Write for Impact: How Personal Letters Can Strengthen Democracy
2026-08-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | BigTent Zoom Room
Democracy doesn’t defend itself—people do.
At BigTentUSA’s August 12 workshop, BigTentUSA’s Voter Engagement Coordinator Samantha Cohen kicked off the conversation by sharing how BigTent’s 2026 letter-writing campaign is mobilizing members to reach voters directly. Cohen explained the difference between VoteRiders’ voter ID outreach and Vote Forward’s turnout efforts, walked participants through requesting and mailing letters, and highlighted why handwritten notes can cut through today’s digital noise. She also shared that BigTent members have already written more than 1,000 letters this summer.
VoteRiders CEO and Executive Director Lauren Kunis detailed how restrictive and changing ID laws can create significant barriers to voting—and how targeted outreach can make a measurable difference. In Texas, 92% of voters contacted through VoteRiders’ letter campaign after having a ballot rejected successfully voted in the next election.
Together, Cohen and Kunis equipped participants with the tools, information, and motivation to take action. Now it’s time to pick up a pen, write a letter, and help make every eligible voter’s voice count!

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Lauren Kunis is the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Director of VoteRiders, the nation’s leading nonpartisan organization dedicated to ensuring every eligible voter has the identification they need to cast a ballot that counts. Since joining VoteRiders in 2020, she has led the organization’s strategic growth, expanding its nationwide voter ID education, outreach, and free assistance programs to reach millions of voters while building partnerships with thousands of community organizations across the country. Prior to VoteRiders, Lauren served as Program Director for National Voter Registration Day, where she helped lead one of the largest nonpartisan civic engagement coalitions in the United States. A recognized leader in voting rights and civic participation, Lauren is a frequent speaker on voter access and democracy and is committed to removing barriers to the ballot box so every eligible American can participate in elections.
Samantha Cohen is the Voter Engagement Coordinator at BigTentUSA, where she leads volunteer engagement initiatives and voter outreach efforts, including the organization’s nationwide letter-writing campaign to encourage civic participation. She is a member of the Duke University Class of 2030, where she plans to major in Public Policy on the pre-law track. Samantha previously served as a U.S. Senate Page for Senator Chuck Schumer, gaining firsthand experience with the legislative process and public service. She is passionate about strengthening democracy through civic education, community engagement, and empowering others to make their voices heard. Samantha looks forward to pursuing a career in law and public policy while continuing to expand access to civic participation for communities across the country.

Defunding the Media: Voices Under Threat
2026-08-18 19:00 - 20:00
Local journalism is too important to lose—and it needs a new playbook.
On August 18, Chicago Public Media CEO and Vox co-founder Melissa Bell and New York Times columnist and fellow Vox co-founder Ezra Klein explored what it will take to rebuild local news and restore trust in our communities. They discussed how the collapse of traditional media business models and the rise of tech platforms have pulled audiences and advertising away from local news. The answer, they argued, is not simply more investigative reporting. Local news organizations need to give people useful, everyday information that connects them to their communities while building sustainable businesses around it.
They also called for news organizations to work together rather than compete, invest in technology they control, and find new ways to bring people together locally. Just as important, journalism must maintain a fair reporting process while building stronger relationships with audiences.
The future of local news—and our communities—depends on building something better now.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Melissa Bell has been Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Media since September 2024. She co-founded Vox.com in 2014 and helped pioneer explainer journalism while leading multiplatform products including the Today, Explained podcast and Netflix’s Explained. As publisher of Vox Media, she oversaw its editorial brands and helped lead its mergers with New York Magazine and Group Nine. Previously, Bell directed digital platforms at The Washington Post and was a founding Features Editor for Mint. In 2023, she became a visiting fellow at Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Ezra Klein joined New York Times Opinion in 2021. He is the host of the podcast “The Ezra Klein Show” and the author of “Why We’re Polarized” and, with Derek Thompson, “Abundance.” Previously, he was the founder, editor in chief and then editor at large of Vox. Before that, he was a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, where he founded and led the Wonkblog vertical.

Fueling Future Voters: Engaging a New Generation
2026-08-20 17:00 - 18:00
Young people don’t need to be told to care about democracy—they need meaningful opportunities to shape it.
In this August 20 conversation, Laura Brill, founder and CEO of The Civics Center, and Ben Sheehan, executive producer and host of Civics Made Easy, discussed how student-led voter registration drives can close youth registration gaps and build lifelong civic habits. Brill highlighted the power of trusted messengers—including friends, family, teachers, coaches, and community leaders—and emphasized creating a sense of belonging and giving students ownership of the process. The Civics Center is on track to support 600 voter registration drives this midterm cycle, building on a seven-percentage-point increase in 18-year-old registration over four years. The discussion also covered working with schools and districts, new classroom resources, and ways adults can help students get involved.
The path to stronger youth participation starts with putting young people in the driver’s seat—and giving them the tools to lead.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Laura W. Brill is an attorney, former law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and a mother of two young adults. An award-winning advocate with more than two decades of experience working on complex legal issues and advocating for equal voting rights, she launched The Civics Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit, to stop youth voter suppression and tackle the decades-old problem of low youth turnout. Her most recent article is “Getting Youth Engaged in Democracy,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2026.
Ben Sheehan is the creator and host of Civics Made Easy, a new PBS show that explains the fundamentals of American government. He is also the bestselling author of “What Does the Constitution Actually Say?“, an entertaining guide that has been praised by legal scholars, historians, and politicians across the aisle. As a commentator Ben has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, Good Morning America, CBS News, PBS Newshour, Amanpour & Co, and more. He also writes the bestselling Substack, Politics Made Easy, and has an active social media presence with more than 250,000 engaged followers.

Beyond Trumpism: America at a Crossroads
2026-09-01 12:00 - 13:00
Join BigTentUSA on Tuesday, September 1 at 12 pm ET for a fascinating conversation with Anthony Scaramucci, author of “All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump,” and moderated by President of The Union and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, Reed Galen.
Drawing on Scaramucci’s firsthand experience in politics and his unique perspective on the forces behind Trump’s rise, the conversation will explore how a series of consequential decisions created the conditions for a dramatic shift in the Republican Party and American politics.
Galen and Scaramucci will unpack the turning points that brought the country to this moment, what they reveal about the evolution of our political system, and what we can do to reshape American democracy going forward.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Anthony Scaramucci is an American investor and entrepreneur. He is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, a global alternative investment firm, and the founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and investment platform.
Scaramucci co-hosts two podcasts — “The Rest Is Politics US” and “Open Book” — and has authored nine books covering finance and geopolitics, including “All The Wrong Moves,” due out in September 2026.
In 2016, Scaramucci served on President Donald J. Trump’s Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee before a brief tenure as White House Communications Director.
Reed Galen is an independent political strategist, co-founder of The Lincoln Project, and currently serves as the President of The Union, a nationwide coalition working to rebuild American democracy from the ground up. The Union brings together volunteers, organizers, and local leaders to support decent, competent candidates at every level of government. Under Reed’s leadership, The Union is building the infrastructure needed to show up in all 50 states and strengthen civic engagement nationwide.
