Bill Crim

Bill Crim is the Executive Director of United Ways of Utah and the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Public Policy for United Way of Salt Lake. Bill has worked for over 15 years on public policy issues related to poverty – first as a research fellow for the Coalition on Human Needs in Washington, D.C. and then as a researcher, policy analyst, community organizer, lobbyist, and executive director for Utah Issues, Center for Poverty Research and Action. As Utah Issues’ executive director he expanded the organization’s role in the areas of research, economic policy, community development, nonprofit capacity building, and asset formation – developing a statewide infrastructure to expand the availability of individual development accounts.

Working with United Way, Bill has developed a collaborative public policy initiative among nine local United Ways and helps lead community change initiatives in the areas of economic opportunity and education.  He is often sought as a resource for strategic planning, organizational development and outcome measurement, and is one of the state's leading experts on nonprofit advocacy and poverty.

Bill graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a BA in Political Science.

Lori McClung
Lori McClung is the Principal at Advocacy & Communication Solutions, where she directs strategic communication planning, government relations and advocacy efforts, policy analysis and strategy development for ACS clients.  Lori has been involved in youth policy and advocacy for more than 10 years.  She was formerly a Senior Fellow for education and youth development issues for The Center for Community Solutions.  In this role she was responsible for advocating on primary and secondary education issues at the local, state and national level; advocating on youth development issues; and leading a statewide campaign to significantly increase the State of Ohio’s investment in early care and education.  She also served as Associate Director of Community Solutions.

Roy Mitchell
Roy Mitchell is the Director of Advocacy for the Sisters of Mercy Health System. In that capacity he provides technical advice to advocates in hospitals and integrated health delivery systems located in six states as well as oversees the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program. Roy is a member of the State Bar of California with extensive public interest advocacy experience in direct legal services, community organizing and advocacy. Roy has staffed and supervised legal clinics for domestic violence victims, low-income housing tenants, Medicaid and welfare recipients and seniors in both urban and rural settings. He has organized several statewide coalitions and initiatives, and successfully promulgated health and welfare legislation.

Roy is a Mississippi native where he received a bachelor’s degree in public administration form the University of Mississippi. He is also a graduate of New College of California School of Law (San Francisco, CA), the nation’s oldest public interest law school. His previous employers include the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County and the San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation.

After graduating from law school, Roy staffed and supervised legal clinics for low-income populations in northern and southern California.  In 1996, he returned to his home state of Mississippi, where he continues to organize public interest initiatives and advocate for improved health and welfare legislation.  He has served as the consumer’s representative on numerous Medicaid, Human Services, and Health Department committees and task forces. 

Jason Sabo

Jason is Vice President for Public Policy of United Ways of Texas and the Public Policy Manager of United Way of America's Success By 6 initiative.  United Ways of Texas is the statewide association of local United Ways, and Success By 6 is a national initiative designed to improve public and private support systems for young children and their families.  Jason manages Texas’ largest electronic network of human services advocates and produces a daily Capitol Blog of policy news relevant to human services providers at www.uwtexas.org.  Thousands of Texans rely on the Capitol Blog as their source of information about public policy in Texas.

Prior to joining United Way, Jason worked at the Center for Public Policy Priorities - an Austin think tank - as a budget and policy analyst on marriage promotion, early childhood education and labor policies.  Before entering the policy realm, Jason coordinated dropout prevention and family literacy programs and worked as a teacher at the pre-kindergarten through university levels in the United States and Brazil. 

Jason’s expertise lies in community organizing, and he is particularly interested in blending meaningful technology with traditional grassroots advocacy to increase the number of Americans engaged in the democratic process.  Jason’s advocacy work has been recognized by children’s groups across Texas.  He was named Advocate of the Year in 2004 by the Houston Area Association for the Education of Young Children.  Jason holds a Master’s degree in History from Indiana University, and is fluent in Portuguese and proficient in Spanish.

Erin also advocates on behalf of the nonprofit community to legislators and the media.  Erin authored Michigan’s Public Policy Handbook: A Lobbying Guide for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits and Nonprofit Advocacy: A Michigan Primer.  She also prepared the publications Setting the Record Straight on Michigan’s Nonprofit Community and Guide to Getting Good Media Coverage.  Erin locates and obtains funding for the Initiative, and works with academics to encourage research on the sector.  Before becoming Director of MPPI, she acted as the Associate Director of MPPI and has worked with the Michigan Nonprofit Association for over five years.

Erin previously held the position of Statewide Project Coordinator on Campaign Finance Reform for the League of Women Voters of Michigan.  As project coordinator, she was responsible for educating legislators, developing and implementing a media campaign, recruiting volunteers and designing trainings to educate volunteers on grassroots advocacy techniques.  The year-long project culminated with an interactive event linking seven sites across the state to discuss whether campaign finance reform is needed in Michigan.

Erin graduated from Michigan State University (MSU) with Bachelor’s degrees in English and Journalism.  Erin also holds a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Western Michigan University.  She currently serves on the board of trustees for the Boarshead Theater – a regional equity theater in Lansing, MI; on the board of directors of the Mid-Michigan chapter of the American Society for Public Administration; and on the public policy committees of the Michigan Association of United Ways and the National Council of Nonprofit Associations (co-chair).

Tracy Velázquez

Tracy is executive director of the Montana Mental Health Association, a statewide nonprofit organization that educates and advocates for the mental health of all Montanans.  Prior to this she was a principal and founder of Commonweal Consulting, in which provided training and technical assistance to community and faith based organizations, universities, and local, state and national government agencies since 2001.  Prior to founding Commonweal Consulting, Tracy worked in management, program administration, public policy advocacy and fund development for a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Montana State University Foundation, The Science Place (Dallas, TX), Kids’ Turn (San Francisco) and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

Tracy has lobbied on a variety of public policy issues on the national and state level, including public health and environmental justice. In the most recent Montana legislative session, Tracy successfully lobbied for state funding to provide care for victims of asbestos-related diseases. Other successes include lobbying former Governor Judy Martz (R) to create a public policy workgroup to address alcohol and drug use, and to assemble a task force of county, state and national health officials to address the unmet health needs of asbestos victims in Libby, Montana. Through the Robert Wood Johnson-funded “A Matter of Degree” project, Tracy worked with universities around the country trying to reduce underage and binge drinking though public policy solutions.

Tracy held an appointment as an adjunct instructor in political science at Montana State University and has been a candidate for the Montana Legislature and the United States Congress, and was elected vice-chair of the Montana Democratic Party in July 2005. Tracy has also been a community activist on public health issues, playing a key role in the passage of Bozeman’s ordinance on smoke-free public places and the adoption of policies to curb underage drinking. Tracy has a Master of Public Administration degree from Montana State University and a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. A displaced Connecticut Yankee, Tracy has made her home in Montana since 1995.

Mauricio Vivero 
Mauricio is a consultant in government relations and lobbying strategy, and founder of 501(c)Strategies.  His clients include GuideStar and National Committee on Planned Giving. He has more than 10 years of experience managing and leading campaigns on federal issues and is an expert in government relations, public affairs and coalition building. 

Mauricio served in several senior-level positions with national organizations.  Most recently, Mauricio was Director of Government Relations for Independent Sector, a national coalition representing more than 600 foundations, charities and corporate giving programs. From 1998 until 2003, he was Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs at the Legal Services Corporation where he led the successful national effort to increase federal appropriations for legal services programs. He also served as Director of Grassroots Lobbying for the American Bar Association (ABA) and Director of Leadership Development for the National Council of La Raza.

Mauricio has written articles appearing in legal journals, trade publications, and major newspapers on a wide range of topics such as communications, fundraising and grassroots lobbying. He has received several awards for his advocacy and public affairs work, including the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) Award of Excellence in Government Relations and Inside PR magazine’s Creativity in Public Relations Award (CIPRA). In addition, he has held a number of volunteer leadership positions, including Regional President and Board Member of the National Hispanic Bar Association, Special Advisor to the ABA Immigration Policy Committee, and President of the Young Hispanic Republican’s Association. 

Mauricio was born in Havana, Cuba and immigrated with his family to the U.S. in 1970. Mauricio holds a law degree from Creighton University and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Florida International University.