Hello everyone, I am GP Worley. I am excited to be joining the Empower Missouri team as the inaugural Charles Ellwood Graduate Fellow! As I start my position, I am wrapping up my Master of Social Work program at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, where I cultivated my...Lee mas

Last year, when Empower’s staff and board began discussions on how we wanted to mark our quasquicentennial (isn’t that a fun word?!) this year, there was one thing that I knew for sure– I wanted our celebrations to be deeply steeped in Empower’s history. One of the true joys of working at Empower is consistently...Lee mas

America is frequently touted as “the greatest nation in the world.” Anytime that I hear someone say that, I can’t help but think of this dazzling opening scene from the 2012 HBO drama “The Newsroom,” where a college student asks a prominent nightly news host (played valiantly by Jeff Daniels) to explain why we’re the...Lee mas

February 25, 2026 To: Rep. Ben Keathley, Chairman, and Members, House Committee on General Laws From: Mallory Rusch, Executive Director, Empower Missouri Re: Our opposition to HB 1974 Founded in 1901, Empower Missouri advocates for the well-being of Missourians through civic leadership, education, and research. As part of our work, we organize a statewide coalition...Lee mas

Date: February 18, 2026 To: Chairman Schroer and Members, Senate Judiciary Committee From: Mallory Rusch, Executive Director, Empower Missouri As the largest and oldest anti-poverty advocacy organization in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy. Since our inception, Empower Missouri has focused on the...Lee mas

Date: February 18, 2026 To: Chairman Schroer and Members, Senate Judiciary Committee From: Mallory Rusch, Executive Director  Re: SB 854 and SB 1494 We are thrilled to offer testimony in support of SB 854 and SB 1494. Our nation’s criminal justice system was conceived and implemented long before the internet became an integral component of...Lee mas

In 1901, a group of 41 Missourians came together to form the Missouri Conference on Charities and Corrections, the organization that would eventually become Empower Missouri. The group was deeply concerned about social conditions in the state and around the country: Segregation was the law of the land. Women couldn’t vote, and many died in...Lee mas

Date: January 27, 2025 To: Chairwoman Gallick and Members, House Economic Development From: Mallory Rusch, Executive Director  Re: HB 2747 + HB 2047 We are thrilled to offer testimony in support of HB 2747 + HB 2047, which we’ll be referencing as Clean Slate legislation. Our nation’s criminal justice system was conceived and implemented long...Lee mas

We’re on day 42 of the government shutdown, which has set a record for the longest shutdown in American history. On Sunday evening, a group of moderate Democrats broke from their caucus to negotiate with Senate Republicans on a deal to reopen the government. A series of votes in both chambers will be necessary to...Lee mas

We’re on day seven of a government shutdown, and there’s no end in sight. In the US, we’ve endured 11 shutdowns (including this one) since 1980, when we began requiring all nonessential government activities to cease when legislation to finance government operations hasn’t been passed before the start of the fiscal year. (The federal fiscal...Lee mas