Category: Uncategorized

September 26, 2024

ACS is Celebrating 20 Years with 20 Questions for the ACS Team

Lori McClung, CEO & Co-Founder

This year, ACS turns 20! We’re celebrating with a game of “20 Questions,” featuring our amazing ACS team!

Lori’s featured answers:

One public policy you’d change? Public Education should be free (as in NO fees, everyone gets what they need at no additional cost and it is all of the highest of quality because there is real public money) and educators should make more than professional athletes. And (TIED FOR FIRST) everyone should be presumed eligible to vote and election day is turned into election week! We need more participation with fewer barriers. 

What made you choose your career path? My parents who told me if I didn’t like something then I should go do something about it. 

See Lori’s answers to all our 20th Anniversary “20 Questions” here!

September 20, 2024

A Controversial Shift in Ohio’s Education Policy

In an unprecedented move, the Ohio legislature is providing millions in taxpayer-funded grants directly to private, religious schools to expand their facilities.  This move has stirred concern among experts, who argue it blurs the line between church and state and has no accountability for the use of these public funds.. Learn more about how Ohio’s controversial funding is poised to reshape the educational landscape—and why it could set a dangerous precedent nationwide—in ProPublica’s latest investigation.

 

September 5, 2024

Amplify Gen Z Voices: Join YWCA USA’s YWomenVote National Town Hall to Shape the Future of Democracy

YWCA USA is amplifying the voices of Gen Z through its YWomenVote National Town Hall. Based on insights from their National Survey, this nonpartisan event highlights the diverse perspectives of young women, girls, and nonbinary individuals to help shape policy as the nation approaches the 2024 Presidential Election. The 3-part program includes a panel of Gen Z leaders, a presidential candidate forum (pending confirmation), and local watch parties with get-out-the-vote activations. Register for this incredible event, host a watch party, or find a local watch party, and join YWCA USA in curating a space to spotlight the influential voices shaping our democracy today.

August 27, 2024

ACS is Celebrating 20 Years with 20 Questions for the ACS Team

Amber Hill, Executive Administrator

This year, ACS turns 20! We’re celebrating with a game of “20 Questions,” featuring our amazing ACS team!

Amber’s featured answers:

Favorite vacation spot?
Seattle! I have 5 friends from different parts of my life that all ended up living in Seattle, I try to visit at least once a year and I love it! 

Ideal weekend activities?
Playing board games with friends and having a cocktail! 

See Amber’s answers to all our 20th Anniversary “20 Questions” here!

August 20, 2024

ACS is Celebrating 20 Years with 20 Questions for the ACS Team

Allison Marker, Senior Strategist

This year, ACS turns 20! We’re celebrating with a game of “20 Questions,” featuring our amazing ACS team!

Allison’s featured answers:

Biggest “win” or “lesson learned” of your career so far?
Whether it’s a big win or a little win, it’s important to celebrate progress along the way.

Something you’ve done in your work that you’re most proud of?
When I worked with ACS as a client at YWCA Northeast Kansas to defend Kansas’ constitutional
right to abortion.

See Allison’s answers to all our 20th Anniversary “20 Questions” here!

August 12, 2024

ACS is Celebrating 20 Years with 20 Questions for the ACS Team

Jenn Judkins, Senior Communication Manager

This year, ACS turns 20! We’re celebrating with a game of “20 Questions,” featuring our amazing ACS team!

Jenn’s featured answers:

Rock, rap, or country? 90s rap, all the way! 

Dogs vs. cats: who rules and who drools? I truly like both, but I like the simplicity of dogs better. They’re just happy to be invited!

See Jenn’s answers to all our 20th Anniversary “20 Questions” here!

August 6, 2024

ACS is Celebrating 20 Years with 20 Questions for the ACS Team

Lauren Sogor, Vice President

This year, ACS turns 20! We’re celebrating with a game of “20 Questions,” featuring our amazing ACS team!

Lauren’s featured answers:

A skill that might surprise us? I’m very good at gem art/gem painting (Google it!).

Favorite thing about working with ACS? The people! It’s awesome to work with smart, driven women who are also funny and kind.

See Lauren’s answers to all our 20th Anniversary “20 Questions” here!

July 31, 2024

Addressing Inequities: The Cleveland Pay Equity Alliance’s Efforts to Close the Gender and Racial Pay Gap

Gender and racial pay gap significantly impacts women’s financial outcomes, with women of color earning substantially less than white men in the U.S. Collaborate Cleveland, alongside the Northeast Ohio Workers Center, formed The Cleveland Pay Equity Alliance to tackle these issues locally, promoting policy interventions such as pay transparency legislation and salary history bans, which have shown to reduce pay gaps effectively.

July 20, 2024

New Charitable Fund From ACS Will Help Ohio Women And Girls Afford Higher Education, Access Reproductive Services, And Build Capacity For Public Service

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their dynamic, all-female, minority-owned firm, Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) co-founders Lori McClung and Scarlett Bouder have launched an inspiring new initiative: the ACS Fund for Women & Girls, aimed at empowering young women and girls in Cleveland and Ohio, especially those from low-income backgrounds and communities of color. This fund will provide critical support in accessing reproductive services, building public service careers, and affording higher education.

With ACS’s national reach and expertise, the fund, housed at the Cleveland Foundation, is set to fuel transformative change. The fund’s $20,000 initial investment marks just the beginning, with a bold goal of raising $200,000 by the end of 2024. McClung and Bouder’s vision, inspired by the resilience and creativity of young women and girls, promises to create lasting impact and a brighter future for all. For more details or to contribute, visit the Cleveland Foundation donations page. Read more about the Fund and learn how to donate here!

July 15, 2024

ACS is Celebrating 20 Years with 20 Questions: Lori Ward

This year, ACS turns 20! We’re celebrating with a game of “20 Questions,” featuring some of the people who’ve inspired us the most during our two decades in business.

Featured Guest: July 2024

Lori Ward, Chief Talent and Equity Officer (retired), Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Why we love Lori:
Lori Ward is funny, kind and humble – but don’t for one second mistake that for weakness! She’s smart, determined, strategic, persistent, and one of the strongest women we know. Throughout her 27-year career as a teacher and administrator in two Ohio public school systems, she maintained an unwavering belief that she could make a positive impact on the lives of all of the young people in her care – which she undeniably accomplished.

Lori’s featured answers:
Best book you’ve read lately?  I’m very hooked on Stacy Abrams’s books, and have been researching her background and motivation.

Favorite vacation spot? Any island!

See Lori’s answers to all our 20th Anniversary “20 Questions” here!