This working session, hosted by Georgetown’s Massive Data Institute and POPVOX Foundation in partnership with the New Practice Lab at New America, and sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Communities Initiative, brings together staffers from the state and federal levels in both the executive and legislative branches, along with researchers and on-the-ground paid leave implementers and experts.

Join POPVOX Foundation and the Capitol Hill Intern Association for a panel discussion exploring actionable tips for utilizing free AI tools to enhance your work as an Congressional intern.

Join POPVOX Foundation and the Modernization Staff Association for a panel discussion on the ins and outs of the complex appropriations process, with a focus on providing actionable knowledge for early-career staffers new to this portfolio.

Join POPVOX Foundation and the Capitol Hill Intern Association for an insightful panel discussion exploring the rich history and continuing importance of Congressional internships.

Join us as POPVOX Foundation brings together current and former caseworkers and experts from #AfghanEvac to discuss the findings and recommendations from “American Ingenuity: Congressional Casework in the Afghanistan Withdrawal,” a new report detailing the extraordinary efforts of Congressional caseworkers who overcame bureaucratic obstacles in a high-stakes situation to facilitate the evacuation of thousands of Americans and American allies during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Direct constituent service has been part of Congressional responsibility since the nation’s founding, but casework has looked very different through the last two hundred years. Did you know that in the 1970s, some Senators employed shared casework staff? Or that between 1905 and 1907, private bills on behalf of constituents represented 89% of laws passed by Congress? Or that casework has survived multiple attempts to remove it from Congressional duties entirely?

Join us for the kickoff of the 2024 Casework Navigator webinar series with special guest Daniel Holt, Associate Historian from the Senate Historical Office.

This event will put modern casework in context, exploring how we got here, and what we can learn from previous iterations of casework to chart the future of democratic representation in America.

Speaker:

Daniel S. Holt, Associate Historian, U.S. Senate Historical Office

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

“Administrative burden” describes the obstacles constituents face in accessing benefits that do not reflect their legal eligibility—it also happens to describe a significant proportion of reasons constituents seek casework help from their Members of Congress.

Don Moynihan, McCourt Chair at the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy, has pioneered the study of administrative burden, including new language and frameworks to understand the types of costs associated with navigating complex bureaucracies. Caseworkers will come away with a deeper understanding of the root problems behind common casework inquiries, and ideas for tracking types of casework and articulating casework challenges to policy staff.

Speaker:

Donald Moynihan, McCourt Chair, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

Generative AI (GenAI) is a tool that can be added to a congressional staffer’s toolbox to increase capacity and effectiveness. POPVOX Foundation and the R Street Institute invite you to join us for a virtual introductory training on how to finally take the plunge and get familiar with generative AI.

Generative AI (GenAI) is a tool that can be added to a congressional staffer’s toolbox to increase capacity and effectiveness. POPVOX Foundation and the R Street Institute invite you to join us for a virtual introductory training on how to finally take the plunge and get familiar with generative AI.

Every government program starts with good intentions—it’s how they’re carried out that can make them fail in big ways or in small ways that add up.

Jennifer Pahlka has been at the forefront of the push to reimagine government technology, and her new book, Recoding America, is an argument for seeing policy and implementation as coequal parts of governing—with stories and core concepts that will resonate for every caseworker. While caseworkers are part of the branch in charge of policy, casework experience is all about implementation: how do good policy ideas become complicated and counterproductive as they’re filtered through agencies?

Jennifer has argued that every policymaker should have experience in government customer service positions. This webinar will discuss how caseworkers and other frontline implementation experts can and must leverage that expertise to reimagine government service for the 21st century.

Speaker:

Jennifer Pahlka, author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

Participants from the legislative branch, digital service delivery, and data and evidence-based policy are invited to join this working session to identify existing challenges, leverage evidence-based policymaking, and identify actionable solutions for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of SNAP.

One of the most challenging aspects of casework is when programs and benefits collide: a veteran might have a permanent disability rating with the VA, but need to recertify for SSDI, or a slight change in income that increases one benefit makes another one fall by a larger amount. For individuals, these interactions can be confusing; for the economy and government spending as a whole, they can have huge impacts.

Max Ghenis is the CEO and co-founder of PolicyEngine, a nonprofit organization developing open-source tools to help constituents and policymakers understand how programs interact and compute the impact of policy changes for families and for the country. In this webinar, Max will demo PolicyEngine, and talk about the challenges behind understanding the complex web of interacting programs.

Speaker:

Max Ghenis, Co-founder and CEO, PolicyEngine

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

Samuel Hammond, Chief Economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, shared a presentation with Congressional staff about how AI will transform political institutions.

Caseworkers' willingness to go above and beyond to help constituents in distress can easily cross over into burnout and compassion fatigue. In this webinar, experts from the Schwartz Center for Compassion in Healthcare shared their innovative approaches to supporting caregivers facing burnout and trauma in the medical field. Caseworkers will explore ways these lessons may be applied to Congressional contexts.

Speaker:

Julie Collier, Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford School of Medicine

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

Caseworkers bear witness to the stories of constituents experiencing the federal government. Told effectively, these stories can build support for policy change through legislation and oversight.

Speaker:

Susanne Schmitt, Comedic Storyteller and Performer

Moderator:

Katherine Long, Senior Casework Fellow, POPVOX Foundation

Caseworkers bear witness to the stories of constituents experiencing the federal government. Told effectively, these stories can build support for policy change through legislation and oversight.

Speaker:

Susanne Schmitt, Comedic Storyteller and Performer

Moderator:

Katherine Long, Senior Casework Fellow, POPVOX Foundation

John Nay, Ph.D. shared a presentation of the evolution of LLMs and his work to create a Large Legal Language Model (LLLM) trained on legal data and potential applications within the lawmaking process.

Internapalooza is a free, nonpartisan orientation and welcome event for all current Congressional interns, hosted by the POPVOX Foundation and members of the First Branch Intern Project.

Please join us for a pre-launch book event with Jennifer Pahlka, former Obama White House official and author of “Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better,” in a bipartisan conversation with Matt Lira, former Congressional leadership staffer and Trump White House official, about the adoption of technology and digital practices.

Join POPVOX Foundation, Ignite Talks, and Foundation for American Innovation in San Francisco for an intimate, off-the-record conversation with the trailblazers building emerging artificial intelligence technologies.

District and state offices know that interns are invaluable for handling typical tasks like answering phones, opening mail, and staffing the front desk. But it can be hard in the constant churn of three new classes a year to find appropriate tasks for interns in a casework program.

Speaker:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

Caseworkers' authority to help constituents comes from Congress's oversight responsibility. But what does that mean beyond writing bills and letters? This crash course will help caseworkers understand and be an asset to their teams' legislative work, from appropriations to NDAA.

Speaker:

Tim Stretton, Director of the Congressional Oversight Initiative, Project on Government Oversight

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

A good communications team is a secret weapon for good casework. This training will cover using the Congressional communications toolkit to help teams reach constituents, set expectations for casework, coordinate effectively with DC, and build a reputation of professionalism.

Speaker:

Zack Brown, former Communications Director for Congressman Don Young

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

A briefing on AI Tools for the Congressional workplace hosted by POPVOX Foundation, Demand Progress Education Fund, and the Foundation for American Innovation (formerly Lincoln Network) — in collaboration with the House Digital Service.

POPVOX Foundation hosted a dinner, discussion, and reception on the modernization of Congress. Attendees included staffers from interested offices in both chambers, funders, and nonprofits who are dedicated to the improvement of our first branch of government.

Casework data is so much more than just your year-end case-closed numbers. In this overview session, learn how tracking casework data can be a tool to help your team improve your casework process, better serve your constituents, and make the most of the resources your team invests in casework.

Speaker:

Alexandra Mannerings, Founder, Merakinos

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

For many small and mid-size cities, navigating relationships with their congressional representatives can be challenging, especially when lacking the resources to hire a federal lobbyist. In this session, veteran caseworkers Katherine Long and Anne Meeker will share insights from their careers as congressional staffers on what local communities can ask of their congressional representatives.

Come with your questions about all things Congress, from casework to federal funding opportunities to agency relationships and more. This session will also offer a brief introduction to Member-Directed Spending (aka Community Project Funding or Earmarks) for leaders in local government unfamiliar with appropriations, and tips on working with congressional offices to address local needs.

The most effective tool caseworkers have at their disposal is a good relationship with an agency contact. This session will focus on what casework looks like from the agency side, and tips for building and maintaining strong professional relationships with agency liaisons.

Speaker:

Nina E. Olson, Executive Director, Center for Taxpayer Rights

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

Member-Directed Spending (aka Community Project Funding or Earmarks) can be an effective tool for caseworkers to strengthen relationships with local programs and stakeholders. This session will cover an introduction to MDS for caseworkers unfamiliar with appropriations, and tips on talking to community members about what to expect in the process.

Speaker:

Franz Wuerfmannsdobler, Senior Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation

Experienced caseworkers know that the best resources for casework teams are other caseworkers. In this session, veteran caseworker Katherine Long, who spent fifteen years as a caseworker in the office of former Senator Patrick Leahy, shared insights from her casework career and answer questions from new and returning offices. She also answered your questions about all things casework, from staff retention to agency relationships and more.

Speaker:

Katherine Long, Casework Programs Senior Fellow, POPVOX Foundation

Moderator:

Anne Meeker, Deputy Director, POPVOX Foundation