SoPL is Creating New Worlds and Fostering Hope
This is the final post in our School of Political Leadership (SoPL) blog series! This year, 14 dynamic leaders joined SoPL to build powerful advocacy campaigns that drive racial, economic, and environmental justice in our food and farm systems. Over six months, participants will dove into leadership training, strategy development, and mentorship—gaining the skills and support they need to create lasting change. 💡🌱✨
By: Marlene Manzo, Political Education Manager at HEAL
At a time when systemic injustice and climate disasters dominate the headlines, HEAL’s School of Political Leadership (SoPL) is cultivating a different story – one of collective power, vision, and possibility.
In June, the HEAL Food Alliance graduated 13 movement builders from the SoPL. This was my fourth SoPL cycle – the fourth group I had the fortune of selecting and supporting for six months. Alongside our Director of Political Education, Marla Larrave, I help identify teams across the country who are organizing around food and farming justice at the local and national levels. Our goal is to provide each team with the organizing tools to grow their power and win real change for their communities.
SoPL participants are already experts on their issues. Often, what they need is space to explore a challenge from a different angle, build relationships with aligned leaders, and deepen their strategic toolkit. That’s where HEAL comes in.
Micah Orieta, a SoPL leader with the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA), shared: “It has been so valuable to have dedicated space for learning, and to interrupt the daily rhythms that ask us to go go go without getting clear on the bigger picture. Thanks to the leadership at SoPL, this campaign that just months ago felt nebulous and unachievable suddenly feels clear and approachable.”
Micah’s reflection speaks to what SoPL is designed to do—create room to vision, strategize, and build with intention.
Every year, without fail, I am impressed with the folks that join SoPL. They are passionate visionaries committed to undoing the harms of systemic racism and environmental degradation across the country. This cohort was full of bright and experienced leaders with strong values and generous hearts. It is easy to become discouraged when you scroll online and are endlessly plagued with painful news of genocide, war, environmental disasters, death, and more. SoPL, and the many folks that participate, give me hope. They are doing extraordinary things in difficult times to protect, defend, and support the wellbeing of others and the planet.
On June 10, we all met in-person for the first time in San Diego. We came together to close out the program, celebrate their accomplishments, and hear the next steps of their campaigns post SoPL. In that space, together, we had hope. We had faith in each other, and our capacities to lead in our communities. We saw each other’s strengths and we got to hear the impact each person had made on one another. We heard tangible next steps and strategies to win more resources and support for their communities. In an increasingly virtual world, where our realities feel so siloed and disconnected, coming together for SoPL is the reminder that we are not alone, not even in our pain and grief. We are standing strong, together, amidst uncertainty and fear.
I’m lucky to meet and work with extraordinary people from across the country doing important work that impacts not just themselves locally, but creates a precedent for what is possible. The greatest lesson from our time together is this: even in the face of fear, injustice, and grief, people are choosing to care – for each other, for the land, and for future generations. There is no greater lesson than to continue to create the world you want, even if the world around you is not a reflection of your values. We determine what’s possible. We are the visionaries of a new world.