Sedona AZ (October 4, 2013) – The SpeakOut AZ Sedona Verde Valley Team invites the public to attend a special workshop on “Civic Engagement Leadership Capacities” Tuesday, October 22, 11AM-2PM at the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, 100 Meadowlark Drive, Sedona. The workshop is free but space is limited.
Alberto Olivas, Director of the Center for Civic Participation at Maricopa Community College which oversees civic education and leadership programs for the ten-college district in addition to offering civic engagement workshops throughout the State will conduct the workshop. Under Olivas’ leadership, the group will explore the key principles of effective and purposeful engagement, the consequences of insufficient public engagement, how to create an effective public engagement strategy, how to address the “missing voices” in public engagement, and discuss the ideal role of the public in policy scenarios.
In the 2012 Presidential election, Arizona ranked 45th in the nation for voter turnout according to Nonprofit Vote –America Goes to the Polls 2012. The O’Connnor House, founded by the retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor launched the SpeakOutAZ project stating, “If Arizona is going to thrive in the 21st century, we need to engage all the creativity, leadership, and pride of Arizona citizens.”
SpeakOut AZ is a non-partisan civic engagement project which has convened a coalition of public and private organizations and individuals around the state committed to making Arizona a national leader in civic health. Donna Michaels, Dorothy O’Brien and Barbara Litrell co-chair the Sedona Verde Valley SpeakOut AZ team. According to Dr. Michaels,” Our local team is taking this opportunity to invite statewide speakers on civic engagement as well as local community organizations and leaders for education, training and sharing on how to develop and hone techniques that will increase an individual’s civic engagement leadership capacities”. Reservations required. Contact Barbara Litrell 649-0135 or blitrell@aol.com