The ESOP Association’s Advocacy Academy and ESOP Advocacy Day brought together a record-setting group of employee ownership advocates for two days of training, storytelling, and direct advocacy on Capitol Hill.
Nearly 200 advocates attended Advocacy Academy, and nearly 250 ESOP advocates from more than 40 states participated in ESOP Advocacy Day. They met with more than 200 House and Senate offices to advance policies that protect and strengthen ESOPs. This commitment from so many passionate advocates is already making a powerful impact on Capitol Hill.
Advocacy Academy
Advocacy Academy gave both first-time and experienced advocates the tools, confidence, and information they needed to make the most of their congressional meetings.
Cassie Brzezinski and Vianna Vo, members of The ESOP Association’s public policy consulting firm Mindset, opened the training with practical guidance on how to connect with congressional staff. As former congressional staffers themselves, Cassie and Vianna offered a valuable behind-the-scenes perspective on what makes a meeting effective, how staffers process information, and how advocates can make a lasting impression.
TEA’s Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs Greg Facchiano explained why these meetings matter. Drawing on research showing that in-person constituent meetings are among the most effective ways to influence Congress, Greg highlighted the power of ESOP advocates showing up and sharing their experiences directly with policymakers. Greg also provided an overview of The ESOP Association’s top policy priorities, so advocates were well prepared to discuss the issues. At the same time, he emphasized an important point: TEA members do not need to be policy experts to be effective advocates. The most powerful tool they have is their ESOP story.
Seth Turner, a grassroots advocacy expert with more than 30 years of experience, brought home that message during his presentation on how to tell your ESOP story. Through an engaging presentation that included everything from funny movie clips to heartwarming stories, Seth showed attendees that they already have the skills and tools needed to be effective advocates. By focusing on their own experiences as employee owners, advocates can help members of Congress and staff understand the powerful benefits ESOPs bring to workers, businesses, and communities.
The Academy concluded with a full overview of ESOP Advocacy Day logistics, including how to use the extremely handy Advocacy Day app. The app gave advocates easy access to their meeting schedules, team members, information on the members of Congress they were meeting with, and all the documents and resources needed to make the day as smooth and successful as possible.
The evening ended with a reception at The ESOP Association headquarters to thank advocates for their hard work and dedication to advancing pro-ESOP policies.
ESOP Advocacy Day
The next morning, ESOP Advocacy Day began bright and early with a hearty breakfast before advocates headed to Capitol Hill for their congressional meetings.
Thanks to the Advocacy Academy, advocates were ready to clearly explain The ESOP Association’s top policy requests. To make the issues easy to understand for congressional staff who may be new to ESOPs, advocates used a simple analogy: ESOP advocacy is like driving a car.
To drive safely, you need rules of the road, access to a road, and protection on the road. To protect and expand ESOPs, employee-owned companies need clear rules for valuing ESOP shares, access to capital to create and grow ESOPs, and protection from frivolous litigation and attempts by private equity to redefine ESOPs. That framework helped advocates explain why it is so important to pass the Retire Through Ownership Act, the American Ownership and Resilience Act, and an unprecedented number of other pro-ESOP bills moving through Congress.
Throughout the day, advocates met with many staffers who had personal connections to ESOPs. Some had previously worked at ESOP companies and understood the benefits of employee ownership firsthand. Others had attended congressional site visits to ESOP companies and remembered the impact of seeing an employee-owned culture up close. Those personal connections matter. They help move Congressional offices from general support for ESOPs to real action on pro-ESOP policies. And they show why advocacy is most effective when members of Congress and staff hear directly from the people who live the ESOP experience every day.
Thank You to Our Advocates
The success of the Advocacy Academy and ESOP Advocacy Day would not have been possible without the dedication of The ESOP Association’s volunteer advocates.
By taking time away from work, traveling to Washington, and sharing their stories with Congress, these advocates showed what makes the ESOP community so powerful. They demonstrated the real-world impact of employee ownership and made clear that ESOPs are worth protecting, strengthening, and expanding.
The ESOP Association is grateful to every advocate who participated, every company that sent a team, and every volunteer leader who helped make this record-setting event a success. Your voices are already making a difference on Capitol Hill, and your advocacy will help ensure that more workers, businesses, and communities can benefit from employee ownership in the years ahead.
