From the DSA Staff Organizer’s desk

As an organizer on national DSA’s staff, one of my key responsibilities is visiting chapters to build relationships with members, leaders, and to provide training and resources while I’m there. I’ve recently had the pleasure of visiting three California DSA chapters: Silicon Valley, East Bay, and San Francisco DSA. 

I flew in on August 18th and headed down to San Jose for a meeting with Silicon Valley leaders. While there I heard members’ stories about getting involved in DSA and got a deeper understanding of the chapter’s work. We set next steps for more training and resource-sharing and I can’t wait to spend more time with them!

Our staff organizer joins members of East Bay DSA for a training and social

On the 19th, East Bay DSA hosted a training day with two dozen leaders in attendance. We covered “Building a Mass Organization” and “Planning and Facilitating Events”. Participants brought great insights to the training. Later, at a chapter social, chapter leaders gave quick summaries of events and presented opportunities for chapter involvement. There were members there that were new to the chapter and were able to immediately talk with chapter leaders about getting plugged into chapter work. 

Amy Zachmeyer with leaders of San Francisco DSA in their office space

I finished up my trip with two days in San Francisco. I observed their leadership meeting and training. Following the meeting, we had a board game night. (I lost!) I was also able to meet up with the Chapter Coordinating Committee. Their dedication to member engagement and sharing their processes is inspiring. Just as my time in San Francisco came to a close, a leader of the Mutual Aid working group made time for bringing me up to date on the big plans they have for building mutual aid into the work of the chapter. 

If you’d like to host me for some training and try your hand at beating me at board games too, please reach out by emailing azachmeyer@dsausa.org!