At the beginning of September, we welcomed some new members to our organizing team at the TBR office. Senior Organizer Khalid Hudson is now joined by Ryan Terribile, an LSU social work intern, as well as Phillip Norman and Abel Thompson, two Serve Louisiana AmeriCorps members who will complete an 11-month term of service with the organization. In addition to his service with TBR, Abel is also supporting Lady Carlson with her work in organizing the West Side Sponsoring Committee.

By shadowing and collaborating with Together Baton Rouge leaders, these three will have the opportunity to learn the craft of organizing during their service terms. They’ll also be supporting the organization with outreach, communications, and capacity-building efforts.

Abel, Ryan and Phillip are all passionate about civic engagement and excited to apply this interest as organizers-in-training.

Here’s a little more background on each of them:

Over the course of the year, Ryan, Phillip, and Abel will be sharing thoughts and observations from their service through periodic posts on the Together Baton Rouge blog. They hope their reflections will help readers take a deeper dive into the stories of our members, key aspects of our organizing philosophy, and the issues our action teams are working on.

While these three will be the blog’s regular contributors, they’re also excited to invite contributions from across the Together Baton Rouge network. Their goal is for the blog to become a living document of all the incredible work that TBR members and their institutions are getting done every day. If you have an idea for a post you’d like to see or a post you’d like to write, please reach out to them at [email protected].

In light of the increased isolation that Covid-19 has brought on, we’re thrilled to have a full house here at 2019 Government Street.  Even when your collaborators are masked up and socially distanced, a little real-world company goes a long way during this era of online collaboration. Through sporadic Wi-Fi failures, marathon Zoom meetings, and endless email chains, we’re persevering to keep connections strong during these trying times.