Happy Holidays from NextGen! 🎁 A word from our Executive Director

December 19, 2024

Season’s Greetings from your friends at NextGen Policy! 

On behalf of the entire NextGen Policy team, we’d like to wish you and all of your loved ones a wonderful Holiday Season! It’s hard to believe that 2024 has almost come to an end and that this is our final issue of What’s Next for the year. Our team is excited to wrap a bow around our advocacy and policy work for this year and eager to ring in the New Year, knowing, as always, all the potential as well as uncertainty it presents. This issue of What’s Next includes a close look at a few final items we’re checking off our list before the year ends and a sneak peek at what you can expect from the NextGen Policy team in 2025.

Please find a cozy, warm spot and enjoy our final What’s Next of 2024!

★ Happy Holidays from NextGen’s Executive Director:  The NextGen Policy team and I would like to extend our best wishes to you and your loved ones this Holiday Season! The NextGen team is looking forward to returning in 2025, ready to hit the ground running on a progressive and pragmatic policy agenda. Before we depart for the Holidays, I want to give you a glimpse at what you can look forward to in the coming legislative session. 

Next year, the NextGen team will continue our work advocating for policy, budgetary, and programmatic issues that protect and strengthen communities across California. Now more than ever, we must be prepared to defend the progress we have made here in California from the incoming federal Administration’s attempts to attack or reverse our gains, particularly in the areas of immigration, reproductive rights, climate resilience, and access to healthcare. 

You can expect to hear more from the NextGen Policy team soon on how we can work together to take action to: defend and support the state’s role as a global climate leader; tackle the food insecurity crisis; help student loan borrowers; continue advocating for School Meals For All; lower the barriers to higher education for California students by addressing institutional debt and CalGrant reform; level the playing field to accessibility and affordability for communities when it comes to digital equity; and strengthen California’s apprenticeship and workforce training programs through regional partnerships; and plenty more.

With that, on behalf of the entire NextGen Policy team we would like to thank you for your continued support of our work. Equally as important, we’re excited to collaborate with the  Newsom Administration, the State Legislature, our trusted partners, and dedicated Californians like you on our mission to help advance a more equitable, prosperous, and climate resilient California for all.

– Arnold “Arnie” Sowell Jr., Executive Director for NextGen Policy

★ We’re Going All In for Climate 100 Next Year: NextGen Policy is ready to get to work and collaborate with policymakers to defend California’s climate progress and spearhead the next phase of the climate transition! With the incoming federal Administration and increased likelihood that progress made on climate solutions may be stunted, California’s role as a global climate leader is now more important than ever before. As part of our Climate 100 project, NextGen Policy has developed a plan to better align state spending with California’s climate targets at minimal cost to Californians. Our key climate priorities for 2025 include reauthorizing California’s Cap and Trade program, modernizing the state transportation planning process, implementing the voter-approved climate bond (Prop 4), and securing funding for climate damages and climate resilient infrastructure. Get caught up with NextGen Policy’s Climate 100 Project!
★ ICYMI – Student Resources from Free My Future: In November, NextGen Policy held our annual Free My Future Student Loan Debt Summit with the goal of helping to empower student loan borrowers and provide them with the most up-to-date information and technical assistance. This year’s Free My Future was a huge success, with over 700 registrants who signed up to hear from our wonderful line-up of policymakers, student activists, and consumer advocates.  The Summit addressed important issues related to the nation’s student debt crisis and offered possible solutions for student loan borrowers. With the fate of various federal student loan programs up in the air, this year’s Summit could not have come at a better time. If you weren’t able to join us, or if you’d like to review any part of the Summit, click here to find panel recordings and more informational resources from this year’s Free My Future Summit!

NextGen Policy’s final Let’s Talk blog post for 2024 has arrived!  

In this latest edition, our Inclusive Democracy Policy Advisor Amy Hamblin explores key policy takeaways from the November election and their implications for the future.

Find a cozy, quiet place to focus and Let’s Talk about inclusive democracy:

Read the Post

★ Did You Know? Here’s your friendly reminder that open enrollment for healthcare coverage through Covered California and MediCal is now open! Residents of California are encouraged to apply for coverage before the January 31st, 2025 deadline.  To check your eligibility for potential subsidies and find the best healthcare plan for you and your family – get started on your application for Covered California today!

 

★ Special Spotlight: In this issue of What’s Next, we’d like to shine a special spotlight on our friend and partner Clothilde “Cloey” V. Hewlett, who has served as Commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) for more than three years. Commissioner Hewlett recently announced that at the end of this year she will be retiring from her position after a 45-year career in consumer protection, public policy, higher education, and law enforcement. The NextGen Policy team congratulates Commissioner Hewlett on her distinguished career and many accomplishments, and we thank her for being a champion for all Californians.  From enforcing consumer protection laws to uplifting student borrowers to listening to all stakeholders from the big banks and technology companies to everyday Californians, Commissioner Hewlett has worked diligently and tirelessly to make California a better place for us all. Learn more about Commissioner Hewlett’s career in her farewell message.

 

★ Our Mission: NextGen Policy fights for progressive policy change to address environmental, social, racial, gender, and economic equity through justice-centered legislative advocacy, grassroots partnerships, and democratic civic engagement.

Thank you for being a part of our journey toward a more equitable California. As we continue to push for progressive policy change, we invite you to make a difference by donating to support our organization. Your contribution will directly impact our efforts to address environmental, social, and economic inequities throughout the state.

Thank you,
NextGen Policy