Recap of the CSI 2024 Annual Convening
On June 13 and 14, 2024, over 300 Clean Slate advocates from around the country gathered in Philadelphia for two days of learning and making connections at The Clean Slate Initiative’s 2024 Annual Convening. From the knowledge-sharing sessions to the networking opportunities to the planning for future campaigns, attendees truly embodied the event’s theme: Learning, Leading, and Going for More!
Learning
Whether new to Clean Slate advocacy or a seasoned leader, the Convening included learning opportunities for everyone.
Our main stage highlighted some of the most significant issues within our work with discussions including:
The Reason Why offered a platform for leaders to share some of the motivations that fuel their advocacy.
30 Years Since The 1994 Crime Bill - How The Field Is Making Progress helped provide context for America’s record crisis and how our work is essential in addressing it.
It’s An Us Issue: Clean Slate’s Connections Across Sectors demonstrated how Clean Slate is far more than a legal system issue, noting that it’s also a workforce issue, an economic issue, and a community safety issue.
Workshops and Breakout sessions also offered several learning opportunities for advocates. Sessions were grouped into four tracks, allowing advocates to focus on conversations with resources most relevant to their state campaigns. Expert panelists facilitated sessions and workshops, including:
Understanding Clean Slate Research And How To Use It
Engaging Faith Communities
Problem-Solving Common Challenges
Working In The South
Leveraging C4 And Lobbying Power
An organizing training and a messaging workshop provided opportunities for sharing expertise and insights among participants.
Leading
The Clean Slate network is full of leaders, which was on full display at this year’s Convening. Before the Convening officially started, around 100 directly impacted community leaders attended a powerful storytelling training led by Daryl Atkinson and Kristie Puckett of Forward Justice.
After CSI’s CEO, Sheena Meade, opened the first official day of the Convening, Sharon Deitrich of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia welcomed attendees to Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the Clean Slate movement.
Throughout the event and the celebration dinner, leaders from across the country took opportunities to connect and build the strong relationships that make the Clean Slate network so powerful.
Going for More!
It’s fitting that ‘going for more’ was part of this year’s theme. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro had signed a bill expanding Clean Slate eligibility even further. After seeing the success and benefits of the nation’s first Clean Slate law, advocates and lawmakers have worked together to expand eligibility twice. The latest expansion extends eligibility to some felony drug convictions and reduces the waiting period for misdemeanor records.
The Clean Slate Initiative also strove for more at this year’s Convening by bringing together more partners from more states than ever before, including artists and authors.
The Convening provided an opportunity for CSI to demonstrate how we are going deeper into research-based narrative change efforts. Researchers from Goodwin-Simon Strategic Research presented some initial findings from our multi-year research project aimed at shifting the narrative about record clearance.
We look forward to building upon the momentum and inspiration offered at this year’s Convening! We are grateful to all partners, board members, artists, and vendors who make this event a resounding success.
If you were part of the magic - thank you! We hope you will join us next year!
