By Joanna Yeh, 2025 CLA Intern
Everyday at CAUSE, we start with a grounding session. We close our eyes, take deep breaths, and tune in to our sensations. By reminding ourselves of where we are and what we feel in the moment, we are able to lead our day with intention. Similarly, I hope to ground my takeaways of CLA in my experiences in my host office, attending community events, and getting to know the CLA cohort and staff.
Taking a page out of the grounding exercise, if I tried to boil down these past ten weeks into 4 experiences, I would recall Attorney General Bonta speaking at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) conference, sitting the State Assembly Hall in Sacramento, seeing the Move With Mani illustration for the first time, and hanging out with the cohort around a fire pit. These memories constitute just a sliver of our time and I could go on and on.
Watching AG Bonta on the stage addressing a crowd of advocates for Latin American rights, I was encouraged about the potential for solidarity across racial lines. Since one of the biggest issues among AANHPI communities is disengagement, I would be interested in considering the extents that intersectional collaboration which—as the AG demonstrated—could positively impact overall turnout for minority populations. Furthermore, that I could attend the conference representing both CAUSE and the DOJ, I was acutely aware of the weight of coalition building not just across racial lines, but also across governing spaces and advocacy spaces.
In addition to seeing the AG’s impact, witnessing the daily proceedings in the California State Assembly provided yet another perspective on the role of an elected official. I was particularly intrigued by the way the public looks down upon the Assembly members since the seats are a whole floor above the Assembly as if to convey a sense of surveillance out of which the representatives may feel more obliged to prioritize their constituents. It is also an interesting dilemma to consider how we need representatives to work full time to keep our government functioning but also that the 9-5 hours simultaneously makes the opportunity for constituent input less accessible.
Taking these considerations into our own projects, I think of yet another experience in CLA is when Ellie sent out the designs to our mock campaign team. Seeing Ellie’s design, Imani’s name, and the team’s catch phrase, I felt for one of the first times how cohesive our campaign could be. Our common values in leadership and civic engagement started with a graphic design and blossomed into an extensive campaign movement.
Even outside of work hours, I know that the CLA program made an impact on my life. I distinctly remember sitting around a fire pit. I had a bad day and sitting amidst folks in the cohort, the sense of community they created made my day exponentially better and set the tone for the rest of the summer.
These mentors, colleagues, and friends are at the foundation of my experiences. I am grounded not just by the world around me, but especially by the people I met here at CAUSE and through the CLA program. And for that I am filled with immense gratitude, deep joy, and enduring determination to continue building these coalitions.
