State Whip Network

In May of 2001, NAFSA launched the STATE WHIP NETWORK, an initiative to increase member involvement in raising awareness at the federal level of international education and its importance.

This initiative responds directly to NAFSA's strategic plan, which calls for establishing NAFSA as the nation's premier grassroots advocate on behalf of international education, and has developed over the years into an effective tool in promoting international education issues with the federal government.

In brief, the state whip network consists of a small group of NAFSA members residing in key congressional districts who are responsible for maintaining relationships with their members of Congress and activating their fellow NAFSA members to participate in advocacy campaigns at the federal level. Network members represent states that are selected based on their political significance in Congress.

This group is intended to be a small and nimble network that can react quickly to political developments. Periodic emails and conference calls serve as the major communication channels for the network. Network members are selected and managed by NAFSA's manager of grassroots advocacy, Kari Lantos, who welcomes feedback regarding how to make the network most effective.

We hope that members find this an exciting and rewarding opportunity to expand the impact and recognition of their programs and to support the international education issues they care about.

There are three primary goals and basic requirements of the State Whip network: build relationships, increase member activism, and provide advocacy training.

1. Building Relationships. Whips work to build and maintain relationships with congressional staff and/or members of Congress.
2. Increasing Member Activism. Whips encourage their colleagues in their states to participate in important national advocacy campaigns.
3. Provide Training. Additionally, State Whips help train other international educators on how to most effectively engage their elected officials on international education and exchange issues.

State Whip Network

State whips are NAFSA members who work as volunteers with NAFSA's public policy staff to increase grassroots awareness and participation in important national advocacy campaigns. The term for the "whip" system is derived from the U.S. Congress, describing someone who has been selected to enforce party discipline and ensure attendance. The word "state" represents the home state of the key member(s) of Congress. In order to be an effective, State Whips must be U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.

In order to focus our energies on the members of Congress who have the most impact on international education issues, the network operates on a small, strategic scale. Given that some members of Congress have key committee assignments or are more likely to be influenced by their constituents, we focus on these members of Congress. Each member of Congress' role can change based on elections, a party switch, etc. If and when this happens, NAFSA staff will notify whips whose terms end due to a shift in status. These whips may be called upon again in the event of additional congressional changes.

State Whips Selection Process

When a State Whip position becomes vacant, NAFSA uses the following structure to appoint a new Whip:

• Recommendation from outgoing State Whip
• Member of Advocacy Centered Team (ACT) and/or regular participant in NAFSA Advocacy Day
• Regular participant in NAFSA letter writing campaigns
• Recommendation from Regional Team

Successful State Whips

• Are flexible and ready to adapt to the various duties of the position.
• Are connected at their institution. They have a communication plan in place to get information and updates to decision makers on campus.
• Are able to respond to a NAFSA call to action within 24 hours. If they are unavailable, they have mechanisms in place to alert the next appropriate person in their state to respond on time sensitive issues.
• Maintain regular contact with the NAFSA Public Policy Staff regarding issues that are of importance to international education and exchange.
• Take the initiative to contact their members of Congress in both their Federal and District offices on issues related to international education.

Resources will be provided to aid the whip in this position including: access to NAFSA staff for guidance on how to be an effective whip; periodic briefings on NAFSA's advocacy agenda; template constituent letters; and the capability to send blast e-mails to their fellow constituents whom they are supposed to "whip" into action.