I’ve been a member of the STAND Managing Committee since December 2009. My work with the organization, both national and local, began during the summer of that same year, when I served as STAND’s National Burma Education Coordinator. My education work on Burma was fascinating–entering the position with little knowledge of the conflict in the country’s ethnic minority regions, I soon became proficient in the complex political, economic, and cultural dynamics of the country’s present instability.
While my work on the Education Task Force piqued my interest, I had few, if any opportunities to translate my knowledge into coherent policy solutions. When, in the winter of 2009, I applied for the National Advocacy Coordinator position, I expected to enter the realm of policy discourse, to study STAND’s conflicts of concern with greater emphasis on the process of resolving these conflicts, rather than simply understanding their origins (admittedly, a not-so-simple task).
Throughout my year-and-a-half as National Advocacy Coordinator, I can firmly say that I’ve achieved this initial expectation. My advocacy work with STAND has allowed me to make constructive contributions to the anti-genocide movement’s policy approaches to emerging and persistent international conflicts. I have participated in productive policy discussions with staff members at GI-NET/SDC. My work with the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative, a partnership between STAND and the Enough Project, has allowed me to contribute to STAND’s development as a multi-conflict-focused organization, and to grapple with the complex policy dilemmas that this development entails.
My time on the Managing Committee has also enhanced my abilities as an organizer and movement leader. The exceptional network of STAND alums is entirely accessible to the Managing Committee–our partners at the New Organizing Institute and Organizing for America have dedicated an exceptional quantity of time and energy to ensuring that the legacy of organizing expertise lives on in successive Managing Committees.
If you’re interested in strengthening your organizing skills, in engaging in high-level discussions on human rights, conflict prevention, and conflict resolution policy, or, frankly, just having a good time (for a solid 25-30 hours/week), I’d encourage you to apply for the Advocacy Coordinator position. Please feel free to contact me at daniel.solomon18@gmail.com with any questions about the position. And look forward to the next generation of student anti-genocide leadership! I know I do.