Institute of Politics

Though Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign brought the term “community organizer” into public consciousness, the day-to-day practicalities of organizing remain a mystery to many. So what exactly does organizing entail? What are the biggest organizing movements of this political moment? And how has the art of organizing changed in the Trump era? Join the IOP and the International House Global Voices Program as we welcome community organizers Ai-jen Poo and George Goehl to discuss their life in organizing and their perspective on the grassroots movements affecting the direction of American politics – from climate change to labor rights and more. Ai-jen Poo is the Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), the Co-Director of Caring Across Generations, and the co-founder of the Domestic Workers United (DWU). She was recognized in 2014 as a MacArthur Foundation fellow, and in 2015 as one of Fortune.com’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. In 2010, she led the passage of the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. George Goehl is the Director of People’s Action and People’s Action Institute, working toward economic and racial justice. In 2012, he organized the 99% Spring campaign, an initiative born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement to educate the country about income inequality. He previously served as the founding president of the Coalition of Low-Income and Homeless Citizens. This conversation will be moderated by Osita Nwanevu (AB ’15, MPP ’16), staff writer for The New Yorker.