Advocacy Committee Goals

The Fourth District PTA Advocacy Committee will increase advocacy efforts in local, state and national policy issues affecting children and families in Orange County through:

• Outreach - increasing the number of parent advocates.
• Education - training parent advocates on PTA positions, current issues, and advocacy tactics.
• Activation - sponsoring, coordinating, and planning opportunities to mobilize parent advocates on behalf of families and children in Orange County.

Objectives

• Assure that every council and unit has a legislation chair
• Build and maintain a district-wide database
• Create an email communication link with unit/council/district leaders

EDUCATION

• Provide advocacy training for unit and council legislation chairs through:
• Roundtables
• Orange Leaves newsletter
• Workshops
• Fall Legislation Conference
• Sacramento Safari
• Field Service
• Emailed messages
• Provide constantly-updated information about current issues, campaigns and legislation to advocates, using all of the avenues listed above.

ACTIVATION

• Increase parent advocates' communication with state legislators
• Increase letters to the editor and op-ed articles
• Organize, coordinate and participate in NO on Prop 76 Campaign
• Increase the number of OC parents participating in the National PTA Member to Member program

2007-2009 Advocacy Committee

Celia Jaffe, VP for Advocacy/Sacramento Safari Chairman
Dennis Walsh, LegLink Chairman
Barbara Shangraw, Speakers' Bureau Chairman
Wendy Bokota, Member-at-Large
Theresa Chase, Member-at-Large
Carol Pankow, Member-at-Large
Sylvia Derby, Member-at-Large
Steve Lustig, Member-at-Large
Gisela Meier, Member-at-Large
Shereen Walter, Member-at-Large