Big news from me

Our story is featured in the Obama Presidential Center.

This month, I’m taking my kids on a family trip to Chicago, and I’m really excited about it. We’re going to visit the Obama Presidential Center. Where they get to see their Mom in a museum exhibit.

Yes, you read that right. I’m honored to be included in Imagine Your Impact, a rotating collection of real stories from changemakers who are making their communities better. Museum staff interviewed me about writing this newsletter and the organizing work of helping readers feel informed and empowered. As well as my work with policymakers, organizations, and collaborations with researchers, journalists, and practitioners behind the scenes.

This is all is admittedly overwhelming. Countless people in communities around the world are working to make things better. I love the work that I do, but right now, when we’ve suffered so many bruising losses in America in rapid succession, it doesn’t feel like enough most days.

But then I remember y’all. My readers work tirelessly to make the world a better place. Through your activism, volunteering, journalism, research, and citizen advocacy. You show up in big and small ways, and I’m proud that this newsletter and my work have helped you do what you do.

The exhibits won’t be about just one person. There will be 33 stories from changemakers in the rotation, and each story will also include the community of people alongside them.

When I step back, I’m reminded that my work has helped people become better informed about what we’re up against and find the courage to stand up and fight back. It’s had an impact on journalism, policy, and funding priorities. Readers are why I keep going, even on days when I want to throw my phone into a pond.

When I think about the collective impact over the past decade of writing this newsletter, and the arc of my work in politics and advocacy, it’s easier to grasp the idea that my story could inspire visitors who come to the Obama Presidential Center.

But the two people I want to inspire most are my five-year-old sons. The Obama Campaign and Administration have played a huge role in their parents’ personal and political lives. I’m proud to have been a USA Leader for the Obama Foundation in 2023 and of my work on the 2012 reelection campaign. My husband, Micheál, was one of the first staffers on the ground in Iowa in 2008. He helped the campaign win the Iowa Caucus, lived and worked in multiple states during primary campaign, and ended up in Florida for the general election. I can’t wait to show the boys every inch of the Obama Presidential Center, and bring our stories to life for them.

Hope is a practice. I want my kids, all of our kids, to know that the way the world exists in this moment isn’t how it always has to be. Barack Obama’s campaigns and presidency are a reminder of what can happen when Americans choose hope (just as we’re currently being reminded what happens when Americans choose fear.) I love that the Obama Presidential Center isn’t just the unlikely story of Barack Obama, but everyone who came along with him on the journey. I love that it’s not just a museum but a campus intended to foster and inspire future leaders and changemakers.

The Obama Presidential Museum opens to the public on June 19th, and as of yesterday morning, tickets are available for purchase. If you’re in Chicago, or planning to be in Chicago anytime soon, you can learn more about the Center and purchase your tickets here.

The timing of all this is fortuitous as I’m currently working to evolve the newsletter once again. In a few weeks, CARD will no longer be under the Courier banner, and I’ll be independent. Courier was a good publisher, and while I’m sad they’ve decided to end our relationship, I also see it as an opportunity to make some changes. The first is getting off Substack and back on Action Network, which has graciously come back on board as a sponsor. I’m also now set up to raise funds on ActBlue.

I’m going to be honest, the loss of income from Courier is a financial blow. To make that income up I need to raise $15,000 between now and December. This newsletter has never been my primary source of income but the funds have allowed me to devote more time to it rather than finding more client work. To keep going at the level I currently do, I need to raise more money. So I’m putting the hat out.

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Thank you for all that you do. Today and every day.