Pulse on Ohio
Issue 2
November 2023
On behalf of the Government Relations Committee at OCDA, we want to wish you a Happy National Career Development Month! This is the perfect season to spread awareness of our industry and educate our elective and appointed leadership at every level of the work that is being done by all of us in every corner of Ohio. Advocacy is simply working to garner support for a particular cause or policy.
During this year’s National Career Development Month, we are inviting you to reach out to your elective and appointed leadership and share about what you do to educate and inform Ohio’s policymakers. It can be as simple as using a contact form on the public official’s website to share about National Career Development Month. Expanding awareness about what you do to support fellow Ohioans receiving career development services across the continuum from youth through mid-career and the “third act” in later years. Below you’ll find a sample letter that you can copy, personalize, and paste into a contact form, email, or letter to your representatives and links to find your representatives.
If you choose to reach out to your representatives and/or receive responses, send copies of the correspondence to sarah@valuesbasedcareers.com. We are tracking advocacy efforts in order to report on our impact!
HOW TO FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
Congressional Leadership:
State Government Leadership:
https://www.ohiohouse.gov/members/district-map
County Government Leadership:
- Visit your local county government website (usually “commissioners”) and look for a contact form, press/media page, or public information officer’s contact
Hyper-local Government Leadership:
- Visit your local city, township, or village government website and look for a contact form, email address, or press/media page
EXAMPLE LETTER TO REPRESENTATIVE FOR OCDA MEMBER USE:
[DATE]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
The Honorable [REPRESENTATIVE’S FIRST AND LAST NAME]
[REPRESENTATIVE’S ADDRESS]
Dear The Honorable [REPRESENTATIVES’S LAST NAME],
I am writing to you as a constituent and a [YOUR ROLE OR TITLE] working in the career development industry here in Ohio. I work with [INSERT THE TYPES OF PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH] to [INSERT THE GOALS OF YOUR CLIENTS GENERALLY/WHAT YOU WORK TOWARD]. [SHARE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR WORK HERE.]
November is National Career Development Month. As a member of the Ohio Career Development Association, I am writing to you in order to share about the relevancy and impact of our industry. Founded in 1975, the Ohio Career Development Association (OCDA) is a chartered state division of the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and a division of the Ohio Counseling Association. The NCDA was initially founded in 1913 under a different name and is the first, longest first, longest running and preeminent career development association in the world.
The OCDA exists to promote a greater understanding of the meaning of work and vocation, to foster career development over the lifespan, and to improve the standards of professional service in the field of career guidance and counseling in Ohio. The development of any person's career takes place over most of his/her lifetime. These stages are: (a) preschool age youth; (b) K-6 school grades; (c) 7-9 school grades; (d) 10-12 school grades; (e) adults (ages 18-65), and (f) retired persons. Our members make up constituency groups including professionals working in K-12, higher education, graduate students/educators/researchers, private practice, government/advocacy, workforce development agencies, and business/industry/employers.
As you are making policies impacting the career development industry and the fellow Ohioans we serve, I urge you to look toward the OCDA and NCDA as the preeminent voice for career practitioners in order to ensure policies and practices ultimately support the
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I appreciate your service to our community. For more information on the NCDA you can visit www.ncda.gov and for more information on the OCDA you can go to www.ocdaonline.org.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR TITLE/ORGANIZATION]**
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION LIKE A PHONE OR EMAIL]
-END OF SAMPLE LETTER-
*Every 10 years after the U.S. Census, Ohio's House and Senate district boundaries must be redrawn to reflect the results of the most recent Census. The Ohio Redistricting Commission is tasked with redrawing each of those legislative districts. District maps have been redrawn in 2023, while the process still has legal challenges ahead, please note your representation might change in the near future due to map boundaries changing due to population changes.
**If choosing to include your professional title and organization, please ensure proper permissions are granted from your organization. Often universities, colleges, agencies, and businesses have a process or staff who handle all advocacy outreach. In these instances, we encourage you to check your organization’s guidelines and/or consider reaching out to your representatives from your position as a private citizen where you may use your personal contact information.
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