Join us for Pushing Back Privatization and Advocating for Secular Schools on June 4!

WEBINAR
PUSHING BACK PRIVATIZATION
AND ADVOCATING FOR SECULAR SCHOOLS
JUNE 4, 8:00 PM ET

School privatization has become a big business in many states, as states like Arizona, Iowa, Florida, and others have passed universal voucher laws. These laws have the potential to fatally undermine public education by diverting taxpayer dollars to private, religious schools.

In this webinar, which was first presented at the 2024 American Atheists National Convention, we’ll review recent developments in school privatization and explain how they impact educational outcomes. Additionally, we’ll discuss the multi-pronged campaign by opponents of public education to poison public opinion against our nation’s schools.

Join us as we discuss these threats to secular public education and consider how we can oppose school privatization in our states and communities. 

Our Presenters

Alison Gill is Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists, where she manages the organization’s federal and state advocacy for religious equality and litigation activities to protect the separation of religion and government. Alison is a nationally recognized expert on civil rights law and state advocacy.

Prior to her work with American Atheists, Alison worked as a consultant to nonprofits focusing on advocacy strategy and systemic change and as Senior Legislative Counsel at the Human Rights Campaign, where she managed state-level advocacy on issues such as conversion therapy, bullying prevention, education discrimination, health and wellness, youth homelessness, and data collection.

Melina Cohen grew up in rural Iowa and was an outspoken advocate for the separation of church and state from an early age. Prior to joining American Atheists, Melina spent six years fighting harmful school privatization legislation in Nebraska, developing a deep understanding of education policy, a highly effective style of advocacy communications, and a strong aversion to the outsized influence of the religious lobby on government.

In 2020, Melina co-founded the Abolish Slavery National Network and guided a constitutional amendment ballot measure to a landmark and landslide victory, making Nebraska one of the first states to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude without exception.

American Atheists is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization that relies on the support of members like you. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 74-2466507 and our Combined Federal Campaign number is 52217.

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