As legislative staffers, getting a bill signed into law is only half the battle. The real challenge? Ensuring that law achieves your Member's intended impact when implemented — especially given the added challenges of drafting legislation in a post-Chevron world.
Join the Niskanen Center and POPVOX Foundation for a virtual discussion on how to level up your bill writing before the August recess, and learn about tools you can use to write a great first draft.
This is the fourth event in our series focused on going beyond traditional legislative training to address the critical but often overlooked issues with implementation across the Executive branch. For more information and videos of our previous events, check out The Implementation Gap: Turning Legislative Intent into Executive-Led Outcomes, Tech That Works: Unlocking Better Models for Digital Government, and Closing the Feedback Loop Through Casework.
Why Attend?
Hear from legislative staff who have recently led drafting processes focused on policy implementation up front, amidst the changing dynamics of legislative specificity
Learn about the Niskanen Center’s Legislative Guide and other forthcoming tools that you can use to help to go from great idea to draft bill
Speakers
Marci Harris is the cofounder and CEO of POPVOX and Executive Director of the nonprofit POPVOX Foundation. Marci is passionate about using technology for good and developed the idea for the POPVOX civic technology platform while working as a Congressional staffer with the Ways and Means Health subcommittee from 2008-2010. Marci has rich experience unifying communities, including leading redevelopment in Jackson, Tennessee after a 2003 tornado and advising FEMA and Puerto Rico's government on recovery strategies following the 2018 hurricanes. Marci makes regular contributions to Congressional modernization, testifying before the House Select Committee on Modernization and co-writing tech recommendations for the American Political Science Association's Presidential Task Force. During the pandemic, she guided Congress' adoption of remote technologies and workflows. In 2023, she initiated the first staff level information-sharing sessions around the use of AI in the legislative branch and has become an internationally recognized expert on AI for parliaments. Marci is a lecturer in political science at San Jose State University and adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco. She holds a B.A. from Franklin University Lugano, Switzerland, a J.D. from the University of Memphis, an LL.M. from American University, and has held fellowships at New America and the Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
Marci is a lecturer in political science at San Jose State University and adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco. She holds a B.A. from Franklin University Lugano, Switzerland, a J.D. from the University of Memphis, and an LL.M. from American University.
Amanda Patarino is the Government Affairs Manager for the Niskanen Center's State Capacity Initiative. She is responsible for outreach to Congress and federal agencies on efforts to improve the government’s ability to effectively implement policy objectives and rebuild government capacity.
Prior to joining Niskanen, Amanda was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, serving state and federal agencies on implementation, transformation, and change management efforts. Previously, she worked at the Partnership for Public Service on the Center for Presidential Transition. Amanda earned a Masters of Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Politics from the Honors College at George Mason University.
Amanda lives in Washington, DC and serves on the boards of the United States Senate Youth Alumni Association and the George Mason Honors College Engaged Alumni Network.
Additional Resources
About POPVOX Foundation
POPVOX Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization with a mission to help democratic institutions keep pace with a rapidly changing world. Through publications, events, prototypes, and technical assistance, the organization helps public servants and elected officials better serve their constituents and make better policy.
About the Niskanen Center
Named “The Most Interesting Think Tank in American Politics” by TIME Magazine in 2023, the Niskanen Center promotes policies that advance prosperity, opportunity, and human flourishing, guided by the belief that a free market and an effective government are mutually dependent.