I took the day off work today to attend a fantastic educational event, the Progressive Movement Crash Course organized by the New Organizing Institute (NOI). I have been following the NOI online for about a year now, curious about the high-quality training and political campaign bootcamps they have held in the past to encourage young professionals and those who are cutting their teeth in political organizing to continue in their careers. Most impressive to me was their focus on how to harness the power and potential of New Media technologies in political activism.

The day was divided into three panels of three speakers each who spoke about their fields of expertise and focus area. Each panel closed with a brief Q&A session with the audience and a meet and greet where audience members can approach the panelists to request their contact information and to chat briefly.

Panel 1: Advocacy organizations, Foundations and Unions

• Veteran activist Heather Booth gave an inspiring overview of the Progressive Movement starting with its history from the 1930s to the present, basic principles of organizing, and the various linkages that exist between different organizations in the Progressive Movement.

• Anna Lefer Kuhn, Executive Director of the ARCA Foundation, followed with an overview of the role of foundations in supporting the work of advocacy organizations. She detailed the various ways foundations serve to allocate resources, serve as a source for long-term strategy and encourage capacity-building among advocacy organizations.

• AFL-CIO labor organizer Bernie Pollack rounded out the first session by presenting on the importance of labor unions in advancing Progressive agendas. He detailed the success of the community organizing wing of the AFL-CIO, Working America, and its track record in organizing non-union members and people who are not usually seen as traditional constituencies for Progressives — born-again Christians and gun owners.

Extra: Progressive Infrastructure

I thought that the second panel was going to start immediately but we got an unexpected treat with an additional presentation by a representative from Emily’s List (sorry I did not catch her name). Her presentation listed the various organizations which comprised the Progressive Movement divided into three broad categories: the Players (comprised of various committees and organizations within the Democratic Party, unions, cause organizations and donor organizations); Electoral Infrastructure, and Advocacy Infrastructure. She then explained how massive voter databases are used in electoral campaigns and introduced the various organizations nationwide which coordinate with one another in research, strategy and advocacy work.

Panel 2: Political Consulting, Progressive Media, and working in Capitol Hill

• Will Robinson, principal at the New Media Firm, presented a light-hearted and humorous take on what it takes to make a successful career out of consulting. He detailed the various skills and experiences needed to get one’s foot in the door in the field, provided advice on how to best get those skills and experiences, and projected what the future might look like for political consulting given the rise of New Media technologies.

• Amanda Terkel, writer and blogger at ThinkProgress spoke about the role of blogging in Progressive politics and detailed the types of career and political issues she encounters as a blogger.

• Matt Stoller, former Open Left blogger and current policy advisor for Rep. Alan Grayson spoke about what it is like to work as a staff member on Capitol Hill and how it compares with his previous work in political New Media and blogging.

Panel 3: Fieldwork/Community Organizing, State/Local Campaigns, Policy and Think Tanks

• National security policy specialist Lorelei Kelly spoke on the role of think tanks in shaping policy and legislation. Her presentation was a bit hurried because the panel was pressed for time but her main point was that the Left is outgunned by the Right in terms of translating research and scholarship to solid policy recommendations and education for the public and for Congress members.

• Courtney Dozier, campaign field director for Sen. Mark Warner, spoke on the importance of state and local campaigns and how they might be good entry points and settings to gain contacts and experience for those new to the Progressive movement and who are seeking new opportunities.

• Community organizer Eddy Morales of the Center for Community Change (CCC), closed out the day’s presentations by explaining the work of CCC organizing low-income populations and people of color for social change. He detailed the various linkages and efforts CCC has made with local organizations nationwide.

The only critical thing I can say — and I am really not being very critical because my quibble involves broader political questions rather than the actual execution of the event — is that the focus of all the presentations seem to focus solely on how one can potentially fit into organizations and advocacy efforts that support the Democratic Party. Perhaps that is only a reflection of today’s reality that the Democratic Party is the primary mainstream vehicle for Progressive social change in the US. But I am curious whether or not members of such organizations and movements will consider non-mainstream political outsider efforts as being part of the Progressive Movement. Organizations such as FairVote, the Green Party or political independents come to mind.

Other than that minor quibble, I had an extremely positive experience and would recommend attending the day-long event to anybody interested in getting a high-level bird’s eye view of the Progressive Movement. If your thing is to identify the various organizations and linkages that exist among the various players in the Progressive Movement, this is the perfect event for you. One can easily spend a year or two on intensive research and informational interviewing to get the types of insights and insider information that the Progressive Crash Course provided in one day.