HCDE Civic Engagement Coordinator Avery Spranger and Specialist Arnaldo Sandoval-Guerrero recently attended and hosted meetings to share insights, strategies and collaborative possibilities to better serve their respective stakeholders.

On June 5, they attended a Voter Engagement Working Group meeting through Houston in Action. A quarterly meeting, the all-day summit included training sessions on building relationships to help promote better voter turnout and capturing and interpreting data.

On June 9, Spranger and Sandoval-Guerrero hosted their counterparts from area Harris County school districts for the Civic Engagement Coalition meeting. Representatives from Spring and Aldine independent school districts attended, as they discussed upcoming local elections, messaging with constitutional amendments on the state ballot, cohosting candidate forums and best practices in student outreach and evaluation. The three organizations are joined by Houston and Alief ISD in receiving Houston Endowment grant funding for civic engagement staffing and initiatives.