Presenters: Katie Campbell-Simons, Massachusetts Census Equity Fund; Beth Huang, Massachusetts Voter Table; Vatsady Sivongxay, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Data from the 2020 Census will determine how resources and political representation are allocated for the next decade. Many communities that already face racial and economic inequities are at-risk of an undercount. With fewer than six months to “Census Day,” April 1, 2020, it’s time for nonprofits to mobilize to make sure our communities get their fair share of resources and representation. Learn more about how the 2020 Census works and will impact your community and what your organization can do to get out the count.
About the Speakers
Katie Campbell-Simons
Katie is the project consultant for the Massachusetts Census Equity Fund. Over the past 20 years Katie has worked in Boston for Project Bread, One Family, Inc. and Episcopal City Mission. Prior to arriving in Boston, she spent a service year in Washington D.C. working with the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. Katie’s experience comprises policy review and advocacy, community organizing, grant management and philanthropic collaboration. Her work has focused on issues including: child hunger, affordable housing and homelessness, immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and transportation equity.
Beth Huang
Beth is the Director at the Massachusetts Voter Table and works with over 25 community organizations to increase voter turnout and civic leadership in communities of color and working-class people in Massachusetts. As the Director of MVT, Beth serves on the Steering Committees of Raise Up Massachusetts and the Election Modernization Coalition and convenes MassCounts, a coalition that works with nonprofits to achieve a complete count in the 2020 Census. Prior to joining MVT as the Field Coordinator in 2016, Beth worked at Jobs With Justice as the National Coordinator of the Student Labor Action Project. Beth is a senior trainer with the Midwest Academy. She hails from Wisconsin, where she became politicized through fights for workers’ rights and racial justice, and holds a bachelors of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Vatsady Sivongxay
Vatsady joined the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition in July 2019 to lead our statewide outreach for the 2020 U.S. Census, supporting Executive Director Eva Millona in her role as Chair of the Statewide Complete Count Committee. Her background as an attorney, facilitator, public policy director, and entrepreneur as well as her experience as a refugee immigrant collectively inform her strong commitment to democratic engagement and advancing equity, diversity, inclusion and racial equity. Prior to joining MIRA, Vatsady managed, collaborated on, and led community outreach and public policy initiatives, and even ran for elected office. She serves as an advisor and board member of several community organizations, including the Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund and the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts. She has a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University.