Garrett Wyatt

Working Toward a Cleaner Chesapeake: How State Lawmakers are Protecting a Vital Watershed

By Catherine Nichols For centuries, the Chesapeake Bay watershed has been a source of life and livelihood for millions of Americans — home to bustling communities and iconic species like oysters, crabs and striped bass. But the bay’s health is in steady decline. Across the region, lawmakers and environmental organizations are stepping up to reverse…

Bonding at Topgolf with the Mississippi Future Caucus

In Mississippi, during the heart of a fast-moving session, Future Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Jansen Owen (R) and Sen. Rod Hickman (D) carved out time for their colleagues to meet — not in a committee room, but at Topgolf. It was a chance to laugh, bond, and see each other as human beings beyond party labels.…

Practicing Dignity with the Pennsylvania Future Caucus

In Pennsylvania, members gathered for a training on The Dignity Index — a tool to help lawmakers engage more constructively when they disagree. Pennsylvania Future Caucus members, who first learned about The Dignity Index when Tim Shriver, Co-Founder of UNITE, presented it at Future Summit 2024, led the charge to bring it to their colleagues. In a…

Rep. Dr. Megan Srinivas Brings a Public Health Lens to the Iowa Legislature

By Sarah Evans For Rep. Dr. Megan Srinivas (D-IA-30), the connection between public health and public policy is personal—and urgent. As an infectious disease physician serving rural Iowa, she witnessed how legislative decisions shape her patients’ health long before she ever considered running for office.   “At first, I tried to advocate from the outside—sharing data,…

Paris Hilton backs West Virginia bill addressing child protection in institutions

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) — Celebrity Paris Hilton is pushing West Virginia lawmakers to better protect children in residential treatment institutions. She wrote a letter to the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee this week, supporting West Virginia Senate Bill 817 which is aiming to prevent abuse from prevailing in these adolescent institutions. “I write to you…