This summer, PROTEC17 welcomed two new staff members to our team – Union Organizer Brenna Stroup (left) and Digital Communications Manager Jacky Nakamura (right).
As an Internal Organizer, Stroup will be working with members and the staff organizing team to help strengthen PROTEC17’s collective power. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of the Resident and Fellow Physician Union – Northwest (RFPU-NW), an independent, public-sector union representing the 1,400 resident and fellow physicians employed by the University of Washington. She began her journey in eastern Washington, organizing around reproductive justice and student political engagement. Stroup also worked in Washington, D.C., both on Capitol Hill and in government relations for a D.C.-based national non-profit. During this time, she also worked with her co-workers to organize a union at the non-profit where they worked.
“I’m most excited to work with PROTEC17 leaders to help hone your organizing skills,” said Stroup. “Deep worker organizing leads to not only big wins in the workplace, but also in our communities. I’m looking forward to seeing what you as union members are willing to do to build collective power amongst your co-workers!”
Nakamura is helping to grow and expand our communications department, with a primary focus on digital platforms like our website, social media channels, text messaging, and our new member-exclusive portal (see p. 12). They join us most recently from the non-profit sector, and bring a variety of experiences in community engagement, program coordination, community-centered facilitation, volunteer recruitment, and communication and design in diverse mediums. They deeply value equity, justice, accessibility, dignified empowerment, accountability, technical effectiveness, centering the most historically excluded communities, and “celebrating the beauty of the multitudes that we collectively embody.”
“I’m excited to join a team that finds it unacceptable that folks don’t receive the resources and care that they need and instead fights for rights that allow individuals and families the foundation to be not only be safe, but thrive as well,” said Nakamura.
You can reach Stroup at brenna@ protec17.org and Nakamura at jacky@ protec17.org.