The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) celebrated its 50th anniversary by welcoming more than 9,000 state legislators to its Legislative Summit in Boston August 4-6. DPC was thrilled to participate in the largest gathering of state legislators in our nation’s history as part of our legislative advocacy work at the state level. Yolonda Brisbane, Grassroots Manager, DPC Board Secretary, Cheri Rodriguez Jones, and State Advocacy Directors, Elizabeth Lively and Pamela Zielske, attended the event and shared updates on DPC’s critically important work in the states to increase access to affordable Medigap coverage.
Over the course of the Summit, we heard numerous stories from state legislators and staff who have family members or friends facing kidney disease. Legislators from Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and Washington all visited the DPC booth in the Exhibit Hall. Conversations extended to delegations from around the globe as attendees from Canada, India, Nigeria, Ghana, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands all stopped by the DPC booth to learn more about our work and kidney care in the United States.
The NCSL Summit has continued to be an outstanding opportunity for networking and building partnerships with state legislators and organizational partners, while providing us with the opportunity to showcase our state and grassroots advocacy work. We look forward to participating in next year’s Summit, which will be held in Chicago.
