Legislative Advocacy 101 with WA Rep Davis (D-32) and Seattle Councilmember Rinck
In this interactive workshop, we will discuss why legislative advocacy is important, and how you, an individual citizen, can leverage the power you have for the greatest change. Topics include active listening, phonebanking, letters to the editor, contacting your representatives, and coalition building.
We are very excited to welcome Washington State Representative Lauren Davis (D-32) and Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck as guest speakers!
Draft schedule:
1:00pm--1:10pm: Arrive and socialize
1:10pm--1:45pm: Opening remarks from Rep. Davis and CM Rinck about the importance and strategy of legislative advocacy
1:45pm--3:00pm: Fifteen-minute rotations for practice with various kinds of legislative advocacy
Materials needed:
(optional) laptop or cell phone, for activities that use the Internet
Pollution is an inevitable side effect of unregulated capitalism. Voluntary individual and even corporate actions will not stop pollution. We need laws. That means we need you to tell your representatives that controlling pollution is a priority.
Speaker bios
Lauren Davis represents the 32nd Legislative District in the Washington State House of Representatives, which includes Shoreline, Lynnwood, northwest Seattle, south Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Woodway. She was the founding Executive Director and is the current Strategy Director of the Washington Recovery Alliance. The WRA is a grassroots movement of individuals and families impacted by addiction and mental health challenges driving large-scale change in public policy and public understanding.
Prior to serving in public office, Lauren led efforts to pass 2016’s Ricky’s Law, named after her best friend, which created an unprecedented crisis treatment system for youth and adults with life-threatening addiction. She received her bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies from Brown University and began her career teaching Head Start preschool at a transitional housing facility.
She then spent several years researching education access as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana, West Africa. While there, Lauren started a small textile business that provides job training for adolescent girls and sustainable revenue for a Ghanaian-run educational NGO. Upon her return to the US, Lauren worked as an international development consultant for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She then helped to launch Forefront, a suicide prevention nonprofit, where she directed school-based mental health programs. She has also taught mental health policy in the Masters program at the UW School of Social Work.
In the legislature, Lauren’s work centers on behavioral health treatment and recovery and criminal legal system reform. She lives in Seattle.
Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck is committed to progressive revenue solutions, affordable housing, worker protections, public safety, and climate action. She has a clear plan to tackle Seattle’s budget crisis, expand housing supply to meet the city's growing needs, and protect workers’ rights. Her public safety approach focuses on community engagement and trust-building, while her climate action plan prioritizes equity and sustainability. With a reputation as a pragmatic and visionary leader, Rinck’s deep expertise and lived experience as a renter, transit rider, and multi-racial woman shape her approach to public service.
Born in Pacifica, California, to teenage parents and raised by her grandparents, Alexis Mercedes Rinck witnessed firsthand the cycles of incarceration, substance use, and homelessness within her family.
Rinck's academic journey began at Syracuse University, where she earned a degree in political science and sociology. During her time at Syracuse, she became an outspoken advocate for progressive causes, successfully leading efforts to ban hydrofracking in New York State and improve consumer protections. She also worked as a community organizer, advocating for campaign finance reform and mobilizing grassroots organizations to protest harmful policies under the Trump Administration. She was honored as a "Woman Leader of the Year" for her work advancing LGBTQ+ justice.
She continued her studies at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, where she developed expertise in policy analysis. As a policy analyst for the Sound Cities Association and later as a director at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), Rinck led initiatives that helped reshape how the region addresses homelessness. Her efforts included securing a multi-jurisdictional agreement for homeless services and creating a countywide database of over 450 service programs.
By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of PNW Climate Week, receive communications about PNW Climate Week, and acknowledge that photos/videos may be taken for promotional use.