Influencing public policy is one way to increase your organization’s impact for changing people’s lives. Join our speakers from Alliance for Justice and RESULTS Educational Fund for insightful information on how you can develop a strong advocacy plan. Learn the importance of advocacy work and how to legally use your funding and your voice to shine light on critical issues. Learn valuable methods for boosting advocacy and encouraging important dialogue (e.g., writing letters to congress, organizing vigils, inviting congress members to forums and more.) Hear from a fellow donor experienced in using advocacy to advance the cause of his work.
Featured speakers
John Fawcett is the Director of Global Policy and Advocacy for RESULTS. Fawcett manages legislative and policy advocacy for RESULTS’ priority global issues, including health and nutrition, education, and economic opportunity. Prior to this role he coordinated child health advocacy and grassroots mobilization for Save the Children, and worked for the Health Research Group at Public Citizen. He holds an M.A. in International Development from American University, and a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Kansas.
Ernest Loevinsohn is passionate about global health and committed to making a difference for vulnerable people. He is the Executive Director at the Fund for Global Health, which has been set up to use proceeds from asset management to improve the health of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Previously, he was the Director of Global Health Policy and Advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and prior to that served as the Director General for Global Initiatives with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). He has some experience with family foundations, having helped to manage his family's small foundation in the 1990's. Ernie is on the board of RESULTS, a non-partisan anti-poverty advocacy organization. He also served as the founding Chair of the Stop TB Partnership and was Vice Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Natalie Ossenfort is the Director of Alliance for Justice's Texas office, where she works with nonprofit organizations and funders to strengthen their advocacy capacity and understanding of the rules of nonprofit advocacy and lobbying. She has more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, working in the fields of public policy and criminal justice. She previously helped to create and run the Innocence Project of Texas (IPTX), a non-profit organization dedicated to freeing those wrongfully convicted of crimes in the state. At IPTX, Natalie held both Executive Director and Chief Staff Attorney positions, and she specialized in the litigation of cases involving the use of DNA evidence. She also worked with the organization to successfully advocate on behalf of reforms designed to reduce the number of wrongful convictions and assist those reentering society after lengthy terms of unjust confinement. Natalie obtained her law degree from the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth. She earned her undergraduate B.A. from Trinity University in San Antonio, where she majored in Political Science and graduated cum laude.
Note: National Center for Family Philanthropy Webinars are a resource for GWP members who work with a Family Foundation only. Not sure if you're eligible to attend? Ask Jenny.