SPN’s Generation Liberty Fellowship offers young professionals and nonprofit leaders a unique opportunity to build skills and connections that lead to fulfilling careers and new ways to make a difference at the state and local level. In addition to covering registration and travel costs to SPN’s 30th Annual Meeting, the Fellowship includes access to invitation-only policy and professional training sessions and exclusive networking opportunities.
Fellowship alumnus Nick Murray shares how the program not only helped him make the most of his Annual Meeting experience, but helped launch a successful nonprofit career.
It’s been more than five years since I started working with Maine Policy Institute (MPI), the State Policy Network state think tank affiliate serving the Pine Tree State. Truth be told, it is the longest I’ve been employed anywhere. Coming from the grassroots political world, I was somewhat conditioned to think of employment as a tumbling series of short term jobs.
A great thing about the nonprofit public policy space is the ability to plan much farther out in time, as our policy advancement campaigns can take many years and multiple iterations of a particular governing body to accomplish. Similarly, being in the nonprofit world has also allowed me to take a broader perspective on my career and the liberty movement in general.
I’ve learned that the world of public policy is much more like an ecosystem, rather than just grass-roots and grass-tops. There are few better ways to interface with that world than through State Policy Network.
It’s no secret that those of us working in and around SPN have access to many amazing professional development opportunities. Many of my most fulfilling and enriching experiences in the Network have come through attending four SPN Annual Meetings, starting with the 2017 event in San Antonio. For a small nonprofit like MPI, transportation and lodging, even for just a few staff to attend, can be significant costs. The Generation Liberty Fellowship (GLF) has consistently made it possible for several MPI team members to be at the event and make the most of the Annual Meeting experience.
Coming from the political activism side of the liberty movement, I had always enjoyed meeting new people and discussing new ideas. Still, getting the most out of my first Annual Meeting was a daunting task. The opportunity to be a Generation Liberty Fellow helped kickstart it in a positive and productive way.
Meeting other people new to their organizations and to SPN was especially fulfilling. I connected with others whose professional interests were similar and heard from leaders who had experienced challenges that I had not yet encountered in my young career. These interactions helped me see that, even though our states and organizations can be very different environments, we often face similar hurdles.
Another great thing about GLF is that it exposes fellows to a broad set of topics and discussions, spanning policy, operations, communications, professional development topics, and more. That experience extends to advice I would offer to any first-time attendee: Take the time to try out and expose yourself to different ideas and interactions. Step outside your comfort zone. It’ll be worth it.
During the last couple of Annual Meetings, I have made more of an effort not only to meet new people wherever I can, but also to connect face-to-face with those I may have only communicated with via email or phone. Interpersonal communication is our lifeblood in the nonprofit world, and if there wasn’t a more obvious lesson after the last two years, it’s that Zoom just doesn’t cut it.
That’s why SPN Annual Meeting provides such a valuable outlet for those of us lucky enough to attend. It enables us to re-anchor ourselves and re-inspire each other to pursue our shared mission to secure liberty for this generation and the next. Hope to see you at the next one.
Learn more about SPN’s Generation Liberty Fellowship and the opportunity to apply for SPN’s 2022 Fellowship.
