Advocates an entertaining and educational look at our political process and their role in it
Program Titles
- Hello Congressman, This is Your Wake-Up Call: How to Take Your Representative from Information to Action
- Rebirth of a Notion: How to Breathe New Life Into a Dead Legislative Issue
- Fertilize Your Grassroots: Identifying, Motivating, Activating and Institutionalizing Grassroots Advocacy
- Show Me the Money: Researching, Tracking (and Getting) Federal Grants and Loans
- The Budget & Appropriations Process: Making Sense of the Dollars & Cents
- Legislative Process 101 – Getting to Know the Process
- A New Perspective: Organizing Your Grassroots & GR Efforts
- Grassroots Survivor: Keeping Your Grassroots Engaged Through the Conventions, Elections and Start of a New Congress
Stephanie D. Vance has worked as a lobbyist and a congressional aide, holding positions such as legislative assistant, legislative director, and staff director for various members of Congress. Vance, The Advocacy Guru who works on congressional communications, stems from a deep and abiding belief that the US system of government is effective only when citizens are active and well-informed participants.
Personal Statement: I used to think that our system of government was a complete mess. I haven’t changed my mind, but I believe the government is designed to be a complete mess. Our founding fathers wanted to put together a system of government that doesn’t do much—too bad they were so successful.
The good news is that the government isn’t broken, and I’ve spent a lifetime figuring out how you and your organization can work together to beat the odds. If you want to win your government relations issue, let me know how I can help!
My experiences at the firm furthered my interest in the legislative process and inspired me to earn an exciting (although some might say not entirely helpful) Master’s in Legislative Affairs. I then tested my academic understanding of the legislative process through a job as a Legislative Assistant on Capitol Hill. The “real world” of working on the hill vastly differed from the textbooks.
During my first tenure on Capitol Hill, I had the opportunity to be a part of history by losing my job when Republicans took over the House of Representatives. A year-long stint as a lobbyist for National Public Radio helped me understand how hard it is for organizations and individuals to get their views across to members of Congress and their staff.
I began to parlay my experiences as a lobbyist and congressional aide into understanding the best ways to gain the attention of elected officials and their staff. As a Legislative Director and Chief of Staff, I worked with professional lobbyists and citizen activists. I realized that many people do not understand how to communicate effectively with an elected official.
As the self-appointed “Advocacy Guru,” my work is based on a deep belief that government is effective only when citizens are actively and responsibly engaged. Contrary to popular belief, government isn’t broken: people must know how to work the system and beat the odds.
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