Basic Info

First Name

Hillary

Last Name

Hersh

Username

hillaryhersh

Additional Contact Information

Pronouns

she/her/they

Website

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hillaryhersh

Progressive Profile

Current Employer

City of New York

Current Occupation

Policy Advisor, Community Outreach

Tagline

Striving for an inclusive and fair democracy. [civic engagement/access, policy/reform, organizing/advocacy, design/communications]

Bio

I am a Licensed Master of Social Work who wants to contribute to societal change without perpetuating the nonprofit industrial complex or status quo electoral politics. My passion for anti-racist, justice-oriented work has been demonstrated by my six+ years of experience working with diverse populations on a macro level and through direct service provision, both in a professional and volunteer capacity. I have an interdisciplinary background, having worked in policy and research, community organizing and outreach, grants management, graphic design and communications, and direct services for children and adults.

I spent just over a year at the City of New York’s $40M census outreach initiative, as a Community Grants Manager for a first-of-its-kind equity-focused grants program that enables organizations and institutions in historically underrepresented communities to access government contracts, many for the first time. Currently, I serve in a contract position at the NYC Department of Social Services tracking and analyzing relevant federal, state, and local legislation and resource developments.

In my volunteer time, I’ve been instrumental in organizing a movement for city employees to use their positions to amplify community movements for justice. My volunteer work has also included voter outreach for numerous political campaigns, as well as community organizing, policy research, and graphic design.

Impact

In June 2020 I co-founded City Workers for Justice, a group of City employees working ‘’offline’’ to hold our workplace accountable and elevate the work of community-led movements for justice. We have worked to build a following so that we can amplify the work of those from historically marginalized communities, and since June 2020 we have over 5000 followers and numerous press outlets engaged with our work. In addition to raising visibility for campaigns, we hosted phone banking sessions for the Street Vendors Project’s fight for bill Intro 1116 and raised $13,000 for a street vendor whose goods were destroyed by the NYPD, raised money for the Teamsters strike at Hunts Point and the Harlem Laptop Initiative, provided supplies and bodies to the Occupy City Hall protest to defund the NYPD, and rallied with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in their recent fight for debt relief.

Mission

My aspiration is to contribute to electoral/government reform movements, striving for an inclusive and fair democracy. I believe that in order to achieve sustainable economic, racial, disability, and health justice, we first need to unrig our government. Working to end partisan gerrymandering, stop the flow of dark money in politics, abolish the filibuster and electoral college, and even reform our voting methods would all break down barriers that stand in the way of a government that represents everyone.

 

Additional goals:

  • Deepen my knowledge of how state and federal policy reacts to and drives change, and expand on my interest in civic engagement by diving into the ways citizens can participate in their democracy – census, voting, service, advocacy, etc.
  • Become more knowledgeable about the larger landscape of state electoral reform and how the states can work together to drive change (like the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact).
  • Between graduate school and working in time-bound positions (NYC Census, etc) I’ve had a number of temporary roles. I’m hoping to settle in to one workplace where my career can both ‘settle’ as well as grow.