Despite the pandemic and communities working to eliminate racial injustices, the Progressive Governance Academy (PGA) is navigating this new normal to support our elected officials around the country, when they need us the most, due to the unknown and uncertainties. These leaders are on the frontlines of this crisis, and they are struggling to navigate the challenges and implications of COVID-19 on their communities, constituents, and families.
To illustrate that commitment, we have worked tirelessly to strategize and curate innovative approaches to meet the legislators where they are and provide them with the tools and tactics they need to govern effectively during this time.
As a result, the Progressive Governance Academy is currently hosting a three-part series training for local legislators in the state of Connecticut on July 17, 24, and 31st. Twenty-six local legislators attended the training held on July 17th. The PGA trainers are Kris Burnett, Channel Powe, and Raaheela Ahmed. The trainers serve on city council and school boards, and they’re active Local Progress members. This training series focuses on collaboratively working together to govern and setting an collective agenda to move the counties, cities, and school boards in the metro area of Connecticut forward. Training participants have had an opportunity to learn best practices from each other and build relationships in small group breakouts during the live, interactive training. This was an awesome first training of the series, as it allowed elected officials to learn what moves them and how to build power with the community, while learning how to continue working and strategizing together to create a progressive Connecticut.
On July 24, 2020, twenty-one local elected officials from Connecticut met virtually for PGA Hartford’s second training of the three-part series. The legislators consisted of newly and veteran elected officials from various cities in the metropolitan cities of Connecticut. Attendees discussed everything from inside-outside strategy to the importance of setting a collective agenda to effectively prioritize issues for strategic wins and meet the communities’ needs, especially due to the public health crisis that everyone is working to address in their localities now.
