Brian Sleet was a founding board member of Chicago Votes. Far beyond that, and even more important, Brian was part of our family! On December 26th, 2018 we lost him suddenly and the void in the heart of our organization has been difficult to bear. Brian was dedicated to empowering a new generation of Black political change makers, which is why he helped found Chicago Votes and cared so deeply about our work. In honor of Brian and the values he held; his loved ones have created the Brian Sleet Memorial Fellowship for Leadership and Advocacy.
Each year, this program will fund political advocacy and organizing training programming for students at Whitney Young High School, Brian’s alma mater. The Brian Sleet Memorial Fellowship for Leadership and Advocacy is a paid, part time, leadership development program that will train and activate the next generation of young, African American, civic leaders to carry on his legacy of advocating for social justice and political empowerment of the Black Community. The fellowship will run from Monday, June 13th – Friday, September 16th (based on availability) The Sleet Fellow will:
- Support 2022 Get-Out-the-Vote efforts including voter registration, volunteer recruitment, and voter guide development.
- Support Chicago Votes programming
- Engage in self-selected work
- Attend Chicago Board Of Elections, City Council, and Cook County Board meetings and draft memos debriefing their findings
Responsibilities
To accomplish the above mentioned objectives, our Ideal candidate will have an interest in grassroots organizing at the community level and possess the capacity to complete the following activities.
- Engage in large scale and event-based voter registration, pledge to vote card collection, and canvassing.
- Act as an organizational ambassador at community events.
- Coordinate both individual and group projects.
- Assist with volunteer recruitment and management.
- Follow detailed instructions associated with traversing large scale institutions like the Illinois Department of Corrections and Chicago Public Schools.
- Engage in issue-based research.
- Support robust digital campaigns.
Apply if you are…
- A graduating Whitney Young student
- High energy and funny personality
- A self-starter who shows strong initiative
- Flexible and able to thrive in a fast-paced campaign environment
- Committed to grassroots democracy
- Passionate about cultivating young leaders and advancing a progressive agenda
- Committed to the organizational mission in order to effectively promote and advance the goals of Chicago Votes
Relevant Software & Tools
(should know some & learn the rest)
- NGP VAN (our donor database and primary tool for emailing our base)
- Google Apps
- Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
- Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Hootsuite
Timeline & Benefits
- Applications Due: Tuesday, May 31st, 2022
- Program timeline: Monday, June 13th – Friday, September 16th (dependent on schedule)
- Time commitment: 10 hours/week
- Compensation: $22/hour
- Part-time, nonexempt position
To Apply
Please complete the Brian Sleet Memorial Fellowship Application by Tuesday May 31st.
Know someone you think would be awesome for the program? Nominate them here!
Chicago Votes supports and fosters leadership from underrepresented communities. We strongly urge womyn, LGBTQIA, people of color, and folx from immigrant communities to apply.