Reflections on Driving Policy for Progress
Angelica Solis-Montero, Chief Policy Officer
Coming back from EdLoC’s second Advocacy Day in D.C., I feel a renewed sense of pride, hope, and purpose for the policy work we get to do together through EdLoC. This Advocacy Day marked my fourth during my time at EdLoC, including a Staff Advocacy Day, an Immigration Rights Fly-In, and Advocacy Week all within the last year. Advocacy Day is a chance for leaders with deep expertise and lived experiences to dedicate time away from their busy schedules to build community with one another. It’s the foundation of what EdLoC is—a space where we can invest in one another, build life-long relationships, and leverage a collective power.
Advocacy Day is also a unique opportunity for leaders of color to speak truth to power by sharing their own stories with policymakers on both sides of the aisle about the issues impacting children and academic outcomes. With today’s increasing polarization and relentless attacks on education, the dehumanization in politics feels all too true. However, watching our members actively engage with policymakers at the nation's capital served as a profound reminder to myself: we have the power to bridge divides and connect with those holding different views. This experience rekindled my hope that we can still recognize and honor the humanity in one another.
“I felt supported, welcomed, and empowered to have my voice heard and stories shared.”
Toni Rose Deanon, Senior Manager of Community Engagement at the Modern Classrooms Project
Crafting a Policy Agenda
I became an EdLoC member myself in 2019 and immediately took advantage of all EdLoC had to offer: I applied and received micro grants, benefitted from professional development training, and I discovered a community that reciprocated all the effort and energy I invested in it and more. As soon as I heard EdLoC was looking for a chief policy officer, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of making meaningful systemic changes through policy. Now looking back over my last two years at EdLoC, I’ve been grateful to work alongside EdLoC members and changemakers in education and beyond, and look forward to continuing to make our voices heard.
When I transitioned from being an EdLoC member to becoming chief policy officer, I was tasked with narrowing down a set of policy priorities in alignment with our new theory of change. Around 45 policies were brought to the table by members, external partners, and EdLoC leadership. Together, we whittled down to six key policy priorities to create EdLoC’s first official Policy Agenda.
Acting as our north star, the Policy Agenda is a set of state- and federal-level policy solutions that would ensure families are earning more, building wealth, and are cared for. To strengthen our policy work further, I relaunched our 25-member Policy Council to serve as critical thought partners and community connectors. They advise our Policy Agenda and help us advocate effectively for what’s needed to support young people of color.
My time at EdLoC has reinforced for me that nobody can tackle barriers to opportunity alone. From conferences, to publishing position papers, to joining national coalitions, to collaborative efforts like Advocacy Day, we’re able to show up as a unified voice and turn the Policy Agenda into tangible action. While speaking to decision makers during Advocacy Day was daunting at first, doing so with others saying the same things validated that we deserve to speak up for our communities and families.
Collectively, we know that barriers to economic advancement for young people of color are not only about education, but also healthcare, immigration, housing, and so much more. I will continue to lead EdLoC’s efforts to make our member’s voices be heard by submitting public comments and letters of position across issue spaces to federal administration and congressional leaders, including child health and nutrition, student loan forgiveness, expanded child tax credit, baby bonds, pathways to citizenship for undocumented youth, educator diversity investments, and supporting the history and dignity of every child.
Cultivating an Active Member Community
As we’ve mobilized a collective power in service of economic and academic advancement with partners, I never forget about the leaders, changemakers, and problem solvers within the EdLoC community. From founders, to entrepreneurs, to superintendents, our Network is unparalleled in our reach, influence, and impact.
We know that meaningful solutions should come from the perspectives and experiences of those directly impacted. That’s why engaging members and welcoming their input in building out our key policy issues as a Network is so critical. Guided by our Policy Agenda, we developed our first Election Toolkit and Framework to support members in their own advocacy efforts—especially this presidential election year. I’ve also seen members contribute to many initiatives in the last few years, including The Future of Assessment & Accountability Project; two White House Conferences on Hunger, Nutrition and Health opportunities; a listening session and open source for EdLoC and BELE Network members; submitting recommendations for child nutrition programs to the House Education and Labor Committee; and submitting comments on the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act.
When it comes to policy, every single action and voice matters, more than you think. At EdLoC, it’s the collective that we are going for because it’s more powerful. I launched the Policy Digest to center members in our EdLoC Voices and Policy Digest blogs and uplift the voices we need to hear and the work that is driving the change we strive for. It’s one of the ways members can stay engaged and informed on how we can continue to drive progress together.
EdLoC will continue to advocate for policies that lead to real change and address the conditions that prevent children from achieving their full potential. I look forward to continuing to drive policy progress with the EdLoC community and harnessing our collective power to dismantle systemic barriers to academic and economic success of young people of color.
This article was written by Angelica Solis-Montero, Chief Policy Officer of EdLoC. Angelica has dedicated her career to improving equity for underserved communities in education, health, economic development, and civic engagement throughout Los Angeles. She is also on the Executive Committee of the City of Los Angeles’ Human Relations Commission, a Coro Women in Leadership Alum, and formerly a national fellow of the “Lead the Way Leadership Initiative for Emerging Women of Color Executive Directors” at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
