August 28, 2024 • 11 mins
Welcome to "Under the Dome," your go-to source from Empower Missouri, updating you on the latest happenings in Jefferson City with a focus on anti-poverty initiatives.
In this mini bonus episode, we introduce our rebranded "Advocacy Accelerator" program, designed to empower nonprofits with the skills needed to sustain their advocacy efforts. Dr. Amy Beck from the Missouri Psychological Association shares her transformative journey as a participant, highlighting the critical role of systemic change in her work with underserved populations. Learn more at EmpowerMissouri.org\advocacy-partners
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:07):
Welcome to Under the Dome, your update from Empower Missouri about what is happening
in Jefferson City, with a particular focus on our anti-poverty agenda.
We've been working to advance evidence-based public policy to end poverty for over 100 years.
We lead coalitions addressing affordable housing, criminal legal system reform, and food security.
We also support our partners leading on wages, health care, child care,
(00:30):
voting rights, and other issues.
We know that poverty can and must be solved for our neighbors, but we can't do it alone.
I'm Sarah Owsley, Advocacy Director, and we're so glad you're with us.
As Advocacy Director, I have the absolute joy and privilege of working with
nonprofits and nonprofit staff in moving their advocacy agenda forward.
(00:53):
We know direct service is so important in helping to ease the experience of poverty.
Nothing replaces a meal today or a home, you know, a safe roof to sleep in tonight.
In addition to that, direct service work on its own is not going to end the experience of poverty.
It is not going to address the systemic failures that result in poverty for
(01:16):
so many Missourians and so many of our neighbors.
So we really encourage nonprofits to engage in legislative policymaking, right?
Talking with their lawmakers about their agency, about their clients' experiences.
Creating policy that supports their clients in getting their basic needs met
and ending the experience of poverty once and for all in our state.
(01:38):
We know it's possible, and we know that the path to that is absolutely rooted
in systemic change through policy advocacy.
One of our biggest and most robust programs that we offer is our Advocacy Partners Program,
which we are renaming, rebranding into the Advocacy Accelerator because our
intention is to take nonprofits and help them to create an advocacy program
(02:02):
that they can self-sustain after we spend a full 12 months with them.
We are not meeting every week for a year. We are meeting once a month for a
90-minute cohort session and then some individual coaching where I am able to
work one-on-one with these staff folks,
build that relationship, and build those skills specific to where they are and
(02:22):
what they need right then.
Our advocacy accelerator is currently recruiting for our 2024-25 session,
and we are really excited to be able to expand that offering and have even more
folks on board for this next year.
I was able to sit down today with Dr.
Amy Beck and talk about her experience as an advocacy partner,
(02:43):
and she was so gracious to share these words with you.
Will you introduce yourself and your organization for us? Yes. Hi, my name is Dr.
Amy Beck, and I am the Legislative Chair and Federal Advocacy Coordinator for
the Missouri Psychological Association. That's a very long title for yourself.
It is, yes. And an honor, too. The Missouri Psychological Association is the
(03:05):
primary organization representing psychologists from across the state of Missouri.
That's awesome. What made you want to volunteer for that position?
I love advocacy work, and it is something that I've been wanting to pursue more of.
In my professional career. It has personal meaning to me. I am primarily a clinician.
I've worked in healthcare for, oh gosh, 15 years now. I've been an independently
(03:28):
licensed psychologist.
And so through working with my patients has really made me recognize the need
for broader systemic work.
Treating the system is what I like to call it. And so any opportunity to do
more advocacy work is something that I'm interested in.
And so this opportunity appeared, period. And so I was able to be appointed
and take it. What feels important about the systemic work to you?
(03:50):
So I primarily to this point have worked in pediatric obesity and in working
with a population that is triply underserved at the intersection of their disease.
Their race, because prevalence rates are primarily in black and brown population, and then poverty.
Working every day, eyeball to eyeball with these children and families and just
(04:12):
really seeing the limitations of what I could do with my recommendations because
you have to have fundamental access to things to be able to implement the recommendations
that are being provided and that's systemic level.
And so really just seeing the limitations of what health could do without really
going to that more public and popular...
Population health level is what made me want to, you know, I always say,
(04:34):
like, if I am supposed to be treating these children, and the problem is the
system, and that's what's actually causing them harm, then my job should be to treat the system.
I want more people in the field feeling that way, Dr. Beck, for sure.
I think that that's absolutely right. And certainly what drew me to systems
change work is like that the impact is so much larger.
And while direct service work is super important, and we in no way want that
(04:57):
to stop happening, right, we still want you doing your direct service work,
we are just often fighting an uphill battle when we're not looking at systemic issues.
So you just completed your year with the advocacy partners this last year.
Do you want to share a little bit about like what made you want to sort of step into that program?
It's somewhat rigorous and might feel overwhelming to some folks.
(05:17):
What made you excited to begin that program?
Oh my gosh, I was so excited. I unfortunately had not been familiar with Empower
Missouri, but I became familiar through connection to the Missouri Budget Project.
And so then I managed to just sort of wind my way through the connections of
coalitions and find myself having received an Empower Missouri email.
(05:39):
And I saw the ad for the Advocacy Partners Program.
And I didn't really, I wasn't quite sure what it meant, but it sounded cool.
And so you were very easy to get in contact with. I just clicked the link and
met you and you explained that it It was a year of training that was targeted
specifically on advocacy in the state of Missouri. And I was like,
oh, my gosh, this is perfect.
It kind of felt like a dream, like, really? Wow, cool.
(06:01):
And then I was very grateful to receive the scholarship from the Missouri Foundation
for Health because, again, not having known about the program until shortly before it started,
the funding for tuition was not in the budget for the Missouri Psychological
Association for the year.
And so the scholarship made it feasible for me to participate,
which was an excellent on opportunity.
(06:22):
It is not uncommon for nonprofits not to have.
Budget set aside for training. It's a super common experience for them.
And I think that that's even extra for the way your organization is structured.
Yeah. Do you have like something that felt specifically impactful or like good from the year?
I feel like as a psychologist, I sort of naturally had some of the people intuition
(06:46):
that is necessary for advocacy work.
But what I didn't have was just explicit strategies, skills, and tactics.
And so just like thinking about advocacy as its own discipline.
And so that was what this education was about.
And what was most painful for me was the opportunity to really just receive
didactic education on all the things that I didn't know and didn't even know
(07:08):
that I didn't know about the state legislature.
Strategies for messaging and and how to think about a campaign from start to end.
Also just recognizing the internal challenges for people who are as passionate about things as I am.
Sometimes that can make it extra hard when the system isn't doing what you want
it to do, which I think we're all sort of experiencing some of that in recent history.
(07:32):
And so just the opportunity to also then have the lectures recorded and the
materials provided and the opportunity for me to ask questions.
And also So the coaching was really great because I could get the specific needs
that I had for my role answered.
And yeah, I mean, it was I've been telling anyone who listened to me about it
that it's a great opportunity because it was truly like if I could have designed
(07:54):
a class, I'd been perfect for what I needed for right now.
It would have been this. And I'm, again, incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
Nice. What a nice compliment. That's so sweet.
I appreciate it. It's true. Yeah, I think it could feel overwhelming.
Did it feel overwhelming? Did it feel like a lot over the year?
Oh, I was grateful for, you know, you, Sarah, as the one who led it,
(08:16):
had a very just sort of chill, like, demeanor about it, which I very much appreciated, because I think...
Under, you know, someone else, it could have felt more like you're going to
miss a meeting or if you're five
minutes late, like if you're going to be punished or something like that.
But it felt very flexible and accessible.
And because I did have to miss class a couple of times because life got a life
(08:38):
in a year, but I had the recordings, the materials, and we were able to catch
up on anything I missed in coaching.
And so no, it wasn't, I looked forward to it, honestly, every week or every
month, excuse me, as opposed to feeling burdened or stressed by it.
That's excellent. Very good.
Anything else you want to share? I think what might be helpful for folks who
are considering this to know is that it wasn't like I had to wait till the end
(09:01):
of the year to be able to apply the information.
It really just seemed just in time for what I needed to be doing to advance
a legislative agenda for the association.
We were strongly supporting a bill to support audio only telehealth,
which we will again be supporting this upcoming legislative session.
And the like, I specifically like you had given the class on testifying right
(09:26):
before our first hearing.
And it was my first time testifying in person at a hearing.
And so much of what you said, even down to just like how to find the room was
so helpful. And so I was able to apply like what I was learning immediately, which was really cool.
And I don't really think it's often that you get that opportunity to hit the
(09:47):
ground running with new information that you're learning.
So I really appreciated that. Oh, that's excellent feedback.
We start the sessions in September for that purpose, right?
We want to have a little bit of lead time before legislative session begins in January.
But that's why we've timed it this way. I'll say the other feedback we often
get is that organizations feel like they want to wait a little bit and put like
(10:07):
more feet underneath them before they get going.
And the feedback I often give them is that like, you are probably not going
to be farther along in a year than you are today, unless you're intentional
about that, which lots of folks are not until they really get into the space.
And so that's, that's really helpful.
Awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate you, Amy. Yeah.
If you want to sign up for the Advocacy Accelerator for this coming year,
(10:30):
Or if you know organizations that would be well-suited and interested in this opportunity,
please direct them to EmpowerMissouri.org forward slash advocacy dash partners.
You can also email me directly, Sarah, S-A-R-A-H, at EmpowerMissouri.org.
Music.
Music.
(00:07):
Welcome to Under the Dome, your update from Empower Missouri about what is happening
in Jefferson City, with a particular focus on our anti-poverty agenda.
We've been working to advance evidence-based public policy to end poverty for over 100 years.
We lead coalitions addressing affordable housing, criminal legal system reform, and food security.
We also support our partners leading on wages, health care, child care,
(00:30):
voting rights, and other issues.
We know that poverty can and must be solved for our neighbors, but we can't do it alone.
I'm Sarah Owsley, Advocacy Director, and we're so glad you're with us.
As Advocacy Director, I have the absolute joy and privilege of working with
nonprofits and nonprofit staff in moving their advocacy agenda forward.
(00:53):
We know direct service is so important in helping to ease the experience of poverty.
Nothing replaces a meal today or a home, you know, a safe roof to sleep in tonight.
In addition to that, direct service work on its own is not going to end the experience of poverty.
It is not going to address the systemic failures that result in poverty for
(01:16):
so many Missourians and so many of our neighbors.
So we really encourage nonprofits to engage in legislative policymaking, right?
Talking with their lawmakers about their agency, about their clients' experiences.
Creating policy that supports their clients in getting their basic needs met
and ending the experience of poverty once and for all in our state.
(01:38):
We know it's possible, and we know that the path to that is absolutely rooted
in systemic change through policy advocacy.
One of our biggest and most robust programs that we offer is our Advocacy Partners Program,
which we are renaming, rebranding into the Advocacy Accelerator because our
intention is to take nonprofits and help them to create an advocacy program
(02:02):
that they can self-sustain after we spend a full 12 months with them.
We are not meeting every week for a year. We are meeting once a month for a
90-minute cohort session and then some individual coaching where I am able to
work one-on-one with these staff folks,
build that relationship, and build those skills specific to where they are and
(02:22):
what they need right then.
Our advocacy accelerator is currently recruiting for our 2024-25 session,
and we are really excited to be able to expand that offering and have even more
folks on board for this next year.
I was able to sit down today with Dr.
Amy Beck and talk about her experience as an advocacy partner,
(02:43):
and she was so gracious to share these words with you.
Will you introduce yourself and your organization for us? Yes. Hi, my name is Dr.
Amy Beck, and I am the Legislative Chair and Federal Advocacy Coordinator for
the Missouri Psychological Association. That's a very long title for yourself.
It is, yes. And an honor, too. The Missouri Psychological Association is the
(03:05):
primary organization representing psychologists from across the state of Missouri.
That's awesome. What made you want to volunteer for that position?
I love advocacy work, and it is something that I've been wanting to pursue more of.
In my professional career. It has personal meaning to me. I am primarily a clinician.
I've worked in healthcare for, oh gosh, 15 years now. I've been an independently
(03:28):
licensed psychologist.
And so through working with my patients has really made me recognize the need
for broader systemic work.
Treating the system is what I like to call it. And so any opportunity to do
more advocacy work is something that I'm interested in.
And so this opportunity appeared, period. And so I was able to be appointed
and take it. What feels important about the systemic work to you?
(03:50):
So I primarily to this point have worked in pediatric obesity and in working
with a population that is triply underserved at the intersection of their disease.
Their race, because prevalence rates are primarily in black and brown population, and then poverty.
Working every day, eyeball to eyeball with these children and families and just
(04:12):
really seeing the limitations of what I could do with my recommendations because
you have to have fundamental access to things to be able to implement the recommendations
that are being provided and that's systemic level.
And so really just seeing the limitations of what health could do without really
going to that more public and popular...
Population health level is what made me want to, you know, I always say,
(04:34):
like, if I am supposed to be treating these children, and the problem is the
system, and that's what's actually causing them harm, then my job should be to treat the system.
I want more people in the field feeling that way, Dr. Beck, for sure.
I think that that's absolutely right. And certainly what drew me to systems
change work is like that the impact is so much larger.
And while direct service work is super important, and we in no way want that
(04:57):
to stop happening, right, we still want you doing your direct service work,
we are just often fighting an uphill battle when we're not looking at systemic issues.
So you just completed your year with the advocacy partners this last year.
Do you want to share a little bit about like what made you want to sort of step into that program?
It's somewhat rigorous and might feel overwhelming to some folks.
(05:17):
What made you excited to begin that program?
Oh my gosh, I was so excited. I unfortunately had not been familiar with Empower
Missouri, but I became familiar through connection to the Missouri Budget Project.
And so then I managed to just sort of wind my way through the connections of
coalitions and find myself having received an Empower Missouri email.
(05:39):
And I saw the ad for the Advocacy Partners Program.
And I didn't really, I wasn't quite sure what it meant, but it sounded cool.
And so you were very easy to get in contact with. I just clicked the link and
met you and you explained that it It was a year of training that was targeted
specifically on advocacy in the state of Missouri. And I was like,
oh, my gosh, this is perfect.
It kind of felt like a dream, like, really? Wow, cool.
(06:01):
And then I was very grateful to receive the scholarship from the Missouri Foundation
for Health because, again, not having known about the program until shortly before it started,
the funding for tuition was not in the budget for the Missouri Psychological
Association for the year.
And so the scholarship made it feasible for me to participate,
which was an excellent on opportunity.
(06:22):
It is not uncommon for nonprofits not to have.
Budget set aside for training. It's a super common experience for them.
And I think that that's even extra for the way your organization is structured.
Yeah. Do you have like something that felt specifically impactful or like good from the year?
I feel like as a psychologist, I sort of naturally had some of the people intuition
(06:46):
that is necessary for advocacy work.
But what I didn't have was just explicit strategies, skills, and tactics.
And so just like thinking about advocacy as its own discipline.
And so that was what this education was about.
And what was most painful for me was the opportunity to really just receive
didactic education on all the things that I didn't know and didn't even know
(07:08):
that I didn't know about the state legislature.
Strategies for messaging and and how to think about a campaign from start to end.
Also just recognizing the internal challenges for people who are as passionate about things as I am.
Sometimes that can make it extra hard when the system isn't doing what you want
it to do, which I think we're all sort of experiencing some of that in recent history.
(07:32):
And so just the opportunity to also then have the lectures recorded and the
materials provided and the opportunity for me to ask questions.
And also So the coaching was really great because I could get the specific needs
that I had for my role answered.
And yeah, I mean, it was I've been telling anyone who listened to me about it
that it's a great opportunity because it was truly like if I could have designed
(07:54):
a class, I'd been perfect for what I needed for right now.
It would have been this. And I'm, again, incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
Nice. What a nice compliment. That's so sweet.
I appreciate it. It's true. Yeah, I think it could feel overwhelming.
Did it feel overwhelming? Did it feel like a lot over the year?
Oh, I was grateful for, you know, you, Sarah, as the one who led it,
(08:16):
had a very just sort of chill, like, demeanor about it, which I very much appreciated, because I think...
Under, you know, someone else, it could have felt more like you're going to
miss a meeting or if you're five
minutes late, like if you're going to be punished or something like that.
But it felt very flexible and accessible.
And because I did have to miss class a couple of times because life got a life
(08:38):
in a year, but I had the recordings, the materials, and we were able to catch
up on anything I missed in coaching.
And so no, it wasn't, I looked forward to it, honestly, every week or every
month, excuse me, as opposed to feeling burdened or stressed by it.
That's excellent. Very good.
Anything else you want to share? I think what might be helpful for folks who
are considering this to know is that it wasn't like I had to wait till the end
(09:01):
of the year to be able to apply the information.
It really just seemed just in time for what I needed to be doing to advance
a legislative agenda for the association.
We were strongly supporting a bill to support audio only telehealth,
which we will again be supporting this upcoming legislative session.
And the like, I specifically like you had given the class on testifying right
(09:26):
before our first hearing.
And it was my first time testifying in person at a hearing.
And so much of what you said, even down to just like how to find the room was
so helpful. And so I was able to apply like what I was learning immediately, which was really cool.
And I don't really think it's often that you get that opportunity to hit the
(09:47):
ground running with new information that you're learning.
So I really appreciated that. Oh, that's excellent feedback.
We start the sessions in September for that purpose, right?
We want to have a little bit of lead time before legislative session begins in January.
But that's why we've timed it this way. I'll say the other feedback we often
get is that organizations feel like they want to wait a little bit and put like
(10:07):
more feet underneath them before they get going.
And the feedback I often give them is that like, you are probably not going
to be farther along in a year than you are today, unless you're intentional
about that, which lots of folks are not until they really get into the space.
And so that's, that's really helpful.
Awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate you, Amy. Yeah.
If you want to sign up for the Advocacy Accelerator for this coming year,
(10:30):
Or if you know organizations that would be well-suited and interested in this opportunity,
please direct them to EmpowerMissouri.org forward slash advocacy dash partners.
You can also email me directly, Sarah, S-A-R-A-H, at EmpowerMissouri.org.
Music.
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