October 14, 2021; 3:30 to 5:00 PM Eastern
Archive:
Trainer: Atima Omara, Founder and President, Omara Strategy Group
Guest Speaker: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley [Massachusetts District 7]
If you are thinking of running for office having a “why” is critical. It’s the foundation to understanding the parts of your story that will resonate with voters and create your campaign message that will be used throughout the campaign. Learn how to build this foundation well from the beginning. Our guest speaker for this session will be Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who has been a powerful advocate for the disability community in Congress.
About Atima Omara
Atima Omara is a nationally recognized award-winning political strategist, leader, advocate, and speaker who has focused her almost 20 year career on engaging youth, women, and people of color at the intersection of politics and advocacy in the progressive movement. As President of Omara Strategy Group, LLC, Atima provides training, coaching, and strategic political services to political candidates and organizations that center women, people of color, and other underrepresented communities in issue advocacy and campaigns. Over a decade, she has worked as campaign manager, field director, and other roles on more than a dozen federal, state, & local political campaigns in many red and battleground states across the country. She has also successfully led organizing efforts for voter registration, ballot initiatives, and GOTV operations. In addition to serving as a trainer in 2019 for NCIL’s Elevate Campaign training, she has trained hundreds of candidates and campaign staff for a number of organizations including: Emerge America, Higher Heights for America, Vote Run Lead, New American Leaders, and Running Start. She has a BA from the University of Virginia and an MPA from George Mason University.
About Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Pressley is an advocate, a policy-maker, an activist, and a survivor. On November 6, 2018, Ayanna was elected to represent Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, making her the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ayanna believes that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power, and that a diversity of voices in the political process is essential to crafting more effective public policy.
Born in Cincinnati and raised in Chicago, Ayanna is the only child of a single mother and a father who was in and out of the criminal legal system. Ayanna’s mother, Sandra Pressley, was a tenants’ rights organizer who instilled in her the value of civic engagement. Thanks in large part to her mother’s dedication to activism, Ayanna has always been acutely aware of the role that government can play in lifting up families and communities.
In Congress, Ayanna has been dedicated to the kind of bold, activist leadership she emphasized throughout her history-making campaign. She has introduced legislation to support survivors of sexual assault and harassment, to fundamentally reimagine our criminal legal system, and to guarantee a good job for every person who wants one, among much else. And she has been a vocal advocate on behalf of our immigrant communities, led the creation of the Future of Transportation caucus, fought to protect critical reproductive rights, and worked closely alongside the disability community.
A headshot of Atima Omara standing with her arms crossed. She wears a gray suit jacket with an orange shirt and a gold flower necklace.
Ayanna Pressley, A Black woman with a bald head, wearing red lipstick and pearl earrings. She is wearing a black suit with a white blouse, and standing in front of a tan background.
