Complicated but doable

Finding people to be fully committed as you are was a bit of challenge. I think I learned that understanding people and their interests of the changing world was the first step. We all ideally can see  how our communities could be a better place but drawing similarities is such a valuable tool.

The best way to work together was finding connections and building trust with people to help one another out in carrying our or duties and tasks as we collectively worked to achieve our goal. At the time our goal was to increase voter engagement which increased significantly due to strong partnerships with other groups and organizations- very crucial in movement building.

CASE really helped me solidify my skills as a community organizer and gave me the experiences to lead teams of people and empower others to do something in their community. In the beginning stages of the internship I was challenged yet also really encouraged by the leaders or rather more experienced organizers  of the organization. They helped me understand the concept of leadership in an interdependent model. It was really useful for me to see that not one person was the leader or manager but rather multiple people having that role and having to depend one another to figure out and understand tasks and the ability to reach our weekly goals. The key was leading others to work their way up to have the same knowledge and skills to help train others.

Day 1

The first day of my internship with CASE (Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy) gave me a real life perspective at what the situation is throughout the state of Arizona. Working people, migrants, LGBTQ folks are continually being marginalized. Corporations make millions at the cost of employees literally breaking their backs. What can we do? Can anything be done? While there are numerous and great ways to organize our community I agree with CASE and the Unite Here's goal of increasing voter engagement especially for Latin@s is the best way to win Phoenix, and eventually the state of Arizona.


The first day we were assigned a task to turn out as many volunteers as possible for a workshop and the power of community organizing through an interdependent leadership model. No hierarchical structure here! It was the community, the group, all of us untied each for our own reasons, our own goals but ultimately to change Phoenix so that special interests were not at the forefront. It was time to make a decision to choose to be better represented. We had about 150 turn out to this workshop that would kick off our summer campaign.