Looking Back on the Bash of All Bashes

By Safiya Simmons, Communications Director at FV@W

Honey, I’m still tired. 

Last week, Family Values @ Work brought together its partners from across the nation for our annual meeting. Nearly 100 partners joined us in Houston, TX, for three days of co-conspiring, dream building, and fun.

We met for breakfast together every morning before diving into planning to advance our work, expand our impact, and grow our influence. On day one, we opened up with a fun icebreaker before a panel celebrating our wins over the past year, with Sarah Labadie of Women Employed (IL), Lars Negstad from ISAIAH (MN), and Catie Reed from Maine Women’s Lobby. The session was led by FV@W DIVE Coordinator and State Leads Organizer Staci Bryant, and was a vibrant conversation of celebration, encouragement and equipping folks to continue their work to win family-friendly legislative policies in their jurisdictions.

After the panel, we paused for lunch before launching into a set of breakout sessions. Attendees could choose from four options: Paid Sick and Safe Days Campaign, Paid Family and Medical Leave, Culture Change, and Base-Building or Civic Engagement. Each session was led by a member of the FV@W staff and gave an opportunity for attendees to strategize together ways to advance their individual campaigns and initiatives.

We spent the last portion of day one with our Federal Director, Sammy Chavin-Grant, laying out what’s in store for 2024. That night, we hosted a storytelling event that welcomed members of our inaugural Storytelling Cohort to the stage to share their personal care stories. Presenters represented partners from across the country, including New Jersey, Nevada, Colorado, and Hawaii.

Day two kicked off with remarks from our executive director, Josephine Kalipeni. Josephine outlined our Network priorities as well as walked through the funding plans and timelines for the next year. Following lunch we heard from Carol Joyner, executive director of Family Values @ Work Action, the political sister organization of FV@W. She opened with an update of wins, followed by reports from three states on how they’ve been developing “Care Voters” in their communities,, and then tabletop conversations.

That afternoon, we invited attendees to select breakouts from eight options: DIVE/Federal (DIVE is our Democracy-Intergrated Voter Education program launching next year); Revenue Organizing; Child Care; Implementation; Assessment Team; POC (People of Color Caucus) Steering Committee; Fundraising; and Digital Strategies.

Wednesday night we hosted an amusing game night. While games were available––ranging from board games to card games and spades (because spades deserves its own category!), played with our new Born for Care deck––the hit of the night was karaoke. Seeing the people you work so hard with enjoying one another’s company––and entertainment––was a balm for the soul. And the song selections didn’t disappoint: Queen, Boyz II Men, Lady Gaga, TLC, and Shania Twain, to name a few. The selections were diverse and the singers were full-throated. The party, hosted by Houston’s own Queen Angelina, went late into the night and everyone had a ball!

The piéce de resistance of the week was our GameChanger Awards Sneaker Ball on Thursday night. Nearly 75 partners, staff, and awardees attended the gala wearing their best sneakers, snazziest gowns, and full smiles. As it is our 20th anniversary year, we spent the night feteing GameChangers who were instrumental in the founding and advancement of FV@W. This year, our individual recipients were:

• 2023 GameChanger Founder Award: Ellen Bravo
• 2023 GameChanger Co-Conspirator Award: Carol Joyner
• 2023 GameChanger VOW Member Award Inaugural Cohort
  • Tameka Henry with Make It Work Nevada
  • Bethany Fauteux with Coalition for Social Justice
  • Christina Hayes with Mothering Justice
  • Kris Garcia with 9to5 Colorado
  • Permelia Toney-Boss with NJ Citizen Action
  • Ashley Bostick with 9to5 Georgia
  • Cinthia Alaniz with Corazón AZ
  • Nija Phelps with She Leads Justice (formerly Connecticut Women’s Education And Legal Fund)
  • Virginia Badillo with Workers Defense Project

We also took time to pay homage to our founding partners with the 2023 GameChanger Founding States Award. The awardees were:

• CA – California Work and Family Coalition
• MA – Coalition for Social Justice
• NJ – New Jersey Citizen Action
• WA – Economic Opportunity Institute
• GA – 9to5 Georgia
• ME – Maine Women’s Lobby
• ME – Southern Maine Workers’ Center
• NY – Citizen Action New York
• WI – 9to5 Wisconsin

When I tell you a time was had! There was line dancing, good food, and great people; definitely a night to remember.

One of the things I appreciate about working for Family Values @ Work is that we walk the talk. We don’t just preach about the importance of family-friendly policies and building communities, we do it. Our executive director established a four-day work week before it was trendy, and we are always planning ways to build and strengthen communities in and beyond our Network.

Care work is everyone’s responsibility. And we show our care through holding time, space, and each other closely, like we did at Annual Meeting