SPI Alum
Fellows who graduate from the Solís Policy Institute (SPI) programs become part of a statewide network of powerful women and trans people.
SPI invests in community leaders, our fellows have managed to do it all—learn, influence public discourse and win. Our network of powerful, resourceful and trailblazing alum is now growing faster than ever.
Alum continue to strengthen the network and their advocacy through alum advocacy days, issue trainings, and regional convenings. Together and with their communities, 76% of alum are still engaged in policy advocacy post-SPI. We’re honored to have had the opportunity to train and ignite over 600 strong, savvy, passionate leaders and give them an opportunity to change policies, laws and budgets that govern our political, social and economic lives.
What We've Done
Our fellows have managed to do it all—learn, influence public discourse and win. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane: In our second year, in 2004, our SPI-State fellows helped pass a bill, AB 1796 (Mark Leno) that allowed people with some felony convictions to qualify for food stamps if they complete or enroll in drug treatment programs. That was a huge economic justice victory for thousands of Californians. In 2012, our fellows helped pass the anti-shackling law of pregnant women in California’s prisons and jails. Two SPI-State teams worked on this bill in 2010 and 2011 and they helped pass it in 2012. It took three years and an incredible amount of work but they persevered, worked closely with each other and the women’s rights champion Speaker of the Assembly Toni Atkins—and they were successful.
Changing History
In 2013, the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, a law our SPI-State fellows worked on for years, passed giving domestic workers—the majority of whom are women—their long-denied right to overtime pay. That law improved the lives of over 90,000 working people in California. And in 2015, we expanded our groundbreaking SPI-State program to the local level by introducing SPI-Local.
The HOME Cohort Project
The Housing Opportunities Mean Everything (HOME) Cohort is a multi-year project to advance and amplify the work of an existing, well-connected and trained network of community-based advocates to advance gender justice in California.
The HOME Cohort meets on a regular basis to improve the safety and economic security of women in California who are experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence, through a combined approach of strengthening and innovating service delivery, building the power of women-led organizations and movements, and advocating for structural change in housing and domestic violence policies and services.
BEA SOLÍS POWER Fund
Ready to fund the next generation of feminist leaders and policymakers? Our Bea Solís Power Fund invests in the leadership of our alum as they continue to build racial, economic, and gender justice beyond our training.
