Weitz Fellow Voices: Ashley at Nebraska Civic Engagement Table

This is a guest blog written by one of our Weitz Fellows, Ashley Rosenberg. This blog is estimated to take 3 minutes to read.

Hi! My name is Ashley Rosenberg (she/her) and I am the Weitz Fellow at Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Nebraska Table is a backbone support organization that works with nonprofits to build transformative community power through year-round civic engagement. As this year’s Advocacy and Organizing Fellow, I rotate through each of the core departments at Nebraska Table, gaining hands-on experience in everything from development to data to communications to policy to power building.

I am currently about halfway through my fellowship, and I have already been exposed to so many different facets of the Table’s work and have truly learned that no two days look exactly alike. The rotational nature of the program has been invaluable in allowing me to gain real world experience in so many different aspects of nonprofit work. From drafting blog posts and social media toolkits, to working on organizational policy, to getting trained in data software, my experience has been one of constant learning and exploration in all of the different departments. Through these rotations, I have also gotten to collaborate with so many of my coworkers and advocates from our member nonprofits, allowing me to understand the many different issues facing Nebraskans today, and all of the work being done to fight for a more just Nebraska for all.

Currently, with the Legislative Session having just begun, I am in my Policy Department rotation, working on items ranging from bill tracking to writing recaps and newsletters for our members and supporters. Never having worked in the Legislature before, this has been an incredible learning experience and one of my favorite parts of my time as a fellow thus far. Prior to starting my work at Nebraska Table, I was especially excited to dive into the idiosyncrasies that come with Nebraska’s unicameral system, as well as see the uniquely strong culture of civic engagement of everyday Nebraskans—the “second house” of the legislature—in action as they engage with state politics. I am excited to get to watch hearings, help organize testimony, and provide support wherever I can for our work this session.

My time in the policy department has been bolstered by the fact that I was able to attend Lobby School leading up to the start of session. Lobby School is a program that Nebraska Table runs that educates a cohort of advocates about the Legislature as well as tactics and strategies for introducing a bill and passing it into law. This experience of learning in collaboration with passionate advocates about both the strategies necessary to pass a bill as well as the functions of the unicameral government was incredibly useful. The background knowledge I gained during Lobby School set me up well to jump into a legislative session dictated largely by the budget situation that the state currently faces, and I look forward to continuing my policy work throughout the rest of session.

I am incredibly grateful to the Weitz Family Foundation for affording me the opportunity to be a fellow this year, and to the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table for being a place where I can learn and grow as an individual and advocate. I look forward to all that’s to come during the rest of my fellowship!