Jillian is a Digital Field Organizer at The Connecticut Project. Her responsibilities include digitally recruiting, mobilizing, training and developing grassroots community leaders. Jillian is responsible for making The Connecticut Project’s organizing work accessible to community members who live in geographically isolated parts of the state or are otherwise unable to participate in traditional in-person actions and canvassing.
Jillian joins The Connecticut Project with experience organizing various local and statewide campaigns around criminal justice reform, racial justice, police accountability, housing justice, public education, and environmental justice. Prior to joining The Connecticut Project, Jillian worked as a Community School Coordinator for Hartford Public Schools, where she developed and improved systems and services supporting students’ and families’ needs at her school. Jillian holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Connecticut.
Why do you do “the work?”
Ever since I was a child, I’ve never been able to accept the world as it is: unjust, unfair, and unequal. I’ve always seen the world for what it could be and what it should be. I believe in community care, radical solidarity, and justice. I believe deeply in the power of organized people to defeat organized money. I do this work because I refuse to accept injustice and inequality as the inevitable default state of life. I do this work because I believe in a world where every human being can live with dignity, opportunity, community, and all their fundamental human rights.
What are some specific places or things you love in Connecticut?
I moved to Connecticut as a child and it is the community that keeps me here. I love the passionate people and communities across the state who are organizing for a better Connecticut and a better world. Something I love about Connecticut is that although it is a small state, there are so many diverse and vibrant communities. I love taking my dog, Lulu, for walks and getting to know and talk with my neighbors. Two of my favorite places in my city, Hartford, are Monte Albán, where you can get the most delicious enchiladas, and the Rose Garden in Elizabeth Park.