Dear Karen,
With the upcoming election, Oregonians will be voting on critical issues affecting our communities.
At PSJ, we want you to be the first to hear directly from a few of these campaigns, so we've invited speakers to talk to our membership and want you to join us for this important meeting.
On Wednesday, October 8th, we will be hosting a panel discussion with local leaders working on the the Safe Roads Yes on 88 campaign (drivers' cards), A Fair Chance for All campaign (ban the box for felony convictions), and New Approach Oregon Yes on 91 campaign to regulate, tax, and legalize marijuana in Oregon.
We will be at the Multnomah Building (Room 315), with refreshments from 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm, presentations at 6:00 pm, and PSJ updates at 7:30 pm.
Let me know if you plan to join us!
Guest speakers:
Reyna Lopez is the Director of Civic Engagement at CAUSA Oregon and Safe Roads Campaign Field Director. Reyna has dedicated her professional and personal life to social justice and issues that affect Latino immigrant families locally and nationally. In the past, she has worked as a legislative staffer for Senator Ben Westlund, organizer for Bus Project and taken leadership roles on issues like Tuition Equity, Driver's License Restoration for all Oregonians, and the national conversation on Immigration Reform. She is a graduate from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
Anthony Johnson is the chief petitioner of Measure 91 working to regulate, legalize and tax marijuana for adults over 21 in 2014. In the past, he co-founded the University of Missouri-Columbia's first Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) chapter and co-authored successful decriminalization and medical marijuana measures within the city limits of Columbia, Missouri as a law student. After graduating law school, Anthony passed the Oregon Bar in 2005 and practiced criminal defense for two years before transitioning to working full-time to improve Oregon's marijuana laws.
Patty Katz is an Organizer with Oregon Action. In the past, she has been instrumental in several Ban-the Box Campaigns around the State of Oregon. She believes in a Fair Chance for All and that after a person has been convicted of a crime and paid their debt to society, they deserve a fair chance with both housing and employment. Her non-profit career path has taken many focuses; a prevention specialist with at-risk youth and their parents for healthy lifestyle choices, staffing a drug-free workplace coalition, a cultural competency trainer, an organizer and program director, and she currently sits on a working group for Governor’s Re-Entry Council.
Our membership meeting will be informing, engaging, and offer opportunities to get involved with these local campaigns. We hope you'll join us.
In Solidarity,
.jpg)
Cassandra Villanueva
Director of Organizing and Advocacy
.jpg)
