Learn How to Persuade Your Leaders

Branch member, Allan Schram, is helping organize a training on how to work effectively with your elected officials. The focus is criminal justice reform, but the skills taught in the training are generally applicable. The training is September 18 from 7-9p.m. at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington. If you're interested email end-mass-incarceration@firstparish.info.

Here's a full description:

Would you like to interact with legislators more skillfully and persuasively?

This year will probably give us the best chance yet for comprehensive reform of the court, prison, probation, and parole systems in Massachusetts. If all goes well, we will need all hands on deck to convince legislators — especially state representatives — to not just support a comprehensive reform package, but actively work for it.

If you feel like your persuasive powers could use some brushing up, please join us for a workshop on how to make your voice heard and influence government decisions on Monday, September 18, 7-9 p.m.in the Vestry.

Senator Cindy Friedman has experienced effective and ineffective approaches from three different positions over the years — as a citizen activist, a senator’s chief of staff at the State House, and now a recently elected State Senator.

Colleen Kirby is the Criminal Justice Legislative Specialist for the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and a member of First Parish's Mass Incarceration Working Group.

While this event will focus on reform of the justice system in Massachusetts, the same principles apply to other issues and and at the federal level too. If you want to understand better how legislatures actually work, or ask questions of people who know the State House well, this is the event for you.

All are welcome! Please feel free to share this invitation with anyone you think might want to attend this free program.

This event is sponsored by First Parish's Mass Incarceration Working Group.