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I've dropped Ash-lee's formal bio below (it's impressive!), but here are a few highlights:
Until very recently, Ash-Lee served Co-Executive Director of the Highlander Research & Education Center, the pivotal social justice training ground for major American social movements, most notably the Labor Movement and the Civil Rights Movement.
And, you might recognize her as leading the Working Families Party's mass-call series since the 2024 election. Her gracious, grounded, and clear-sighted direction has guided literally millions of people to rise in this political moment.
Right now, Ash-lee is considered one of the best strategists in the country at the intersection of community organizing and elections. Given the focus of our work this year - we thought she'd be the perfect person to come talk with us!
Most important, Ash-lee's work invites us to remember that a different world isn’t only possible — it’s something we can design, build, and live together.
Whether you're a longtime CCI Action member or newly engaged in our work this energizing and inspiring event is for you!
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.
We'd love to have you there!
Katie Bryan
Membership Development Director
Keynote Speaker Ash-lee Woodard Henderson's bio:
Ash-Lee is a self-proclaimed Affrilachian (Black Appalachian) woman from Southeast Tennessee, rooted in the working class and raised in the long tradition of Southern freedom movements. A lifelong strategist, storyteller, and organizer, she’s devoted her life to turning liberation from theory into practice — building pathways where courage, collaboration, and imagination meet.
Through **Utopian Visions**, her evolving home for strategy and imagination, Ash‑Lee helps movements, coalitions, and institutions build interdependent ecosystems of real power.
She's been on leadership teams for the Working Families Party and the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL). And is a long-time activist, organizer, and thought leader who has done work in movements fighting for workers, for reproductive justice, for LGBTQUIA+ folks, for environmental justice, and more.
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CCI Action Summer Convention
Saturday, July 25, 2026
9:00AM - 3:30PM
Grandview University, Henning Student Center
Des Moines, Iowa
Registration (link):
Early Bird registration: $25/person
After July 2: $35/person
We know it's an increasingly expensive world. We have scholarships and childcare stipends available. Parents are encouraged to attend and we are offering reimbursement stipends for childcare (babysitters, daycare, etc) so that you can be present without taking on an additional financial burden. Reply to this email for more information.
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