September 2023 Monthly Actions & Meeting W/ Madeline McGill, Founder, Western Desk
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Madeline began her political career working for campaigns, nonprofits, and labor unions across New England. In 2018, she moved to Utah to help found the Rural Utah Project to empower underrepresented voters, bringing its fundraising and communications programs online. Two years later, she built an organic digital and earned media program with an advertising equivalent of $11.1M across the rural Southwest. Since then, Madeline has continued her work as a narrative strategist, driving outcomes for nonprofits, labor unions, and candidates for office who are curious to engage with people who call rural landscapes home. Her notable projects include National Nurses United, The Sierra Club, SEIU, and the Rural Democracy Initiative. She's proud to partner with the Rural Climate Partnership on building a transformative narrative framework for hardworking rural people. Madeline lives in Boulder, Utah, a town of 250 people, where she searches for new watering holes with her border collie, Melon.
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Watch or download the video recording or pre-call video. Listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes. View the Presentation Slides.
September's Monthly Actions (click here to download the full sheet)
- Select and prepare a community leader to lobby with you in November
- Plan to use our Nov. 4-5 Fall Virtual Conference in your outreach
- Mobilization bonus action: Use our new click-to-call tool to phone Congress about permitting reform
- Social media bonus action: Share CCL’s posts and add your experience with extreme weather
- Communications skills exercise: Practice explaining why Congress needs to work on permitting reform
Recent Posts
Feb. 4, 2026 Permitting reform is an active conversation in Congress. This is exciting news for CCLers, who have been engaging on this topic with lawmakers since the 118th Congress (2023-2024). Last Wednesday, Jan. 28, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, held a committee hearing , ...
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Jan. 28, 2026 Source: CNN Weather Millions of Americans braced for extreme weather this past week, buying out grocery stores and stocking up on emergency preparedness supplies. Chances are, you experienced (or are actively experiencing) at least one of these in the last five days: Ice and snow storms: More than 19 states saw over a foot of snow. Even ...
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Jan. 21, 2026 Does your Member of Congress take stances on climate policy that don’t totally make sense to you? Do you wonder why people in your community don’t jump on board when you tell them about climate solutions? You’re not alone — it’s complicated and difficult to understand how others think. But to be effective climate advocates, we need to do ...
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Jan. 14, 2026 CCL’s first Monthly Meeting of the year, which took place this past Saturday, set the tone for our 2026 advocacy. Executive Director Ricky Bradley said, “Steady, values-driven work still matters — even when the political winds are rough and the outcomes are far from guaranteed.” The call featured updates on fundraising, leadership, our ...
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