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Volunteer Spotlight: Andrew

11/26/2019

NAME:  Andrew Zibell
PRONOUNS:  He/Him/His
LOCATION:  Brooklyn, NY

Tell us about yourself outside of NEAT volunteering! (e.g. work, family, hobbies)

I love living in NYC and can never see myself leaving this city and everything it has to offer- I love going out to theater and concerts whenever I have the opportunity and I am lucky to have several opportunities. For family- I am closest with my cousins in Maryland and see them many times a year And because I cannot get enough of volunteering, I work at a non-profit as a Community Engagement Manager to get groups to volunteer at social service programs including homeless shelters and supportive housing residences around the Greater New York area for luncheons, holiday parties, story-times, painting or gardening, and more.

What's your connection to LGBTQ+ justice work?

I started volunteering for phone banks and canvassing for Marriage Equality USA and the Human Rights Campaign in 2011, and while I am still involved with HRC in coordinating Prides, Community Events, and Gala, staying involved with MEUSA and The NEAT is one of the most rewarding experiences for me and part of my life.

What is your volunteer role(s) at NEAT? What inspired you to get involved?

At The NEAT I phone bank whenever I can and I have led phone banks too. Going back to MEUSA, it gave me the opportunity to get involved in intangible ways and ways that I saw results changing hearts and minds with those I have spoken with over the phone.

Share a memory from volunteering that sticks out in your mind.

One memory I have is when we were phone banking to Indiana in 2014 (when Mr P the current VP was governor- eesh) for marriage equality. Residents of Indiana identify themselves as “Hoosiers” and of course we made the connection as citizens in Whoville a-la How the Grinch Stole Christmas (and Mr P was clearly the Grinch). It was a tough campaign but we found ways to keep our spirits up. Tracy, who was the lead for our phone banks helped us out a lot with this, and with the theme, I freehand drew a portrait of “Cindy-Lou Hoosier” on our whiteboard who compelled us to keep going and to ask “Why, Mr P*****? Why do you deny loving couples of Indiana basic civil rights same as everyone else?”

What would you say to anyone considering volunteering with NEAT?

Do it! You can do it on your own time give as much as you can on a schedule that works for you. Trust me, you will see in front of your very eyes (or ears) someone changing their entire views because you took the time to reach out and connect with them on this issue and show them a different point of view and talk with them about it.

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NEAT’s Halo Extends to Eastern Europe & Balkans

11/20/2019

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by Jeff B. White

Over the past two years, National Equality Action Team (NEAT), has been privileged to participate in a U.S. sponsored international fellowship program. The Fellowship brings community organizers from Eastern Europe and the Balkans to our New York office to see how we do our work, and learn new techniques and skills that they can take home and use in their own communities.

As part of the program, NEAT Executive Director, Brian Silva recently returned from Slovakia where he assisted our most recent Fellow, Jana Fuskova, with her project, as well as running multiple workshops, speaking engagements and trainings on organizing, LGBTQ+ issues and NEAT’s work. “This is an incredible way for NEAT to give back to our international community, and help solidify the movement for LGBTQ+ equality worldwide,” Brian said of the program.

Jana spent her time in New York with NEAT learning new organizing techniques, and assisting in the analysis of a major research project with our partner Family Equality. “In countries like Slovakia (post-communist countries) people do not think about themselves as someone who has a voice. That they have no voice that anyone would listen to - neighbors, politicians, representatives, companies, etc.,” Jana said. “As a part of my fellowship I have become so empowered, and I learned not only that my voice as a citizen, as a person, is not only strong, but that it should be listened to.”

Jana’s Fellowship project back home will create playgrounds that are inclusive of all types of people, including children with disabilities, as well as LGBTQ+ families. After facing some issues with bureaucracy and public opinion, Jana says, “We now have a plan to make the City Council dedicate the public promise to open our playground that was built by all families and serving all families. As first in line on the City Council’s list, we are hoping to open the first LGBTQ+ safe and inclusive playground in Slovakia by summer of 2020.”

Since joining the Fellowship Program, NEAT has hosted two organizers from Slovakia and one from Albania.

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NEAT Provides Local & National Leadership for #OurDayInCourt - Title VII Oral Arguments at SCOTUS

11/18/2019

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by Jeff White

On October 8, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on three cases to decide whether LGBTQ+ workers should keep existing workplace protections, NEAT was organizing hundreds of people on the court steps and supporting thousands more in local events from coast to coast. Our partners had shown up to support LGBTQ+ worker protections as part of one of NEAT’s collaborative national actions called #DecisionDay.

#OurDayInCourt is a national collaborative organized and facilitated by NEAT to respond to key U.S. Supreme Court cases that affect LGBTQ+ people. The coalition includes large national LGBTQ+ groups like the National LGBTQ Task Force, HRC, and the ACLU, as well as over fifty local grassroots organizations nationwide. In addition to the major rally at the U.S. Supreme Court where NEAT’s Founder and Executive Director Brian Silva addressed the crowd, groups organized local rallies, faith services, “honk-and-wave” events and more to garner media coverage and community support for a potentially dangerous ruling from the Court.

As part of #OurDayInCourt, NEAT created the temporary microsite OurDayInCourt.org as a central hub for information about the cases and resources to organize community responses. NEAT hosted multiple organizing and public education calls and webinars, and created multiple resources to assist partners in executing their actions.

All of this culminated in NEAT’s Virtual Town Hall the evening after oral arguments where the panel, including legal experts from Harvard Law School, Freedom for All Americans and Equality Case Files, shared their thoughts and analysis from oral arguments and answered attendee questions. Over 500 LGBTQ+ leaders and members participated on this call and hundreds more were able to access the information via a recording afterwards. As part of NEAT’s ongoing efforts on this issue, we continue to phone bank to push legislators to pass the Equality Act to mitigate any potential negative ruling on these cases, as well as organize for a community response - good or bad - on #DecisionDay in 2020 when the Court hands down its decision.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Andrew

NEAT’s Halo Extends to Eastern Europe & Balkans

NEAT Provides Local & National Leadership for #OurDayInCourt - Title VII Oral Arguments at SCOTUS

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