State of the Union April 2026

Political Updates

Lobbying and Advocacy Efforts

Total # of Lobbying Meetings in March: 32
Total # of Lobbying Meetings in 2026: 73
Lobbying Meetings Goal for 2026: 400

Advocacy Emails

- Total # of Advocacy Emails in March: 2,380
- Total # of Advocacy Emails in 2026: 7,448
- Advocacy Emails Goal for 2026: 45,000
- % of Congress Emailed Year to Date: 68%

Congressional Office Meetings and Bird Dogging

Political Affairs Team member, Zoe Niebauer had a lobbying meeting with Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA-16).

Political Affairs Team member, Thara Ellsworth bird-dogged during Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman’s (D-NJ-12) office’s virtual office hours.

Political Affairs Team member, Kyungmin Kim and Kim Thelwell had a lobbying meeting with a Legislative Assistant for Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).

Updates from DC

Listen in to hear all of the latest updates from DC.

Recognition

Congratulations to the following team members who have achieved Borgen Project Honors & Recognition

- Chief Closer Award (raised $1,000 or more):
  - Political Team: Daniel Cho
- Bird-Dog Award:
  - Political Team: Thara Ellsworth
- Article of the Month: A Pillar of Sovereignty: Local ARV Production in Nigeria by Georgio Moussa

Visit the Our Team Members page and read about success stories with our organization.

Getting the Word Out

Political Team

Abigail Zimmerman transformed an empty window.

Lingtong Liu created this poster.

Jinu Kim held a presentation.

Kyungmin Kim held a presentation.

Kayra Nur Kaya held an information event.

Reuben Coppuck, swarm and information event.

Aleyna Bahar held an information event.

Regional Director

Christel Fernandez Lecanda

Digital Marketing/Social Media Team

Sophia Hergarty held an information event at her college.

Nonprofit Leadership Media Team

Ava Chiarella created a swarm.

1-Mile Campaigns & Mobilizing

Political Team

Ashley-Ann Francis did her 1-mile campaign in Huntsville, Alabama.

Thara Ellsworth was in Barcelona, Spain and decided to do a one-mile campaign while there! She targeted the area around the US Consulate, and also made flyers in Spanish with information on contacting members of European Parliament/the EU.