I'm here to share this week's WV Can't Wait Live guest: Ryan Deems! Ryan is a teacher, organizer, and political activist in Harrison County. If you live in the area, you may have seen his name on the ballot for House of Delegates in 2020 and 2022 - while he didn't win the seat, he did an incredible job in the field meeting with and advocating for the people of his community. We will be checking in on him, asking him how he would have dealt with this difficult legislative session and what keeps him motivated, positive, and energetic in difficult times.

And in case you missed it, our last event we checked in with Dr. Shanequa Smith in Kanawha County. Dr. Smith shared about what motivated her to engage in empowering her community to be leaders, why restorative action is crucial to helping folks heal from their trauma, and why sleeping and visiting the beach are important to her finding her center. I have to say, her words were incredibly inspiring and we had lots of folks tuning in. You can still watch that video here!

Tune in at 5pm on Wednesday, April 5th on the WV Can’t Wait Facebook page to join us live and ask Ryan a question of your own. Busy that evening? No worries! The stream will be available to watch later.

Excited to see y'all,

Brittney Barlett (she/her)

Host, WV Can't Wait Live

WV Can't Wait is a movement to win a people's government in the Mountain State. For more information, visit wvcantwait.com.