Congress can sometimes seem like an institution trapped in the past, but constituent services (also known as casework) has been one of the most dynamic and rapidly-changing areas of Congressional service in the past few years — requiring agency liaisons to adapt quickly in turn.
This briefing for agency liaisons and other Executive-branch staff tasked with responding to Congressional casework will focus on understanding and navigating this changing landscape, including changes in constituent demand for support, the professionalization of constituent services, and the evolving role of casework within a Congressional office and Congress writ large. Participants will be invited to take part in a panel discussion and Q&A on best practices for agency liaisons in responding to Congressional casework and managing relationships with district and state-level staff in both chambers and both sides of the aisle.
If you have questions about this event or would like to register, please email POPVOX Foundation Deputy Director Anne Meeker at anne@popvox.org.
About POPVOX Foundation’s Casework Navigator
POPVOX Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization founded to help democratic institutions keep pace with a rapidly changing world. As former Congressional staffers, the POPVOX Foundation team understands firsthand the challenges facing modern legislatures, and develops publications, events, prototypes, and technical assistance to help public servants and elected officials better serve their constituents and make better policy.
Since 2022, POPVOX Foundation has hosted the Casework Navigator program, supporting and elevating casework as a vital mechanism for information-sharing and collaborative problem-solving between the Executive and Legislative branches. The Casework Navigator program includes resources for caseworkers, webinars on casework-related topics, original research into modern casework, and a biweekly newsletter helping casework staff understand changes to agency programs that may result in casework demand.
SPEAKERS
Jeremy Dillard is a POPVOX Foundation Fellow, where he brings his decade of experience at the Department of Veterans Affairs, including serving as a Congressional Liaison, to work on projects related to casework, inter-branch relationships, and effective lawmaking.
At the VA, Jeremy utilized his experience as a federal caseworker, with a robust background in issues impacting Veterans, their dependents, and corporations,while working as the Sr. Congressional Liaison and most recently the Acting Deputy Director for the Congressional Liaison Service.
Before joining the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the Department of Veteran Affairs, Jeremy worked at the Washington DC VA Medical Center in the VA / DoD liaison program and served four years active duty in the United States Airforce, where he served one combat tour. During this time, he developed a reputation for getting the job done with integrity, excellence, and service before self.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Jeremy is deeply committed to helping homeless LGBTQ youth by raising money for Washington DC’s SMYAL program. He received the Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary’s “I Care” award in 2016 from Secretary Robert McDonald and holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Boston University.
When he is not working, Jeremy enjoys traveling, gardening, and restoring old cars with friends and family.
Ananda Bhatia is a Product Manager for the CAO's House Digital Service. She previously served as a Clerk/Research Associate and later Legislative Assistant with the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress handling member services, and she started on Capitol Hill as a Staff Assistant and Legislative Correspondent for Rep. Seth Moulton. Ananda is a proud graduate of the University of Kansas and is passionate about constituent services and making Congress more effective and efficient.
Sean J. Kealy is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at the Boston University School of Law. Sean graduated from Temple Law School in 1994. He was an assistant attorney general from 1995-1999 where he worked on victim compensation claims and prosecuted insurance fraud. From 1999-2007 he worked as legal advisor to State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem and counsel to the General Court's Joint Committee on Criminal Justice and the Joint Committee on Revenue. While working for the Legislature, Professor Kealy had the opportunity to work on many notable issues such as: the revised sex offender registry, the creation of buffer zones around reproductive health clinics, drunk driving legislation, modernizing corporate tax laws, creating new tax credits to encourage economic development, legalizing and encouraging stem cell research, and ensuring equal marriage rights.
Professor Kealy has taught criminal justice at Massachusetts Bay Community College and Suffolk University and has written law review articles on a variety of topics dealing with statutory changes to protect victim's rights, improve the definition of murder and revise the Federal Posse Comitatus Act. He also co-edits a bi-monthly newsletter on recent changes to the criminal law that is distributed to prosecutors, members of law enforcement, defense attorneys and academics.
MODERATOR
Anne Meeker is Deputy Director of POPVOX Foundation, and a former House caseworker. She was a founding member of the POPVOX Foundation team as Director of Special Initiatives. She previously served as Director of Constituent Services for Congressman Seth Moulton, where she worked to use data and technology to deliver smarter casework services to residents of the MA06. Anne holds a bachelor's degree in Anthropology from the University of Oxford (St. Hugh's College), and an MSc in History from the London School of Economics. She is also a proud Clevelander, and will take any opportunity to talk up the Rust Belt.
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