What’s the Difference Between Advocacy and Lobbying?

Join the Frederick E. Berry Institute of Politics on Tuesday, April 2 at 10:45 am - 12 pm for a comprehensive "how to" session on making change through lobbying and advocacy. This event will help you gain insights into the nuances of these crucial activities and understand the impact they can have on shaping policies, especially within the Massachusetts State House. This event will be in-person in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Room on the second floor of the Ellison Campus Center.

Speakers include:

• Manny Cruz, State Representative
• Lew Finfer, Director of Massachusetts Action for Justice
• Alejandra Tejeda, Family Childcare Coordinator at SEIU Local 509
• Jeffrey Sanchez, Principal of Sánchez Strategies and Former House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman
• Moderated by Tomás Gonzalez, Berry IOP Fellow and Social Justice Advocate

RSVP to this event.

Following this event, we invite students, staff, and faculty to join us for a Latinx Leadership Lunch with Tomás Gonzalez and some of the panelists. Tomás will share his experiences as a Latino throughout his career, discuss his current work uplifting the Latinx community, listen to your experiences, and answer any questions. This lunch will be at 12:30 - 2:00 pm in the Charlotte Forten Legacy Room in Meier Hall 316B. Co-Sponsored by the Latin American Student Organization, and Assistant Vice President for HSI-MSI Initiatives Elisa Castillo.  RSVP for this lunch.

Manny Cruz, Massachusetts State Representative (7th Essex - Salem)

Manny Cruz is an elected school committee member, entrepreneur, and community leader in the city of Salem and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Upon graduating from the Salem Public Schools, he attended Salem State University and he later transferred to Northeastern University where he graduated with honors and a degree in Political Science. Manny previously served as the legislative aide for former State Representative Juana Matias (D, Lawrence) and State Representative Paul F. Tucker (D, Salem) where he specialized in education and immigration policy. In 2017 Manny became the first Afro-Latino of Dominican descent elected to the Salem School Committee where he now serves the students and families of the Salem Public School District. Manny now serves as the Advocacy Director for Latinos for Education and leads organizations efforts to close the digital divide, scale up early college and is the senior policy advisor to the Educator Diversity Act Coalition. In his personal time, Manny is a mentor for youth and is highly involved with youth-serving organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem, and LEAP for Education. He serves on the boards of LEAP for Education, The Massachusetts Alliance for Early College and Plummer Youth Promise. In 2022 he was successfully elected to serve in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and became the first Afro-Latino State Representative for the 7th Essex District Salem.

Lew Finfer, Director of Massachusetts Action for Justice

Lew Finfer has been a community organizer with neighborhood, citywide, and statewide organizations since 1970. He is currently Director of Massachusetts Action for Justice. He served as Director of MA Communities Action Network 1985-2021. In the 1980's he directed two statewide affordable housing organizations and in the 1970's directed community organizations in Dorchester and Somerville.

Alejandra Tejeda, Family Childcare Coordinator at SEIU Local 509

Alejandra Tejeda is the Family Childcare Coordinator at SEIU Local 509 - The Massachusetts Union for Human Service Workers and Educators.

Jeffrey Sanchez, Principal of Sánchez Strategies

Jeffrey Sánchez, former Massachusetts House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman, is the Principal of Sánchez Strategies LLC. He works with diverse companies, nonprofit organizations, political organizations and candidates on creating and implementing multifaceted strategic advocacy initiatives, campaigns, communications strategies, legislative solutions and community engagement initiatives. Chairman Sánchez formerly represented the communities of Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain and Brookline in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 16 years where he has been lauded as a leader in healthcare reform, housing and infrastructure, gun laws, violence prevention, criminal justice reform, the environment and youth empowerment. During the Pandemic he served on the legislatively mandated Massachusetts COVID 19 Health Equity Commission and served as a Commissioner on The Governor’s Latino Advisory Commission. He is also co-founder of the Massachusetts Health Equity Compact. Currently, he is an Instructor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and serves on many Advisory Boards including for the Rappaport Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, The Community Builders, The Atrius Health Equity Foundation and an Advisory Board member and shareholder of Legislata, a nonpartisan productivity and collaboration software company.