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Advisory Committee

Joy Cushman

Senior Strategic Advisor
Democracy & Power Innovation Fund

Joy Cushman is an organizer, researcher and trainer. She currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Democracy and Power Innovation Fund and the Faith in Action Fund. For the last 20 years Joy has helped organize multiracial, multi-faith constituencies to build their own power to win agendas that deliver material change to their families, including higher wages, better health care, criminal justice reform, protections for immigrants and structural democracy reform.

Joy has worked in local organizing, helped build the 2008 Obama organizing and training program, served as the inaugural Organizing Director for the New Organizing Institute and most recently as National Campaigns Director for Faith in Action National Network.

Joy developed an interest in research while completing her PhD in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Resources from

Joy Cushman

Related resources
2024 Research Summary
This memo describes research, innovation, and implementation projects either completed or launched in 2024.
Measuring What Matters to Build a Multiracial Democracy - DPI Digest
This newsletter highlights the Power Metrics: Measuring What Matters to Build a Multiracial Democracy Report.
Power Metrics: Measuring What Matters to Build a Multiracial Democracy
This report outlines a framework developed by groups in the DPI Organizing Lab to identify and measure strategies that wield power using the data organizations collect and analyze in their day-to-day work.
Past Speaking Events
Oct 4, 2023
Plenary
Show Me the Power: Mapping Power Networks and Landscapes
description

Join Joy Cushman to walk through the power network and landscape analyses she and Liz McKenna designed with Organizing Lab groups to help them see how power is operating in their state. In this session, we will demonstrate how organizations can replicate this analysis and discuss the questions that such an analysis can help surface to strengthen an organization’s strategic capacity.

REsource Report
Jul 21, 2022
Concurrent Sessions
The Most Effective Influencers: Identifying and Growing Members as Social Network Leaders in Your Electoral Program
description

Social scientists continue to affirm that when it comes to politics (or anything really) people listen most to those closest to them: friends, family, co-workers. So how are organizers adapting their electoral programs to prepare volunteers to be leaders in their own social networks?

REsource Report
Oct 4, 2023
Plenary
Measuring Power: Influence, Impact and Data
description

Transition to part two

REsource Report
Oct 4, 2023
Plenary
Measuring Power: Base Building and Leadership Discussions
description

DPI Organizing Lab groups have learned that collecting data on event participation by members is the best way to document their day-to-day powerbuilding work. In this session, we shared learning on what it takes to set up a system to collect the right data, how to secure the buy-in of organizers, and what types of analyses support learning from this data to improve your base-building program over time.

REsource Report

Join us to explore more research and innovation projects housed in the DPI Research Library.