“Those of us who love peace must organize as effectively as the war hawks.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1967
Presidential Administrative Fellows have volunteered with GW’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in past years, but this year the PAFs took on a new role. Bringing together PAF alumni, friends of the PAF program, GW community partners, and students, the PAFs facilitated a training session on leadership and stakeholder engagement in celebration of the memory of the civil rights leader.
Inspired by the way Dr. King brought together diverse interest groups, we wanted to deliver a training that highlighted the challenges and benefits of organizing diverse stakeholders. In a quick 15 minute exercise, participants fresh from service activities on campus were given the challenge to come to a consensus on how to create a hypothetical block party. This task was challenging, and was further complicated by the stakeholder roles and goals assigned to each participant. PAFs joined the groups, taking on our own roles while listening to concerns and redirecting the conversation when needed.
After a reflection on the challenges of the simulation, PAF alumni Natalie Kaplan, CCAS BA ’09 MPA ’11, Jeff Marootian CCAS BA ’01 MPA ’03, and Paul Kendrick CCAS BA ’05 MPA ‘07, and GW’s Executive Director of Housing and Financial Services and PAFriend Seth Weinshel, GWSB BBA ’01 MTA ’01 participated in a panel on organizing stakeholders.
Dr. King did not organize in a vacuum, so our panel brought the idea of stakeholder engagement out of the Marvin Center and into the real world. The panelists fielded questions from participants and discussed a variety of topics, including gender neutral housing at GW and providing social services to DC residents, highlighting the importance of stakeholder engagement skills such as listening and empathy within the context of difficult decisions.
This training was a new and exciting experience for PAFs, and we look forward to participating again next year. Moreover, the legacy and inspiration of Dr. King is powerful and will certainly inform our service projects for social change moving forward.
Thank you to the PAF Alumni and PAFriends, as well as the PAF Advising Team and the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, who helped make this training session a reality!