Check out our Q&A with Chief of Policy Staff Lucas Caldwell-McMillan below. Congratulations on two years with Empower Missouri, Lucas! How did you first hear about Empower Missouri, and what inspired you to get involved? I learned about Empower long before I came to work here.. In fact, Empower was the first organization I collaborated...Read More

Good advocacy takes many forms. Sometimes it looks like changing a law. Sometimes it means making sure a person doesn’t lose their home. Sometimes it means showing up at a city council meeting, organizing a community, or making sure the voices of people most affected by a policy are heard. This year, Empower Missouri is...Read More

Check out our Q&A with Food Security Policy Manager Amanda Berry below. Congratulations on two years with Empower Missouri, Amanda! What does “People-Powered Policy Change” mean to you? To me, people-powered policy change means recognizing that the people closest to a problem are often the ones closest to the solution. Good policy shouldn’t happen in...Read More

An interesting question crossed my mind the other day – What would Missouri look like without Empower Missouri? Empower Missouri is the oldest and largest anti-poverty advocacy organization in our state. In 1901, a group of 41 Missourians came together at the YMCA in St. Louis to discuss critical, deep-rooted societal issues. This group continued...Read More

For the last several months we’ve been celebrating our 125th anniversary year. This fall, our Anti Poverty Advocates Summit will be the height of celebrating. Our organization started as an annual conference, the Missouri Conference on Charities and Corrections, with our first-ever event being held on January 10 and 11 in 1901 at the Downtown...Read More

Check out our Q&A with Development Manager Peyton Davis below. Congratulations on your first year with Empower Missouri, Peyton! What does “People-Powered Policy Change” mean to you? People-power is often envisioned as groups of individuals fighting back against injustice in solidarity. We think of pivotal moments like the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965,...Read More

Check out our Q&A with Board Member Katheryne Staeger-Wilson below. Thank you for being a vital part of Empower Missouri, Katheryne! How did you first hear about Empower Missouri, and what inspired you to get involved? I was involved with Empower Missouri back when it was known as the Missouri Association for Social Welfare. Since...Read More

Check out our Q&A with Affordable Housing Policy Manager Vee Sanchez below. Congratulations on 4 years with Empower Missouri, Vee! What does “People-Powered Policy Change” mean to you? It means ordinary people growing our capacity to cogovern. It means our communities set and advance the people’s agenda and are not merely spokespersons, but leaders and...Read More

Check out our Q&A with Criminal Justice Policy Manager Gwen Smith-Moore below. Congratulations on 4 years with Empower Missouri, Gwen! What does “People-Powered Policy Change” mean to you? It means that those who are often left out of the policy-making process are centered and uplifted. In our Community Justice Coalition, many members are formerly incarcerated...Read More

Check out our Q&A with Operations Director Tina Mahtani below. Congratulations on 1 year with Empower Missouri, Tina! What part of Empower Missouri’s work do you feel most passionate about, and why? What I care about most is that Empower never loses sight of the people behind the issues we work on. The policy work...Read More