Getting Acquainted With the IDCCA: Week One Reflection

This summer, I am interning with the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association (IDCCA), an arm of the Democratic Party of Illinois that supports and elevates the work of county-level party organizations in the state while serving the broader missions of the Democratic Party. Before I started this internship on Tuesday, all of my previous political work had been for political campaigns, particularly organizing. Because of that, I completed many of my projects this week cognizant of the fact that the work was largely new to me.

In terms of specific contributions, my work this week was communications-focused. I assembled a list of press contacts for all media organizations in the state that cover statewide politics (except for Cook County, home to Chicago); this took me most of two days. Thursday and Friday were spent compiling articles that mentioned the IDCCA specifically, and finding content that we could share on our official Facebook page, including news articles, posts from elected officials, and events hosted by the county parties. I am confident this work will help the IDCCA achieve its larger missions. We will use the press list, for example, to disseminate press releases. This will be particularly important in the days and weeks leading up to the annual County Chairs’ Brunch on August 18, which attracts national political attention (prior speakers have included Nancy Pelosi and Pete Buttigieg). It is important to invite representatives from as many news organizations as possible to cover the event; thus, my work this week will bear fruit down the road. Maintaining an active presence on social media is of course important for the success of the organization, and the press clippings help keep our county chairs informed of the organization’s work (and which they can share with their own organizations) to boost engagement. I am proud to have worked on these projects.

I’ve found that my insights about leadership have helped me strengthen my work — ironically by forcing me to confront what I don’t know. As previously mentioned, much of my professional experience has come in the realm of organizing and managing volunteers. The press list and press clippings were easy enough tasks, but creating content for a statewide social media platform is something I was entirely unfamiliar with — I hardly post on my own social media, let alone to reach such a large audience! Because of this blind spot, I felt comfortable reaching out to my supervisors for guidance, whether that meant asking for feedback along the way or simply asking them to clarify language with which I was unfamiliar (I hadn’t ever encountered the term “draft copy,” for example). The answers I received made me more confident in my final product, and if/when my post drafts are posted to social media, I know my insights about leadership will have made them better posts because of my awareness that I needed guidance.

In all, I believe I was able to successfully contribute to the work of the IDCCA during this first week. I look forward to entering next week with this experience under my belt.