Dear Friends:
 
While many of you have heard about the impending leadership transition at PolicyLink, I am delighted to announce to all that effective September 1, 2018, Michael McAfee will become the organization's president and CEO. An eight-year veteran of PolicyLink with a strong track record for improving the lives of vulnerable people, Michael has demonstrated radical imagination and passion for equity as well as unwavering dedication to achieve results commensurate with the nation's challenges. His leadership will help guide the equity movement to claim its power and further accelerate the implementation of a transformative solidarity agenda to establish a nation where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.
 
Also, effective September 1, I will become PolicyLink founder in residence, working between the Oakland and New York offices. This opportunity allows me to focus on three things that I see as essential to extend the reach and power of equity. I will amplify issues of race and equity through writing, public speaking, and multimedia; consult and collaborate on strategy with partners old and new; and help nurture the next generation of leadership. While my role is changing, my life's mission continues: working with those who are trying to build a fully inclusive society.
 
Bold, stable, effective organizations are crucial for the equity movement. I humbly believe that over the years, PolicyLink has proven to be one of those institutions. When a founder leaves, partners, supporters, and friends often wonder whether the organization will survive and thrive. Emerging wisdom posits that, when carefully planned and structured, founders can remain active and present and contribute to the organization's impact. Michael and I are committed to ensuring that PolicyLink will continue to flourish and push the edge of the equity movement.
 
Twenty years ago this summer, I sat at a table with a few trusted colleagues and the first PolicyLink hires to shape an organization that would drive policy change grounded in community wisdom. We determined at the outset that PolicyLink would not shy away from long-taboo issues of race but instead confront them head-on. We would advance an exhilarating vision of an America that taps the talents of all its people instead of leaving millions behind. We would bring new frames to policy debates by articulating principles and practices based on a nuanced understanding of racial dynamics and the interconnectedness of issues affecting low-income communities and communities of color. I truly value what I have learned from the struggles, encouragement, critiques, pushbacks, and partnerships that have sharpened and honed those early ambitions. I am grateful to the thousands of partners — from local communities to philanthropy to government — who inspire and support PolicyLink and allow us to contribute.
 
Growing an organization and being a part of the equity movement has been a wild, exciting, fulfilling journey, one that I will continue to travel with you. There is so much more to accomplish.
 
ONWARD in friendship and solidarity,
 
Angela

(Announcement made on July 20, 2018)

While many of you have heard about the impending leadership transition at PolicyLink, I am delighted to announce to all that effective September 1, 2018, Michael McAfee will become the organization's president and CEO. An eight-year veteran of PolicyLink with a strong track record for improving the lives of vulnerable people, Michael has demonstrated radical imagination and passion for equity as well as unwavering dedication to achieve results commensurate with the nation's challenges. His leadership will help guide the equity movement to claim its power and further accelerate the implementation of a transformative solidarity agenda to establish a nation where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.
 
Also, effective September 1, I will become PolicyLink founder in residence, working between the Oakland and New York offices. This opportunity allows me to focus on three things that I see as essential to extend the reach and power of equity. I will amplify issues of race and equity through writing, public speaking, and multimedia; consult and collaborate on strategy with partners old and new; and help nurture the next generation of leadership. While my role is changing, my life's mission continues: working with those who are trying to build a fully inclusive society.
 
Bold, stable, effective organizations are crucial for the equity movement. I humbly believe that over the years, PolicyLink has proven to be one of those institutions. When a founder leaves, partners, supporters, and friends often wonder whether the organization will survive and thrive. Emerging wisdom posits that, when carefully planned and structured, founders can remain active and present and contribute to the organization's impact. Michael and I are committed to ensuring that PolicyLink will continue to flourish and push the edge of the equity movement.
 
Twenty years ago this summer, I sat at a table with a few trusted colleagues and the first PolicyLink hires to shape an organization that would drive policy change grounded in community wisdom. We determined at the outset that PolicyLink would not shy away from long-taboo issues of race but instead confront them head-on. We would advance an exhilarating vision of an America that taps the talents of all its people instead of leaving millions behind. We would bring new frames to policy debates by articulating principles and practices based on a nuanced understanding of racial dynamics and the interconnectedness of issues affecting low-income communities and communities of color. I truly value what I have learned from the struggles, encouragement, critiques, pushbacks, and partnerships that have sharpened and honed those early ambitions. I am grateful to the thousands of partners — from local communities to philanthropy to government — who inspire and support PolicyLink and allow us to contribute.
 
Growing an organization and being a part of the equity movement has been a wild, exciting, fulfilling journey, one that I will continue to travel with you. There is so much more to accomplish.
 
ONWARD in friendship and solidarity,

-- Angela

We share your rage and devastation over the inhumane separation of children from their families at the nation’s borders and the proposed indefinite incarceration of immigrant families. We see your courageous resistance. We are grateful to those of you fighting to abolish oppressive immigration policies and to serve those victimized by them. And we share your burning desire to show up in solidarity with and for our immigrant families.

If you are not already engaged in advancing justice at the border, will you and your organizations join us to end these atrocities? Together we can end the incarceration of our families once and for all.

Here are some things you can do:

• Donate: There are many organizations doing important work to keep families together and end their incarceration. PolicyLink and Equity Summit 2018 attendees have raised more than $23,000 to support the Florence Project, a nonprofit providing free legal services to men, women, and unaccompanied children in immigration custody in Arizona. Lend your support.

• Contact Your Elected Officials: The American Immigration Lawyers Association has an online action center that directs calls, tweets, Facebook posts, and emails to members of Congress.
• Volunteer: Many organizations in border states are actively looking for volunteers, especially if those volunteers are Spanish-speaking and have legal experience. If you’re an immigration lawyer, the Dilley Pro Bono Project (a partner in the CARA Family Detention Project) is searching for volunteers who can help represent people with their asylum screenings, bond hearings, ongoing asylum representation, and other needs. Nonlegal volunteers are needed too. Email caya@caraprobono.org to volunteer.
• Sign These Petitions: The ACLU, MoveOn, CREDO, and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) have petitions to Secretary of Homeland Security Nielsen. The National Domestic Workers Alliance has a petition to President Trump.
• Speak Up: Submit a letter to the editor or an editorial to your local newspaper about why you care about justice for immigrants and refugees.
• Use Social Media: We Belong Together's demands for the Administration can be retweeted here. Sample tweets can be found here. For additional information and updates, follow the conversation at #FamiliesBelongTogether and #KeepFamiliesTogether.