'm excited and terrified to be leaving for the DNC tomorrow. Because I love to overbook myself, I'll be doing a photoshoot in the city before my flight- So I'll be travelling directly from the photoshoot to the airport. I'm going to do my best to pack lightly- We'll see how effective I am!
So here goes nothing! Back to my old stomping grounds to influence policy makers to work for furthering LGBT rights!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
T-minus 4 days!
Hey ya'll-
I've created this blog to keep my friends, family and coworkers updated on my trip to the DNC with United ENDA CA.
I'll be updating as regularly as possible with all the gory details about diving in head first to the Big Ol' Democratic Roundup in the Mile High City.
I'm bringing my camera, too- So I'll post photos!
I've created this blog to keep my friends, family and coworkers updated on my trip to the DNC with United ENDA CA.
I'll be updating as regularly as possible with all the gory details about diving in head first to the Big Ol' Democratic Roundup in the Mile High City.
I'm bringing my camera, too- So I'll post photos!
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