Celebrating Nine Years of Driving Meaningful Change

Nine years ago, I founded West End Strategy Team with the belief that smart, strategic communications can improve lives.

So much has changed since 2013, including WEST’s growth from a team of 10 to a team of 32 colleagues in Washington, New York and Chicago. What hasn’t changed, however, is our commitment to partnering with clients to drive meaningful change through strategic communications.

We are advocating for abortion rights. We’re fighting against attacks on our democracy and calling out the lies that drove the January 6 insurrection and continue to threaten our country.

We’re supporting courageous whistleblowers as they come forward to hold social media companies accountable for the security of their platforms and the spread of disinformation. We’re opposing book bans that threaten the right to education in communities across the country, and we’re pushing back against unconstitutional restrictions on voting access. We’re promoting human and civil rights. We’re launching new organizations, campaigns and initiatives dedicated to solving some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

And we’re empowering the next generation of leaders and mobilizing young voters in the states that will determine control of the House and Senate. Regardless of who is in power, we will continue the struggle to create a more just and equitable world. We’re grateful for your partnership and look forward to celebrating more successes with you in the future.

American Views on Regulating Social Media Companies Aren’t as Partisan as You May Think

Featuring the Knight Foundation

The report by the polling firm Gallup and the Knight Foundation nonprofit offers one of the most detailed accounts to date of the complex, varied opinions Americans hold on issues around content regulations. It’s one of the rare areas where American political viewpoints don’t fall neatly along partisan lines — far from it.

Gabby Petito’s Mom Announces $100K Donation to Help Domestic Violence Hotline

Featuring the National Domestic Violence Hotline

“We’re trying to do good for Gabby, and for everybody else,” Nichole Schmidt said in an interview with NBC News senior national correspondent Kate Snow. “Our story begins because of domestic violence tragedy, and we don’t want to see that happen to anybody else.”

Ohio’s Six-week Abortion Ban Temporarily Blocked

Featuring Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio

“We’re grateful that, for now, Ohioans can once again widely access abortion care in their own state. But this is just the first step. We have already seen the devastating impact Senate Bill 23 has had on people seeking abortions in Ohio,” plaintiffs, including Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, and litigators said in a joint statement.

#VelshiBannedBookClub and PEN America Go Deep on Banned Books Week

Featuring PEN America

It’s the American Library Association’s 40th official Banned Books Week, so for this meeting of the #VelshiBannedBookClub, we’re joined by Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, a nonprofit dedicated to the freedom to read and write, which just released a shocking report on the state of book banning in the U.S.

Authorities Say D.N.A. Links Las Vegas Official to Killing of Reporter

Featuring the Committee to Protect Journalists

Before Jeff German’s killing, the Committee to Protect Journalists had identified eight U.S. journalists over the past 30 years who were murdered in retaliation for their work. That includes four journalists killed in 2018 when a gunman stormed into the Capital Gazette newspaper office in Maryland (a fifth person killed at the newspaper was a sales assistant).

City Leaders and Political Activists Join to ‘Defend The Future’ in Philadelphia

Featuring the Defend the Future Campaign

The Defend the Future campaign kick-started its six-state tour in Philadelphia focusing on recent political events, including Roe v. Wade being overturned, to encourage young people to vote. The campaign also has planned stops in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas in the coming weeks.

New Design, Mission for Site of Pittsburgh Synagogue Attack

Featuring the Tree of Life

The caretakers of the Tree of Life synagogue intend to transform the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history and expand its mission. Newly released design plans show a revitalized complex housing a sanctuary, museum, memorial and center for fighting antisemitism — unified symbolically and physically with a dramatic skylight running the length of the structure.