It’s Crucial To Be A Crucial Voice
By Charita Dailey, RISE Director of Development
"I hope we'll have created such a presence in local government that I'll work myself out of a position."
Terms like "policy" and "advocacy" can have a marginalizing effect on a conversation.
What exactly do they mean?
Olivia Larson, our Policy + Advocacy Associate here at RISE, works tirelessly to not only demystify these terms but embody our mission in action; striving to break generational cycles of incarceration within the very system that perpetuates them.
Jasmine Harris, our Director of Public Policy + Advocacy, inspired Olivia to join the RISE family three years ago. "Her successes, including establishing RISE's policy and advocacy as a crucial voice in criminal legal reform work, made me sure that there was nowhere else I'd want to fight the good fight," Olivia asserted.
As our Policy + Advocacy Associate, Olivia trains individuals who have been directly impacted by the justice system to become both legislative and community advocates, registers voters, hosts outreach events like our Community Conversations series, lobbies for bills at the State Capitol, and manages policy partnerships.
‘I thought having a felony meant I could never vote.'
"Our system of government benefits from people not knowing a lot about the creation of public policies, and it's my role to ensure that they do," shared Olivia. "When we passed [LB20 for] voting rights restoration last year, we heard from folks that it benefitted."
'I didn't think about my voting rights until they were taken away' or 'I thought having a felony meant I could never vote.'
"We all have a role in our community," Olivia exclaimed. "I help our program participants and graduates bring their experiences into the rooms where laws get made so that the proposed policies can work better for all of us."
Olivia thinks of herself as "holding the door open for folks who've been left out of the room."
"I want to have created a knowledge base and action plan with the communities that we serve," Olivia aspires.
Outside of her efforts at RISE, Olivia is a mixed media artist, thrift store regular, and general stunt-puller.
Olivia encourages everyone to sign-up for RISE policy alerts as well as attend our events.
Get Involved In Local Events
We invite you to join us on Thursday, March 27 for RISE Lobby Day to advocate for criminal justice reform. We will meet with senators to discuss important legislative bills, with a focus on LB319 to remove the permanent SNAP benefits ban.
Attendees are welcome to bring attention to other criminal justice bills that matter to them. Following our morning meetings, we will host a Legislative Lunch & Learn with invited senators from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM. Please let us know if you plan to join for lunch.
RSVP here for a powerful day of advocacy and connection!