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Join the Ohio Environmental Council, All on the Line, and League of Conservation Voters Education Fund for an in-depth exploration of Ohio’s redistricting process, its history, and the opportunities for fair maps in 2021.
Justin Kwasa from the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund will sketch the national landscape for redistricting in 2021 and the way the environmental movement is participating in the redistricting process nationwide. In particular, he’ll highlight states across the country and how their redistricting processes differ from Ohio’s.
Then, Katy Shanahan from All on the Line will provide an in-depth overview of Ohio’s redistricting history, the constitutional amendments passed in 2015 and 2018, and the redistricting process for 2021.
Finally, Chris Tavenor and Callia Tellez from the Ohio Environmental Council will run an interactive workshop in community mapmaking, showcasing how individuals can describe their communities and geographic spaces in support of Ohio’s redistricting process. They will specifically focus on community mapmaking as a tool to define regions, assets, and shared interests of the people who live near one another. They will demonstrate the power of these maps to provide important information to decision-makers in the redistricting process.
Collectively, the session will provide attendees, including Ohio attorneys, with a working knowledge of Ohio’s 2021 redistricting process and the opportunities to involve themselves in ensuring equal representation for all who call Ohio home.
Justin Kwasa, Voting Rights Program Director at the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
Justin Kwasa is responsible for leading the organization’s voting rights work on the state and national levels, highlighting how a healthy environment and a healthy Democracy are inextricably linked. Before working at LCV, he was a National Coordinator at Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, working mainly on operating their national voter protection hotline. His start in the environmental movement was at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where he was focused on getting scientists more engaged in issue advocacy, mainly around climate change.
Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director for All on the Line
Katy Shanahan currently serves as the Ohio State Director for All On The Line, a grassroots advocacy campaign that is part of a national effort to end gerrymandering. She is an attorney and activist who has worked in progressive electoral politics for over a decade with the mission of ensuring that all voters have equitable access to the ballot box and to fair representation. She received her Juris Doctor from the Moritz College of Law and Master's degree in Public Policy and Management from the Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. She is barred to practice law in the state of Ohio and Washington, DC.
Chris Tavenor, Staff Attorney at the Ohio Environmental Council
Chris is the OEC Law Center’s Staff Attorney, supporting the legal and policy teams in their efforts to ensure clean air, clean water, and clean energy for Ohio. He co-leads the OEC’s emerging leaders program, focusing on connecting young professionals in Central Ohio to the environmental movement and efforts to combat climate change. Chris also coordinates significant portions of the OEC’s democracy program, and has coordinated the creation of the OEC’s annual Ohio Public Interest Environmental Law Conference since 2018.
Chris studied Philosophy and English at the Ohio State University and graduated from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in May 2017.
Callia Téllez, Environmental Policy Fellow at the Ohio Environmental Council
Callia Téllez is the OEC’s Environmental Policy Fellow, supporting the advocacy projects of the democracy, water, energy, and public lands programs. Callia holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Policy and Decision Making with Research Distinction from the School of Environment and Natural Resources at OSU. During their time at OSU, Callia worked in the Environmental and Social Sustainability Lab identifying improvements to federal agricultural conservation investments in the context of Great Lakes water quality.
Callia also served as president of the OSU Sierra Club Student Coalition, is an Office of Diversity and Inclusion Morrill Scholar, and a Udall scholar. Callia is currently a Grassroots Leader for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Callia brings to the OEC a drive to center the environmental movement on the identities and realities of frontline communities.