Serita Fontanesi Email & Phone Number

Moving URGE’s voter engagement efforts towards greater impact to build young people’s political power, especially in BIPOC communities. This is done by executing campaigns that provide an entry to reproductive justice, and issues that matter to BIPOC, young, and underserved communities.Building key relationships with partners that help URGE build a powerful voter engagement campaign in Texas and Ohio.Coaching and providing professional development opportunities for the team, while creating measurable impact.

Austin, Texas, United States

- Contracted to develop and/or facilitate trainings for progressive political campaigns and organizations, both live and pre-recorded- Clients include Supermajority, Avow Texas, the Optimize Team, and the Native Leadership Institue- Areas of expertise include anti-racism and community organizing, sexual harassment prevention, diversity, equity, and inclusion, workplace wellness, and leadership development

Austin, Texas, United States

- Advise the Austin Police Department’s Training Academy with curriculum recommendations to improve the quality of instruction provided to cadets - Address racial disparities in policing to align the academy curriculum with the values of Austin residents- Recommend changes to course materials, lesson plans, pedagogy, and external subject matter experts- Support strategic curriculum design by documenting process for ongoing review

Austin, Texas, United States

- Oversee the operations of Emerge Texas including fundraising, recruitment, and training- Recruit and engage women and femmes across Texas interested in or currently running for office- Coordinate trainers, curriculum, and applicant experience for 6-month candidate signature training and 27-hour boot camps- Fundraise and manage an annual budget of $110,000- Provide campaign support and continued education opportunities for alumni- Maintain open communication with the national parent organization, as well as other state affiliates- Collaborate with partner organizations to build a coalition of Texas entities invested in supporting Democratic women and femmes running for office

Austin, Texas, United States

- Developed, project managed, and executed a cross-department and multi-organization (Texas Coalition of Black Democrats and Powered by People) voter contact effort, Black Voters Matter Week of Action, in which over 1,200 volunteers contacted a million Black voters across the state of Texas over the course of a week- Created coalitions with community partners and leveraged relationships to develop voter contact and turnout programming- Regularly spoke with press including Blavity, the Texas Tribune, and Spectrum News amongst others- Wrote and implemented the Black constituency strategic plan to turnout Black voters for the July 2020 runoffs, and November 2020 general elections- Built relationships with partner organizations such as Swing Left, Vote Save America, and the Black Women’s PAC in order to engage, mobilize, and turn out Black voters- Coordinated in-person and virtual community-facing events including candidate forums, community meetings, and town halls across the state of Texas between Black candidates up and down the ballot, as well as community members- Communicated with elected officials and candidates at the local, state, and national levels to coordinate statewide organizing efforts within the Black community- Recruited, trained, and retained volunteers from the Black constituency for the coordinated campaign

Los Angeles, California, United States

- Recruit, coordinate, and manage community members for public comment at hearings, participation in protests, and attendance at press conferences- Policy development for Skid Row Now & 2040, a campaign in partnership with the office of city planners and the mayor, advocating for housing protections and increased access to care- Successfully managed community campaign to strike down SB 384, 4 a.m. Bar Bill, as a way to support community commitment to health and recovery- Supported agency involvement in the LA Food Policy Council and Skid Row Healthy Food Committee- Built coalitions and facilitated meetings between providers, government officials, and the community- Researched, developed, and implemented interventions for housed and houseless individuals in the Skid Row community, in order to improve community wellness- Assessed and made recommendations for existing community programs and office systems

Los Angeles, California, United States

- Supported Robert Hernandez, USC Senior Lecturer- Provided support for the LA County Youth Development and Diversion Steering Committee- Researched successful juvenile diversion programs in other cities to provide policy recommendations- Collected quantitative and qualitative data on system-involved youth in LA County to identify common themes and unique needs in order to better inform program development

Greater Los Angeles Area

- Coordinated and oversaw fundraising and educational events for community members which made up nearly 27% of the organization’s $1.2 million budget- Designed, project managed, and executed a 30th-anniversary benefit featuring VIP talent and guests, while raising $750,000- Scheduled and managed volunteers at all community events- Worked with programming and clinical staff to create events for young people- Created print and digital communication materials using Adobe Suite- Managed social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram- Maintained website content

Master Of Social Work - Msw, Social Change And Innovation

Activities and Societies: Black Grad Student Network, Director of Civic Engagement

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Theatre/Theater

Activities and Societies: Delta Omicron Tau, Relay for Life Planning Committee, Greek Council