Make the Road Nevada, a project of Make the Road States, Inc.
Leo Murrieta
Title: Executive Director
Email: info@maketheroadnv.org
Phone Number: (702) 907-1560
Website: https://maketheroadnv.org/
Program Description: Make the Road Nevada (MRNV) believes that in order to empower our communities we must ensure that our individual community members have access to the knowledge and resources necessary to live healthy, balanced lives. We do this by educating our membership around the impact their environment and lifestyle choices have on the long term wellbeing of themselves and their families, and how they can mitigate or improve those impacts through direct and indirect action.
Services Offered: As a member-led organization, MRNV takes our direction from our base. We meet people where they’re within our community, predominantly based in East and North Las Vegas, by knocking doors, tabling in high-traffic areas, and attending community events. Our organizers follow up with leads from the field to set 1 on 1s and have conversations about the issues impacting each member. Based on this feedback, our core issues have grown to include immigration, environmental equity, affordable housing and tenants rights, workers’ rights, health equity, and educational justice. We organize our members and member leaders through a committee structure that allows each committee to concentrate on their own issue priority, supported by organizing staff, and work to develop and implement those campaigns within their committee. We come together every Wednesday night at our Community Meeting (currently held via Zoom) in which our members present on the work being done in their respective committees, meet new members, and determine priorities for the organization as a whole. We also use the meetings to train our members on how they can become leaders in their own communities. Developing strong member leaders is at the very core of MRNV’s ability to create positive change for our community. Our members set priorities, guide our involvement, and keep our work focused on the community. Our high-touch organizing model allows members to be involved through every step of the process; all the work we do is done collaboratively among members, member leaders, and staff. This ensures that knowledge and intel is distributed throughout the organization, rather than allowing staff to hold the keys. Because of this, our membership has met with members of our Congressional Delegation, hosted town hall meetings, facilitated forums, and led outreach activities. They have provided and collected stories for our communications team to use to gain media coverage and bolster our social media presence. Member leaders sit on committees and task forces, give media interviews and quotes, and lead committee and general membership meetings. This empowerment of our members makes us truly reflective of the communities we strive to uplift.
Target Populations: School Aged-Children, Teens, Young Adults, Adults, Seniors, Hispanic/Latinx Populations, Low Income, Immigrants, Undocumented
Research/Focal Areas: Community Organizing, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Environmental Justice, Family Health, Health Equity, Housing, Mutual Aid, Poverty, Public Policy, Racial Justice, Social Justice (Criminal/Juvenile Justice)