Dear MoveOn member,

This week, I took on the role of executive director of MoveOn. I am
incredibly honored to support and strengthen this vibrant and diverse
community of people all throughout this country. Folks like you who come
together to take action in smart, strategic, impactful ways will lead the
way to make this a country where everyone can thrive.

If you want to learn a little more about me and my vision for the work
ahead, [ [link removed] ]check out the video below or read on.

[ [link removed] ]Meet Rahna Epting, new executive director of MoveOn
 
You can also [ [link removed] ]click here to watch the video on YouTube.
 
And I want to learn more about you. Why are you a part of the MoveOn
community? How can we make it even stronger? I'd greatly appreciate your
advice, and you can send a note to [email protected] to share any thoughts.
I and my colleagues will read the emails to gain an even richer sense of
how we can strengthen the community as we move forward. (I can't promise
to reply to every one, but I will reply to a few!)
 
I first became a part of the MoveOn community during the months after the
awful attacks of September 11. I was a student in Oregon, and while I was
head down in my studies, I was also hearing our elected leaders make a
thin case that war with Iraq was necessary. I knew in my bones something
didn’t feel right, that this was a mistake, but I felt hopeless,
disempowered, and alone in my concerns. 
 
Then I got an email from MoveOn inviting me to an anti-war march. Not
knowing what else I could do to make an impact, I went and experienced a
great moment of hope. I no longer felt alone. There were thousands of
people on the streets who shared my concerns that war is not the
answer—and most definitely not in that case. There was a sense of
solidarity, of empowerment that, yes, we can do something, we can show
palpable public outrage and push back on the march toward pain, suffering,
and death. It was there I awoke to the fact that if there were thousands
in Portland, OR, then that meant hundreds of thousands across the country.
We weren’t alone. We aren't alone. 
 
It was this moment that propelled me into a lifetime of political
activism. I went on to train hundreds of people throughout the country to
run for state and local office, I trained college kids on their campuses
to organize and advocate for change, I worked in the labor movement and
created opportunities for members all throughout the country to help pass
the Affordable Care Act protect Social Security and Medicare, and more.
Later, I helped run an organization to advance reforms at the state and
federal level to create a democracy that is owned by and driven by the
people, not the wealthy 1% and corporations.
 
It's that same sense of hope I felt "way back when" that inspired me to
come work at MoveOn in 2017, right after the election of Donald Trump. I
was one of tens of thousands of people—perhaps including you,
John—who joined the first Sunday night Ready to Resist call the
day after the first Women's March and two days after Trump's lackluster
inauguration. We marched, and then we were ready, together, across the
country, to keep organizing.
 
As MoveOn members rose in massive numbers to resist the Trump
administration's attacks on so many communities, I joined the team and
worked with our allies on Capitol Hill and in the progressive movement to
stop the Republican attempts to take health care away from tens of
millions of Americans. In 2018, I directed our efforts to help fuel the
blue wave that flipped control of the House of Representatives and powered
the election of dozens of inspiring, progressive, diverse candidates at
the state and local level.
 
Although we ended GOP control of the House and blunted some of the worst
of Trump's agenda, we still have a president and Republican Party
blatantly using race to rip this country apart, to rip families apart at
the border, chanting “send her back” to our patriotic Black and brown
elected leaders, encouraging white nationalists to terrorize our
communities, spreading lies and fear so that our fellow Americans view one
another as enemies, all while this president, his family, and his friends
exploit these divisions to enrich themselves and consolidate power. 
 
I'm stepping into this role at a historic moment—as the impeachment fight
that MoveOn has been involved in for over two years reaches a boiling
point, as we push Democrats to use their power to check an abusive,
criminal White House, as we push Republicans to put country over blind
loyalty, and as we stand on the precipice of the 2020 elections. It will
be grassroots people power that could make the difference in who holds
power in Washington in 2021.
 
I've seen what MoveOn members are capable of: driving impactful campaigns
to advance values that welcome immigrants instead of scapegoating them,
create a just and fair economy, eliminate gun violence in our communities,
support and ensure reproductive rights, combat anti-Semitism and
Islamophobia, and more.
 
This community inspires me. You inspire me. I am deeply appreciative of
all we have done to take care of one another, and to create a better
society. I am proud of the MoveOn staff who work tirelessly to make MoveOn
an impactful, equitable, and innovative organization. We will continue to
be here for you.
 
And I am committed to all of our members, the millions of people who take
action, working to chart a better way forward for our country. A key focus
of mine will be on strengthening the connections between members of the
MoveOn member community—finding more ways for us to be in touch with each
other, to share our hopes, fears, ideas, and knowledge, and finding more
ways to collaborate with each other as we organize on the ground to
challenge entrenched power and build a country and world where everyone
can thrive.
 
As part of that, I want to hear from you. Why are you a part of the MoveOn
community? How can we make it even stronger? What else would you like me
to know as I step into this role? Just send an email to [email protected]
to share your thoughts. I'm committed to reading through all the replies.
 
Together, we are MoveOn. And I look forward to organizing alongside all of
you.
 
Thanks for all you do.

–Rahna




Want to support MoveOn's work? The MoveOn community will work every
moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the
damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the
nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that
we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now
more than ever. Will you stand with us?



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