HEFN Director Karla Fortunato authored this blog post.

Last year we talked about power.  The year before, communications.  This year, HEFN’s 2013 meeting will dive deep on demography, issues and strategies related to health and the environment.  Philanthropy and advocates alike know there is a sea change on the horizon for the American electorate.  Strategies on both sides of the aisle highlight the need to connect to the Rising American Electorate of unmarried women, people of color and young voters.  By 2020, the Millennial generation will make up 40 percent of all eligible voters.  By 2046, people of color will be the majority of the US population.   Unmarried women too are a key part of the electorate, growing faster than any other demographic group. (source)

HEFN’s 2013 Annual Meeting will feature skills-building sessions on demographic shifts and political contexts shaping policy, like “Understanding Redistricting,”  “Money in Politics,” and “Everything You Need to Know about the Census.”  Against this political backdrop, we will explore issues front and center for environment, health and justice.   This year’s agenda will:

• feature model work in  municipalities and states that are promoting health and protecting the environment;
• tools and technologies for environmental health education and action; and
• share science updates on the way the environment is impacting human health.

Finally, HEFN’s meeting will provide time for strategic conversations about chemical policy reform and the impacts of fracking.  Strategies on these issues are in play across the country and in Washington, DC.  The HEFN meeting will be the place to discuss developments and plan future work. Demography, issues, strategies:  three reasons why you should register for HEFN’s 2013 Annual Meeting.  We can’t wait to start the conversations at #HEFN13.

Additional resource reading:

Pew Center for the People & the Press: Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years: Trends in American Values: 1987-2012

Center for American Progress: New Progressive America: The Millennial Generation

Ari Berman for the Nation: How the GOP is Resegregating the South