Local Stories, Local Impact: Community as Antidote
In an era of national polarization and digital fragmentation, some of the most powerful solutions are emerging at the community level—where authentic connection meets tangible change. This dynamic panel brings together two critical threads of democratic renewal: innovative leaders who are reimagining how we build community in digital spaces, and local elected officials who are translating that community power into transformative policy wins. This panel will bridge the often-separated worlds of online community-building and “real-world” governing, showing how they can reinforce each other by using democratic “from the ground up” renewal strategies and tools. Come discover how building rooted, resilient communities can offer an antidote to national dysfunction. Hosted by Reena Szczepanski, Civic (Re)Solve. With: Deepti Doshi, Co-Director, New Public (a non-profit R&D lab focused on creating prosocial digital spaces), and founder of Haiyya, India’s largest community organizing platform; Charlene Wang, Oakland City Councilmember in District 2; and Jiggy Geronimo, Principal at JG Insights.
Crystal Ballroom, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
March 26th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
Panelists
Reena Szczepanski
Justice, Equality and Public Health Activist
Reena Szczepanski has spent her career working for justice, equality, and public health, starting in her teenage years doing work/study as a caregiver for babies affected by HIV/AIDS and eventually managing the New Mexico Department of Health’s Hepatitis Program. She later became Executive Director of Emerge New Mexico, a statewide organization dedicated to training women to run for office and led the Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico to many legislative victories, including the state’s medical cannabis law, substance abuse treatment, and criminal justice reform. Reena then served as the Chief of Staff to Speaker Brian Egolf, and in 2022 was herself elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives and was elected House Majority Leader by her colleagues. She is the first Asian American elected to legislative leadership in the history of New Mexico.
Deepti Doshi
Co-Director
New Public
Deepti Doshi, Co-Director of New Public, a non-profit R&D lab focused on creating healthy, prosocial digital spaces, has been working at the intersection of social change, social media, and leadership development across the private, non-profit and public sectors for 20+ years. As a Director at Meta, Deepti helped establish the New Product Experimentation team and created the Community Partnerships team to build products, programs, and partnerships that support community leaders. Deepti also founded: Haiyya, India’s largest community organizing platform; Escuela Nueva India, an education company that serves the urban poor; and The Fellows Program at the Acumen Fund to build leaders for the social enterprise sector. She holds degrees from Harvard Kennedy School and the Wharton Business School.
Charlene Wang
Councilmember
Oakland City Council
Bio coming soon.
Jiggy Geronimo
