With government agencies, policymakers and funders moving quickly to direct (and re-direct) funding and resources to respond to COVID-19, advocating for girls* and gender-expansive youth, and the organizations that support them, is needed more than ever to ensure that their voices and needs are centered.

Join us for an informative online workshop series on how local policy change works, and the roles and responsibilities of different government agencies (e.g. county, city, public departments). We'll get a detailed overview on how local and regional governments are structured, led by Bill Chiat, Dean of the California State Association of Counties Institute for Excellence in County Government and President of the Alta Mesa Group, LLC.  We'll also look at case studies through a panel discussion featuring Alliance members:

• Elise Hansell, Policy and Grants Manager of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
• Kamalpreet Padda, Development and Operations Coordinator of GirlVentures
• Vylma Ortiz, Advocacy Specialist of The Women's Building

This interactive workshop series will provide:

• An overview of local and regional governments and public agencies and how they're structured
   
• A review of the roles and responsibilities of the state, cities, counties, special districts, and other local agencies
   
• Case studies provided by Bay Area girl-serving organizations and individuals who have experience and success pursuing policy advocacy at the local level
   
• Discussions and activities to help you develop local advocacy strategies, particularly during COVID-19
   
• Technical assistance to support introduction, navigation, and implementation in your organization's and/or personal advocacy efforts
   
• A closing session to touch base, debrief, and share successes and lessons learned

Whether you're new to local advocacy or already pursuing it as an individual or organization, you'll leave with greater knowledge, support, and strategies for working with local governments and public officials on centering girls and gender-expansive youth. 

About the Speakers:

William "Bill" Chiat
Dean, California State Association of Counties Institute for Excellence in County Government
President, Alta Mesa Group, LLC

Bill Chiat is Dean of the California State Association of Counties Institute for Excellence in County Government and President of Alta Mesa Group, LLC. His expertise spans over 40 years in local and state governments. He served as County Executive Officer of Napa County and Director of Organizational Effectiveness in Santa Barbara County. Bill held executive positions in city and special district governments, including several regional agencies and joint power authorities. At the state level, he served as Executive Director of the Arizona Governor’s Office for Excellence in Government and led the state’s executive education program, and as executive director of the California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions.

Bill provides organizational development, executive development and facilitation services with local governments throughout the West, and is a Lecturer in the University of California- Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy executive programs.

Bill has a B.S. from the University of Minnesota, a M.S. from the University of Michigan and is a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has research and taught a wide range of courses in public agency leadership, organizational structure, governance and operations.

He can be reached at bill@altamesagroup.com or bchiat@counties.org.

Leadership – Agility – Resourcefulness

Bill Chiat works to expand leadership capacity and capabilities of those in public service so they may better serve their communities and advance their vision and agency goals.

Elise Hansell
Policy and Grants Manager
San Francisco Department on the Status of Women

Elise Hansell is the Policy and Grants Manager at the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women where she advocates for policy and legislation, conducts research, and manages programs to advance the rights of survivors of gender-based violence. She staffs the San Francisco Family Violence Council, an interagency body that recommends programs, policies and coordination of City services that may reduce the incidence of family violence in San Francisco. Elise leads the City’s Domestic Violence Liaison Program, and manages private and federal grants in coordination with community-based organizations and city agencies. Elise previously worked as a paralegal at an immigration law firm and as a research associate at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government. She has a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Public Affairs from Claremont McKenna College.
 

Kamalpreet Padda
Development and Operations Coordinator
GirlVentures

Kamalpreet Padda is currently the Development and Operations Coordinator with GirlVentures, a local nonprofit that combines outdoor adventure with social emotional learning for adolescent girls. Prior to GirlVentures, Kamalpreet was a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana where she worked on issues related to HIV prevention and gender-based violence. During her time in Botswana, Kamalpreet raised awareness and created structures for support in her community surrounding for populations with a high risk of infection. Her current projects focus on support related to physical and mental for women in the Sikh community in the Central Valley of California.

Vylma Ortiz
Advocacy Specialist
The Women's Building

Vylma Ortiz is a former criminal defense/civil rights attorney who has been a social justice advocate/activist for over 25 years. She currently is the advocacy specialist for The Women’s Building (TWB) in San Francisco. Her advocacy at TWB is focused on decreasing gender based violence. This past summer, she directed a 4 week program teaching 11 young women principles of advocacy, community organizing, leadership, public speaking and self care.  She has been married for 24 years and is the mother of 2 young men aged 12 and 17.
 

While this workshop is being provided for free, we appreciate a donation on a sliding scale of $5-$95. To allow as many people to access the workshop, registration is limited to two tickets per organization. 

If you have any accommodation needs or have barriers to accessing webinars, please let us know at least 48 hours prior to the workshop. We'll make every effort to accommodate. Email Kailin at kailin@alliance4girls.org.

*“Girls” refers to gender-expansive youth (cis girls, trans girls, non-binary youth, gender non-conforming youth, gender queer youth and any girl-identified youth).