Pushback Network (PBN) proudly welcomes accomplished social justice leader Peter Hardie as its new Executive Director.

Emphasizing community organizing and voter engagement strategies to empower underrepresented constituencies, PBN continues to grow as an organization assisting people in defining their mutual interests and working together to improve their lives.

“Peter is ideally poised to help lead the Pushback Network as a facilitator and as a leader in the national and local struggles for justice and democracy,” said PBN Chair Robby Rodriguez. “Currently, PBN is developing and implementing voter engagement and other civic participation strategies in eight states: New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and California. We foster collaborative efforts to increase the effectiveness of groups doing community organizing and non-partisan electoral work on the ground. Peter Hardie is an ideal fit for PBN because his career has combined organizing, advocacy and activism with significant experience and practice in organizational assessment and development. He has worked side by side with coalitions across the country and internationally to build grassroots political power from the bottom up. Peter has coached and advised a diverse range of organizations and knows how to encourage the best outcomes from them.”

Hardie comes to PBN most recently from his role as consultant to accomplished and emerging social justice organizations such as Right to the City, an alliance of base building organizations from cities across the country fighting gentrification, and Leadership Conference for Civil Rights, another national coalition of social justice advocates. He has demonstrated effectiveness in hands-on alliance-building and melding the practices of organizational development with the dynamic needs of grassroots organizing and coalition building. Hardie previously served as Executive Director for the Roxbury Youth Works, where he demonstrated a deep knowledge of, and commitment to, the principles of community organizing as focused particularly on building the power of young people and communities of color. With this impressive skill set, Hardie will work as Executive Director to facilitate the Board’s strategic planning and decision-making, manage a national staff, and take on and help guide the staff’s planning, program support, fundraising, financial management, and other key Network responsibilities.

“When all is said and done, the invitation from the Pushback Network was impossible to resist,” said Hardie. “My work life has centered on building community and building bridges between communities. This opportunity at the Pushback Network is about growth and renewal for the country and an opportunity for me to join an alliance of people with tremendous potential for change and impact on many levels”

“Peter has a great understanding of base building organizations,” continued Rodriguez. “His vision aligns perfectly with our own of a democracy where ordinary people, who have been historically pushed to the political margins, move and guide our political process by organizing from the bottom up.”

“The recent bailout on Wall Street reinforces the powerful necessity for political organizing among bedrock communities. The nation has elected a President who has asked Americans to roll up their sleeves and re-make this nation.” Hardie said, “The Pushback Network, with its diverse mix of communities and organizations, is the model for exactly the kind of civic engagement and genuine democracy that the new president and these times demand of us.”

August 4^th, 2008

Dear Allies and Supporters of Pushback Network:

On behalf of the Pushback Network, we would like to inform you of the impending departure of our current Coordinating Director, Rodney McKenzie, Jr. Rodney’s official last day at PBN is August 31, 2008. We have been very pleased with his commitment to our goals and significant accomplishments as Coordinating Director. Rodney has been of enormous help in Pushback’s growth and development, and we are sad to see him leave.

Given this news, we would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to our Interim Director, Larry Parachini. Larry is a highly qualified consultant, with previous executive leadership experience, who served as PBN’s Interim Director from our inception in 2005 until Rodney was hired. Beginning August 1^st, Larry will manage and work closely with PBN’s staff and several consultants to continue day-to-day operations in support of our state efforts and to advance Pushback’s organizational and program priorities. We expect to hire a permanent director in the next five to six months. Larry will continue in the Interim Director role until that time and contribute to the transition to the new director when she or he is hired. We expect the transition to be fairly smooth given the current status of the Pushback Network, namely our excellent financial situation, our top-notch staff – Program Director, Jason Cooper and Program Associate, Brigid Flaherty – and the remarkable progress of our programmatic work that PBN anchor organizations and state alliances are currently demonstrating in eight states.

In terms of securing a new permanent Director, we will soon engage an experienced job search consultant, knowledgeable about the kind of work we do and committed to PBN’s values, to provide guidance and assistance with the hiring process. Interviews of priority candidates will be conducted by the special committee and finalists will be interviewed in person and selected by the Steering Committee. We are committed to hiring a permanent Director as soon as we identify the right candidate.

Until then, we are confident that Pushback Network will continue to operate at a high level of performance. We sincerely look forward to continuing to work with our allies during this transition process. Maintaining these relationships forged within the spirit of collaboration for the purposes of achieving an authentic, participatory democracy remains a top priority for PBN. Should any questions arise before we select our new director, we most certainly welcome them. For this and all other inquiries, please feel free to contact Larry Parachini at 301-587-2510 or larry@pushbacknetwork.org.

Respectfully,

Robby Rodriguez, Chair

Sondra Youdelman, Vice-Chair

Leroy Johnson, Treasurer

Hill Carmichael, Secretary

Electoral Organizers Wanted!

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a grassroots social justice organization with 5,500 members statewide. KFTC is hiring 9-14 electoral organizers to work in different areas of the state for an 11 week, non-partisan voter empowerment campaign. Electoral organizers will work to recruit and train volunteers, lead door-to-door canvassing efforts, and coordinate phone banks to voters between August 25 and November 8, 2008. Positions are available for people willing to work between 20 and 40 hours per week.

Location: We are seeking applications from people to work in the following locations: Louisville, Lexington, plus Rowan, Madison, Pike, Perry, Floyd, Letcher, Knott, Harlan and Warren counties.

Position description

Electoral Organizers will assist KFTC’s organizing staff to coordinate non-partisan voter empowerment campaigns aimed at registering, educating and turning out new and unlikely voters. These positions are supervised by KFTC’s Voter Empowerment Organizer, and will take day-to-day direction from a KFTC organizer in each field office.

Key responsibilities include:

-Develop and implement a door-to-door canvassing program in specific precincts, including developing a canvassing schedule and maps, recruiting and training volunteers, preparing materials, and ensuring data collection.

-Develop and implement other forms of direct-voter contact, including public events, presentations to community organizations and schools, phone banks and mailings.

-Develop and implement get-out-the-vote strategies, including recruiting volunteers to canvass, make phone calls, provide rides and raise visibility on Election Day, November 6.

-Coordinate voter education efforts, including candidate forums and candidate surveys.

Skills and Qualifications

-Knowledge of local communities, especially low-income communities, communities of color and other areas with historically low voter participation.

-Organizing experience (either as a volunteer or staff in community-based social change organizations or as an activist within student organization).

-Electoral experience, including door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and managing volunteers.

-Excellent communication skills, including the ability to listen, persuade, and build relationships with a wide range of people.

-Ability to work effectively with people from a wide range of income, education and racial backgrounds.

-Commitment to long-term social change.

-Strong organizational skills, including planning, tracking information, and attention to details.

Compensation

Candidates must commit to work through the November 2008 election. Salary for this position is $12.17 per hour. KFTC provides full family health benefits for positions above 30-hours per week.

Application

Interested applicants should send a resume and letter as soon as possible to Dave Newton, KFTC’s Voter Empowerment Organizer, at Dave@kftc.org or 250 Plaza Drive, Suite 4, Lexington, KY 40503.

Interviews will take place between August 11 and 15. The first day of work will be a training on Monday, August 25th in Lexington. Please call 859-420-8919 with any questions.

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