Sam Tracy
SSDP Board Application
The Basics
School: University of Connecticut
Email: sam.j.tracy@gmail.com
Major(s) / Minor(s) / Areas of study: Double major in Political Science and Sociology
Current year in school: Junior
Expected graduation year: May 2013
What are your tentative plans after college?: Ideally, I hope to work on policy or communications for the Drug Policy Alliance or another drug policy organization. I am also interested in working with an advocacy group on environmental or civil liberties issues, or managing campaigns for elected office.
Leadership Experience
Describe your advocacy skills and experience. Include work outside of SSDP.
I am an incredibly results-oriented person,
having led a large number of successful campaigns for drug policy and other
issues, and want to bring my wide range of experience to the SSDP Boardwhere I can use it to push for
legalization in Colorado and train other SSDPers. As President of UConn SSDP, I
hosted the Northeast Regional Conference at UConn, as well as led successful
campaigns for both marijuana decriminalization and a statewide Good Samaritan
law in one legislative session. I worked on the successful gubernatorial
campaign for CT Governor Malloy, a champion of drug policy reform, where I
gained skills in statewide electoral organizing, phonebanking, and getting out
the vote. In my current role as President of the Student Body at UConn, I
successfully advocated for changes both on campus and at the state level,
including equalizing penalties for marijuana possession and underage drinking
on campus, by working with the administration and getting opinion pieces
published in our state's largest newspaper. I also serve on the Board of Directors for the ACLU of
Connecticut, where I am a member of the drug policy committee and work both on
advocacy and administrative tasks such as recruitment and fundraising.
Throughout all of this, I have worked as a commentary writer for our student
newspaper, and have published many opinion pieces advocating for drug policy
reforms and other issues. I am very well-versed in lobbying the state
legislature, as I served as an intern for Connecticut's highest-ranking
legislator in Spring 2011, and have submitted numerous testimonies, arranged
many high-level meetings with the Senate President and Governor, and even
gotten legislators to introduce bills for us.
How do you plan on balancing a busy schedule as a student, an SSDP activist, and a board member?
I currently work as a Resident Assistant while
serving as President of the Student Body, essentially two full-time jobs. With
these positions, along with my work with the ACLU, Mansfield Democratic Town
Committee, and my schoolwork, I stay very busy. This has given me very strong
time management skills, and I have been able to balance all of these
obligations by working very efficiently and drastically cutting down my time on
Facebook or other time-wasters. I am also lucky to have way too many credits
for my major, and will be able to graduate on time while taking the minimum courseload
next year. I also chose not to run for reelection to the student government
this year, which will free up a lot of time, allowing me to expend a lot of
time and energy on the SSDP Board.
SSDP Chapter Experience
What formal positions have you held in your SSDP chapter? When?
I served as President of UConn SSDP from April
2010 to April 2011. During this time, I organized the 2010 Northeast Regional
Conference, led successful campaigns for marijuana decriminalization and
medical amnesty, and hosted many successful events such as working with the
African American Cultural Center to bring M1 from Dead Prez to campus to talk
about the War on Drugs. I stepped down from the position in order to allow new
leadership to take over, and to run for President of the Student Body.
Describe your leadership style, particularly within your chapter.
My leadership style is to
make leaders out of all members. I like to be as inclusive as possible, and
would typically start meetings by giving the general membership a debriefing of
new developments since the last meeting, and answering any questions people had
about something they saw in the news or heard about a bill we were working on.
In order to get younger and newer members to step up as leaders, I delegated
many tasks and would put people in charge of specific events or topics in order
to give them some ownership of the organization. Training new leaders was very
important in taking over our student government, as we needed dozens of
students to run for various offices – which we successfully pulled off. I am
also very results-oriented, and while president of UConn SSDP, I focused
heavily on legislative efforts on the state level and winning control of our
student government.
Describe one project that you led or are leading. What was/is your role? What has this project accomplished?
While President of UConn SSDP, I led a
successful statewide campaign for marijuana decriminalization. As other major
drug policy groups, such as the Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project,
and NORML did not have offices in our state at the time, UConn SSDP was
actually that statewide advocacy group on the issue. I took a multi-pronged
approach to the campaign, organizing students, retired police officers,
veterans, and others to testify in favor of the bill, hold rallies outside the
capitol, call their legislators, and attend lobby days at the state
legislature. By coincidence, I was an intern for the Senate President during
the entire campaign – he was originally against decriminalization, but through
many conversations and meetings, I was able to convince him to vote in favor of
the bill, bringing it to a tie vote that was broken in favor of passage by the
Lieutenant Governor. This project decriminalized marijuana in Connecticut, and
studies have shown that this policy has drastically reduced arrests and
convictions, while not increasing rates of marijuana use.
What fundraising or revenue building experience have you had in the past?
Taking over our student government was the best
fundraising project UConn SSDP ever did, as it gave us control over $1.5
million per year in student fees. We have used those fees to advance harm
reduction initiatives on campus, such as running one of the nation's most
successful sober rides programs to reduce drunk driving. Running the student
government has also ensured that our SSDP chapter gets the funding it needs,
including money for 8 students to attend SSDP and DPA conferences, obtaining
over $6,000 to host the 2010 Northeast Regional Conference at UConn, and
getting hefty honorariums for like-minded speakers. I also have extensive
fundraising experience as a boardmember
for the ACLU of CT, where I make calls to potential donors, and work tables at
events to recruit members and solicit donations. One of our most successful
recent campaigns has been to get supporters to write the ACLU of CT into their
wills, so that they can give us a large, tax-free donation when they pass away.
While possibly difficult to implement with its younger membership base,
strategies such as this will be integral in transitioning SSDP from a newer,
smaller organization to a more permanent and well-funded organization like the
ACLU.
The Board
Why do you want to serve on the SSDP board?
This is the most important year ever in drug
policy reform. Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in Colorado, and it has
a strong chance at passing. The passage of this referendum would be a major
breakthrough, and I want to make SSDP a leader in the campaign. We are facing a
historic opportunity in this ballot measure, and I want to ensure that SSDP
takes advantage of it. I have a lot of experience in raising money, getting
headlines, hosting events, and most importantly, changing laws – and I want to
pass these skills on to my fellow SSDPers.
What do you believe are the board's most important functions?
The Board’s
most important functions are steering the organization and fundraising. Setting
SSDP on the path to progress is the main function of the Board, and includes things such as setting
the tone of the organization and working with the staff to make media
appearances, lobby for change, and assist chapters. This also includes defining
SSDP's priorities, such as focusing our efforts on a certain campaign. But the
reality of the situation is that none of this can be done without money, so the
Board must work hard to fundraise for
SSDP by applying for grants, seeking contributors big and small, and of course,
demonstrating the effectiveness of the organization by making real change.
What are your goals for your board tenure (be as specific as possible)?
My main goal is to make SSDP a leader in the
campaign for Amendment 64, the ballot initiative in Colorado that would
legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol. This is a huge opportunity
that SSDP must take advantage of, and we can use our huge network of chapters
(including those not in Colorado) to help the campaign. I will coordinate with
chapters to phone bank, fundraise, write op-eds, hold events, and do anything
they can to support this ballot initiative. The passage of this referendum will
be an historic success for the drug policy reform movement, as it would be the
first time since the War on Drugs began that any place in the world has
legalized and regulated marijuana. I have strong experience in statewide
campaigns that I will bring to this project, having successfully ran the
campaign for marijuana decriminalization in Connecticut, and worked on the
successful underdog campaign for Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy (a champion of
drug policy reform). I will also work to help chapters take over their student
governments by serving as an advisor to campaigns and giving out my SSDP
Student Government Takeover Manual, with the goal of having at least 5 SSDPer
Student Body Presidents across the country by the end of my term on the Board. Finally, I will work to expand SSDP's
revenues, by getting national recognition through a successful campaign in
Colorado, as well as getting it involved in more programs for charities (such
as becoming a partner charity for SurveyMonkey Contribute, which I am currently
working on) and adapting some of the fundraising tactics from the ACLU.
If elected to the board, would you retain a leading role and/or formal position with your chapter?
I currently do not hold a formal position in my chapter, and do not plan on seeking one, as UConn SSDP prefers to have new officers every year in order to push new members to take on responsibilities and become leaders. However, I would continue to serve as a mentor and resource to the group’s leadership and members.
