It's time to meet Mainstream's next Executive Director!
In case you missed it, Mainstream made a big announcement last week. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us -- the Mainstream family is a big one! And now, it is truly an honor to say hello to you as Mainstream's next Executive Director.
I have had the pleasure of working alongside many of you these past few years, but for those who I haven't had the opportunity to meet, please let me share a little about myself.
I'm one of those Kansas natives who grew up in a small town and needed to experience life on the outside to appreciate just how great Kansas really is. I grew up in Basehor, attended KU, and then spent 15 years out of the state. I earned an MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from Arcadia University outside of Philadelphia, where I was able to study abroad in Hungary and intern in Ethiopia and Tanzania.
I then spent 10 years in Michigan where I honed my advocacy skills. I helped introduce and pass legislation increasing access to affordable housing, led a state-wide coalition to increase public transportation funding, and evaluated state-funded public health programs. Among my favorite projects was founding Michigan's Homeless Speakers Bureau, which empowered individuals to share their personal stories, and organizing the annual advocacy day on homelessness. I even persuaded legislators from both parties to spend a night unhoused -- sleeping in public spaces or a local shelter -- to experience the issue firsthand.
I joined Mainstream in 2021 when I moved back to Kansas with my husband and two young daughters. We settled in Shawnee, where my girls just started 2nd and 5th grade in our local public school and I serve as council president for the Shawnee City Council.
My first project at Mainstream was to facilitate a state-wide coalition during the 2021-2022 redistricting process. I remember being amazed by how many people showed up and spoke out on something where 1. the system was clearly rigged against us, and 2. there were so many technical (and quite frankly, boring) aspects to understand.
That was the moment I fell in love with Mainstream -- when I realized that it didn't matter how hard the fight was, Mainstream members would be there. Then, just 4 years later, we did it all over again when we stopped the mid-decade redistricting attempt!
My time at Mainstream has been full of extraordinary moments like this -- from hosting educational events to lobbying in the statehouse to putting out our candidate recommendations. And I firmly believe the best is yet to come. I'm so honored that the Board has put their faith in me, though admittedly it's going to be tough to live up to the incredible leadership of Michael Poppa.
As we go through this transition and strengthen our commitment to upholding church-state separation and religious freedom for all Kansans, I'd love the chance to get to know you better. Even if we've met before, please reach out to me at [email protected] and let me know a little bit about you and your connection with our organization. And if you're ready to do more, please consider hosting me at a community event or house party so I can speak to your group about what's next for Mainstream.
I'm excited to grow this organization into even more advocacy and electoral wins, and I'm grateful to have all of you on this journey with me. Thank you.
Onward!
Laurel