<img alt="" src="[link removed]" style="width: 250px; height: 76px;" />
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Lived Experience in Action: Meet the Leaders Redefining Anti-Poverty Advocacy
Last month, CLASP’s Community Partnership Group (CPG) [[link removed]] gathered in Washington, D.C. for our second cohort’s in-person convening [[link removed]] —and it was nothing short of powerful. Over the course of several days, members built community, refined their advocacy projects, and took their voices directly to Capitol Hill.
On Hill Day, our cohort met with:
* Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
* Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA)
* Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY)
* Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY)
* Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)
* Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
These meetings gave CPG members the chance to share their lived expertise and highlight the urgent need to strengthen and protect public benefit programs. For many, it was their first time walking the halls of Congress not as clients of a system, but as leaders shaping its future.
At the convening, each member finalized the project they will carry forward over the next several months. Their plans embody the heart of the CPG model: using lived experience to reimagine policy and to bring knowledge back to their communities.
Christina Hasan (Philadelphia, PA) – Christina is working to improve access to SSI and SSDI for individuals with disabilities. She will conduct interviews to understand the burdens people face in accessing disability benefits, convene Philadelphia-based community-based organizations, policymakers, and community members for a listening session, and publish a policy brief with state and federal recommendations.
Ashley Blair (Memphis, TN) – Through her project VOICE (Victory Over Injustices Creates Equality), Ashley will elevate lived experiences around food justice. She will publish a blog series exploring issues like fathers’ access to WIC, expanding vegan food options, and her perspective as a vegan chef. The series will include policy recommendations and be shared widely to influence both public narrative and policy conversations.
Tania Whitfield (Lexington, Kentucky) – Tania is leading narrative change work focused on reshaping how people who use public benefits are described. Through her podcast and a planned town hall in Kentucky, Tania will challenge harmful stereotypes, bring stakeholders together to strengthen SNAP access, and highlight strategies for long-term narrative organizing.
These projects represent not only bold vision, but also the resilience and brilliance of leaders with lived experience. Together, they are building knowledge, shifting narratives, and forging connections that will echo far beyond this cohort. The CPG model is proof that when you bridge lived experience with institutional power, you get transformative policy solutions.
We are incredibly proud of this work—and we know it’s only the beginning. As we move toward the culmination of these projects, we look forward to sharing their outcomes with you.
support this work today [[link removed]]
We invite you to stay tuned, to be inspired, and to consider supporting the sustainability of this work [[link removed]] . Please reach out to Lennox Atkinson ( [email protected] [[email protected]] ) or me, Parker Gilkesson Davis ( [email protected] [[email protected]] ), if you are interested in learning more about the CPG.
Watch one of CPG's founding members, Alice Aluoch, talk on YouTube [[link removed]] about where we've been and how we hope to grow in the coming years.
support this work today [[link removed]]

CLASP.ORG [[link removed]] | MAKE A DONATION [[link removed]] | UNSUBSCRIBE [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
CLASP • 1310 L St. NW, Suite 900 • Washington, D.C. xxxxxx • (202) 906-8000

CLASP
1310 L St. NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC xxxxxx
United States