It’s that time of year again – the application for SEARAC’s 21st annual Leadership and Advocacy Training (LAT) program is now live. This year’s LAT will take place on June 15-17, 2020, in Washington, DC.
What is LAT?
LAT is a three-day program that trains emerging Southeast Asian American (SEAA) advocates on how to uplift their community’s stories, explore the collective SEAA identity, and build collective power as they learn how to become effective advocates for policy change.
The ideal LAT participant is highly motivated to advocate for Cambodian, Hmong, Mien, Lao, and/or Vietnamese communities and to deepen their knowledge on how education, health, or immigration policy impacts the SEAA community. Over the course of three days, participants will practice effective communication and framing skills, culminating in a day of legislative visits with Congressional representatives and/or their staff on Capitol Hill. In these meetings, participants will have the opportunity to apply the advocacy skills taught during the training, and share their community’s stories with legislative offices. Prior advocacy experience is not required.
SEARAC will cover the majority of travel and lodging expenses for accepted participants living outside of the Washington, DC area, but participants may be responsible for a portion of their travel costs.
How to apply
We welcome individuals from all 50 states to apply. Because of key opportunities in Congress, we especially encourage applications from community members in…
- the West: California, Arizona, and New Mexico;
- the Northwest: Montana and Wyoming;
- the Midwest: Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan;
- the East Coast: Pennsylvania;
- and particularly the South: Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida.
Please note that LAT is a highly competitive program. We receive hundreds of applications per year, and can only accept a limited number of applicants. As such, we encourage you to submit your strongest and most thorough application.
Applications are due at 11:59PM EST on March 12, 2020.
Applicants can expect to hear back from us by early April.
For more information, please visit www.searac.org/lat or contact Gina Le at gina@searac.org.