Cal Smith

Background

About Cal Smith

I’m a legislative advocate passionate about helping foster equitable, welcoming communities. My mission is to create accessible and actionable pathways for civically minded citizens to advocate for vital community resources that will improve their physical safety and emotional wellness. The obscurity of local and state politics can deter most people – especially those from historically under-served communities - from engaging in meaningful political action. I believe that transparency in the policy-making process is the key to grassroots engagement. MY ADVOCACY PHILOSOPHY: Civil rights organizations must collaborate and break down information silos to advance positive legislation. Bipartisanship and alliances with non-traditional supporters can be an excellent way to bolster issue credibility. Seek “side door,” creative entry points to champion legislation that will produce an unintended positive outcome. Test messaging and repurpose successful campaigns from other sources to achieve greater impact. MY DATA WONK SUPERPOWERS: Pattern recognition and trend analysis. I’m an A/B test aficionado. Data, data and more data, please! I’ve never met a metric I didn’t like. Early detection of opponent strategies. Yep, all that trend analysis is a handy tool. Ongoing tactic evaluation. I doggedly iterate tactical plans based on new data. Translating information. I’m a rock star at synthesizing content into digestible nuggets. Project management. I laser focus on the end zone and quarterback the team to the goal. Subject matter expert. I love having the 4-1-1 on issues. Just ask SME. WHAT I’M LIKE TO WORK WITH: I’m a high energy, motivating, “possibilitarian”. I can produce creative ideas on demand. I’m the team’s resident historian. I’m part data-wonk, part St. Bernard. I’m a pitbull on projects. I enjoy praise, so consistent treats are nice!