DFA Campaign Academy Draws Praise; Plus New DFA Nightschool Session Tonight on Getting a Campaign Job

NM-03 candidate Ben Ray Lujan, DPNM Chair Brian Colon

See more photos from this event at Flickr.

DFA Chair Jim Dean, NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich, Jon Blair

Democracy for America's intensive, two-day Campaign Academy held at the UNM Law School in Albuquerque this past weekend was received enthusiastically by everyone I spoke with. Don't take my word for it -- read what two participants in the weekend training have to say about the experience. Check out posts about the Academy by Matt Reichbach and .

Martin Heinrich (NM-01), DFA Chair Jim Dean, Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03)

DFA trainers Matt Blizek, Jennifer Coken and Michael Cook presented the bulk of the material, with Allan Oliver of Governor Richardson's office and Joe Casados of the Democratic Party of New Mexico providing specialized instruction in communications and the Party's VoterBuilder file. The Campaign Academy included lecture presentations as well as small, hands-on breakout sessions, and was jam-packed with info useful to anyone involved in progressive politics. The workbook handout alone was worth the (very reasonable) price of admission.

Michael Cook conducts breakout session

On Saturday, Democratic Party of New Mexico Chair Brian Colon welcomed the attendees to kick off the weekend. We were also delighted to have DFA Chairman Jim Dean in attendance to remind everyone how critical New Mexico will be on November 4th and, most importantly, how dedicated we need to be to grassroots activism if we want to help create a True Blue New Mexico.

Allan Oliver leading breakout session on communication

Candidates Martin Heinrich (NM-01), Ben Ray Lujan (NM-02) and Jason Marks (PRC) were also on hand to say hello and soak up some knowledge. A bunch of studious staffers from Tom Udall's office and the Coordinated Campaign took advantage of the training, as did NM House candidates Janice Saxton (HD 22) and Craig Cosner (HD 67).

Energy was high throughout the two-day Academy, and DFA trainer Matt Blizek was full of praise about the level of engagement of participants. You could feel it in the air -- Dems are ready to put their grassroots activism on the line so we can win up and down the ticket in November.

More than 14,000 people across the country have been trained by DFA on the ins and outs of running for office, campaigning and volunteering effectively. If you missed this opportunity to attend the Academy in person, you can get similar training online on a variety topics via DFA's top-notch, interactive Night School program. Topic-specific materials, including mp3s, are available for download, or you can purchase DVDs. You can also subscribe to Night School podcasts to stay current on each month's offering.

Tonight: How to Get a Campaign Job
In fact, there's a new, hour-long Night School session on Getting a Campaign Job set for tonight, June 25 at 6:30 PM MDT:

Campaigns are gearing up in all 50 states right now, and they need passionate and well trained campaign staff. On Wednesday July 25th, Democratic GAIN President Amy Pritchard will be joining DFA Night School for an hour long training on 'Getting a Job on a Campaign'. We'll offer tips on touching up your resume and how to build and leverage your professional networks both on and offline as part of our Night School series.

See more photos from this event at Flickr.
All photos by M.E. Broderick

DFA-Democracy for America helped to organize and coordinate the Albuquerque Training Academy and is a Democracy for America coalition partner. DFA, headquartered in Burlington, VT, is our nation's largest progressive political action community. With over 675,000 members nationwide, DFA is a grassroots powerhouse working to change our country and the Democratic Party from the bottom-up.

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