Millennial Action Project Hosts 3rd Annual Bipartisan Future Summit for Young State Legislators

August 7, 2019 | Contact: Layla Zaidane, (202) 480-2051 

Over 60 state legislators connected with speakers including former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, 2016 Vice-Presidential Candidate Mindy Finn, and GRAMMY-winning producer Shannon Sanders 

(Nashville, TN) On August 2-4, 2019, Millennial Action Project (MAP) hosted its 3rd Annual Future Summit at Vanderbilt University. A bipartisan group of over 60 young elected officials joined MAP in Nashville, Tennessee for discussions surrounding policy issues impacting future generations, and tactics to foster more collaborative governing environments in their statehouses. 

MAP’s Future Summit is the largest bipartisan conference in the nation for young state legislators. Young policymakers have the opportunity to collaborate on innovative solutions to the issues that matter to the next generation, share best practices and strategies they’ve implemented in their own states, and engage with policy experts from a variety of fields. Most attendees are are members of MAP’s State Future Caucus Network, a movement of young elected officials breaking through partisan gridlock to reestablish political cooperation and create meaningful progress through government institutions. 

“Across the country, young legislators are putting aside party and working together to create bipartisan solution to our most pressing policy challenges,” said Steven Olikara, Founder and President of Millennial Action Project. “At a time when our national politics have become increasingly fractured, it’s inspiring to see these legislators come together to prioritize progress over partisanship, and I look forward to working with them as they continue the work of the Future Summit in their communities.” 

The goal of the three-day Future Summit is to build relationships across state and party lines, empower legislators to effectively work across the aisle, and connect them with innovative policy resources and ideas. Participants shared ideas on topics including the student debt crisis, redistricting and the census, modernizing voting, the future of work, and attracting and retaining young talent. Legislators were also able to put policy into practice, developing plans with policymakers across the aisle to bring solutions back to their home states. 

“In today’s hyper-polarized political climate, I am honored to work with these young leaders committed to thinking beyond divides,” said Cherisse Eatmon, State Caucus Network Director of Millennial Action Project. “The Future Summit provides state legislators, spanning the full ideological spectrum, with a unique and rare environment to build nontraditional relationships and serve as trailblazers on visionary policy solutions.” 

Keynote speakers at Future Summit included Michael Steele, former Maryland Lt. Governor and RNC Chairman, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, 2016 Vice-Presidential candidate Mindy Finn, and two-time GRAMMY-winning producer Shannon Sanders. 

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The 2019 Future Summit is made possible in part by Vanderbilt University, Google, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Democracy Fund, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Protect Democracy, Walton Family Foundation, Bridge Alliance Education Fund, Jay Lucas, Recording Industry Association of America, Lyft, Unite America, and iHeartMedia.

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Media contact: Layla Zaidane, (202) 480-2051 

The Millennial Action Project (MAP) is a national, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to activating young policymakers to bridge the partisan divide and lead a new era of collaborative governance. In 2013, MAP organized America’s first-ever bipartisan caucus for young members of Congress, the Congressional Future Caucus. Shaping the next generation of leadership, MAP’s Future Caucus Network has expanded into nearly 30 state legislatures and grown into the largest nonpartisan organization of millennial elected officials in the U.S. More info available at: futurecaucus.org.