Workshop Description:

Advocating can increase health equity in your community and make the voice of the community heard. Workshop attendees will learn how to communicate ideas and concerns to policymakers and how to engage them. This workshop will explore different forms of policy, Nevada’s state legislative process, and the differences between advocacy and lobbying. It will also build on participants’ experiences to help them find what will work best to make change and mobilize their networks.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define policy, advocacy, and lobbying in the context of the policy process
2. Explain why policy is an important tool to improve communities
3. Describe the legislative process in Nevada
4. Identify different ways to advocate and become more comfortable advocacy capacity
5. Recognize tools that can assist with advocacy work

Amanda Haboush-Deloye earned her Ph.D. in experimental psychology and her Master of Arts in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Amanda’s research background is on mental health in adolescent and adult populations with an emphasis on improving research methods to be more culturally appropriate. As a researcher at NICRP, she has designed and implemented many research projects regarding children’s physical health, mental health, and education, as well as lead children’s advocacy initiatives such as Every Child Matters in Nevada and Prevent Child Abuse Nevada. Being a Las Vegas native, Amanda aims to create a healthier community where families and children are a priority.

Valeria Gurr, M.A. and Public Affairs Ph.D. candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), is a Senior Fellow for the American Federation for Children. The Concilio Hispano Media Group named her as one of the most influential Hispanics in Southern Nevada in 2018. In 2022, the UNLV School of Public Policy and Leadership awarded her the Dottie Shank Service Award. In 2024, Citizen Outreach awarded her The Courage Under Fire for her legislative efforts to bring educational opportunities to Nevada children.

Valeria obtained her bachelor’s degree in Public Relations with a specialization in Marketing from Duoc UC of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 2009 and a master’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 2013. She is expected to complete her Ph.D. in 2024. Valeria’s research interest is in seeing how the lack of access to quality education in traditional public schools and the digital divide impacted low-income families, predominantly Hispanic and Latino children, after the pandemic. Before working for AFC, Valeria was part of the UNLV Nevada Institute for Children’s Research & Policy.  In her role, she provided child maltreatment prevention training to help empower both parents and the general community.

In her role at AFC, Valeria seeks to inform and empower families with the correct information to make the best decisions regarding their children’s education.

Funding Disclosure: Funding for this webinar was made possible (in part) by the CDC Foundation. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CDC Foundation, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the CDC Foundation.