Representative Justin J. Pearson
A famed member of the "Tennessee Three," Representative Justin J. Pearson, who was once expelled from office for protesting gun violence, is the second-youngest member of the Tennessee General Assembly.
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- IOP 24 & Youth VoteFest
IOP 24 & Youth VoteFest
IOP 24 programming is culminating in two days of voter engagement workshops, networking, speaker events and musical performances during the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Join us and the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition on July 17th in Milwaukee and August 21st in Chicago for Youth VoteFest.
The experts at the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition will be in both Milwaukee and Chicago to lead workshops on engaging young voters in coalition building, civic celebrations and messaging in polarized times.
Youth VoteFest Chicago
Young progressive organizers face an uphill battle getting a dissatisfied electorate to register and vote. Activists, advocates, elected officials and journalists will join us at the Epiphany Center for the Arts on August 21 to network and learn the skills and messages to counter a wave of civic disengagement.
Olivia Julianna
Olivia Julianna is a democracy organizer, abortion rights activist and political influencer from Houston, Texas. She came to national prominence for initiating the takedown of a whistleblower website that targeted those in the state of Texas who aided in abortion access.
Jahnavi Rao
As a junior in high school, Jahnavi Rao founded New Voters, an organization dedicated to mobilizing 80,000+ high schoolers to vote. Under her leadership, New Voters has grown to civically engage students across over 400 high schools in 39 states.
Youth VoteFest Milwaukee
Students from across the country joined conservative organizers, campus voting activists, media personalities, and former elected officials on July 17 for networking and skill-building workshops to get out the vote this fall.
Clay Travis
Outspoken media personality, frequent Fox News guest, and OutKick founder Clay Travis is known for his unfiltered opinion on the most important headlines in culture, politics and sports.
Trey Gowdy
Four-term Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy is now the host of Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy on Fox News and The Trey Gowdy Podcast. Before running for Congress, he served as a federal prosecutor in his home state and a district attorney in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties.
Whitley Yates
A veteran campaign consultant, Whitley Yates has helped usher in a new generation of leaders into the Republican Party. Whitley now serves as the Indiana Republican Party’s first director of diversity and engagement.
Benji Backer
A conservative environmentalist, Benji Backer helps mobilize young people around environmental issues through his pro-innovation, limited-government American Conservation Coalition.
IOP 24 Programming
IOP 24 is a suite of programming, civic engagement and internship opportunities designed for all students — from those casually interested in the 2024 elections to those seeking to work on a campaign, support a cause or run for office themselves.
Speaker Series & Fellows
Each quarter of IOP 24 is showcasing prominent speakers coming to campus to update students on the latest from the campaign trail and impart advice regarding what it’s like to run for office or work on a campaign. One of our Pritzker Fellow per quarter will be devoted to pulling back the curtain to show students how elections operate in modern American politics.
Iowa Trek
We took students on the road to Iowa for an up-close look at the Iowa caucuses. Students met with corn farmers, religious leaders, local reporters and state representatives. On Caucus Day, the group visited Trump headquarters, watched a caucus in action and attended campaign rallies as nonpartisan observers of the Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis campaigns.
Super Tuesday Workshops
We're hosting a series of workshops and special office hours for students interested in working on campaigns or running for office themselves. Sessions will focus on helping students understand the campaign landscape and gain tangible skills in data analysis, political strategy, fundraising, communications and more.
Ask Heidi/Ask David
IOP Director and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp along with founding IOP Director and political strategist David Axelrod are holding office hours to mentor students interested in running for office or working on campaigns.
IOP 24 Internships
We're providing internships for students during the 2023-24 academic year and throughout summer 2024. Students will work with convention planners and media organizations in the lead-up to the party conventions in Chicago and Milwaukee.
UChiVotes and Nonpartisan Voter Engagement
We'll continue to build on our existing voter engagement and education efforts across campus and the region to ensure students are registered and turn out to vote. This includes the work of UChiVotes — our student-led, nonpartisan initiative created to boost voter turnout on campus — and our student-led voter education workshops at Cook County Jail.