The Policy Myth

Let’s face it — “policy” can be a challenging area to understand. The images of policy making conjures up legislative committee hearing rooms with members and staff huddling and offering amendments while lobbyists anxiously roam outside — heads buried in phones. What role could there possibly be for the layperson or the overworked and understaffed non-profit leader just trying to keep their programs afloat? Isn’t policy making for the big corporations with their high-priced lobby firms?

I am here to share there is more to the story. Yes, the images shared above are true. And there is an important role and responsibility we all share to ensure the policy process is represented by all voices.

Recently, the California Student Success Coach Network — a collaboration of eight non-profit organizations with AmeriCorps programs — met in Sacramento, CA for a learning residency. During the time together, nonprofit leaders learned how to gather their program impact data and turn this data into a rich personalized story of their organizations’ mission and the results they were achieving in their communities’ serving students. The messages were poignant, inspiring, and filled with hope.

Fresh with those stories, several of us traveled to the State Capitol where we met with Assembly members, Senators, and their staffs’. Many of us were nervous. We had questions. How would we be received? Why did they want to meet with us? I’ve never done this before.

Much to our surprise we were graciously welcomed. Members and staff were interested in our stories. They were eager to learn more and invited us to come again, invite them to events in their communities, and keep in touch. And for many of us, we had some additional surprises. First, we were not alone on our visits. The day of our meetings, Planned Parenthood had descended on the Capitol. Dozens of folks from throughout California were there in their t-shirts walking the hallways and meeting with members and staff. We were not alone in visiting our elected representatives. This underscored the importance of building relationships and telling our stories. And second, we loved our visits and had fun! Sharing our unique stories and meeting our elected officials and staff is powerful!

So, while policy is advanced through research and practice — what we must always remember is policy making is also about making relationships and sharing our important stories. We all have unique ones to share, and we have a responsibility to share them.