63 Magazine - Issue 4

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Ask a Field Director with Saumya Narechania This issue’s “Ask a Field Director” is with Saumya Narechania! Saumya recently began a new position as the Florida GOTV director for the For Our Future PAC. When we chatted with Saumya, he was serving as the national field director at Enroll America, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to maximize the number of Americans who enroll in and retain health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In his role as national field director, Saumya oversaw Enroll America’s field program in eight campaign states, aided and supported the other 42 states, and led the organization’s national training program. Like many others, Saumya was initially inspired to begin working in politics and organizing after hearing then-Senator Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Listening to someone who had a funny name just like him, Saumya really connected with Obama’s message and applied to become an intern in his senate office—not once, not twice, but three times! Saumya didn’t get accepted the first two times, but he didn’t let that stop him. When his application finally got accepted, Saumya began the first of many years spent working for Obama. He would later become an organizer for Obama’s first presidential campaign, working all across the country, even in Alaska. Next he would work for the White House before serving as deputy field director in Florida for the 2012 reelection campaign.
As an organizer, Saumya would learn the management skills, trust, and delegation he would need to be successful on any campaign and at any organization. These skills, learned at a young age in strange, difficult, and diverse scenarios, have helped him every step of his career, especially as he led Enroll America’s field and training efforts. Earlier in his career, Saumya got to help read letters sent to President Obama, so many of which were uplifting stories of individuals who for so long didn’t have access to healthcare because of a pre-existing condition, who now could afford to see a doctor. Stories like this and of others positively affected by the change we make as organizers, motivate Saumya to keep working so hard. Saumya gets to hear stories every day that keep him grounded in how organizing work actually affects people’s daily lives, and he uses this inspiration to be an even better leader. We wanted to learn from Saumya’s wisdom, so we asked him to use his experience as an organizer to answer some of your toughest questions. I know you’ll be able to apply his advice throughout GOTV and into the future! I feel almost embarrassed to say this because all of my fellow organizers seem to be going strong, but I feel like I am so close to burning out and we still have weeks left! What can I do to feel less near my breaking point? SN: If you feel like you are going to burn out now, take a break, now. Talk to your RFD, and ask for a day off. Ask to adjust your goals by a day this week, and sprinkle them over the next three to four weeks to make sure you don’t lose ground. But if you don’t address your exhaustion now, it will only get worse. (Believe me.) Do you have any tips for an organizer about to face their first GOTV? I’m pretty nervous. SN: GOTV isn’t as scary as it’s made out to be. It’s the same job, with a slightly different tilt. You know about organizing your turf, how to make calls, how to knock doors, how to stage a canvass kickoff, how to refresh a list. Now you just have to combine these things to make a whole machine. I find it’s easier to break it down into its component parts—it’s definitely less stressful that way. It’s also less stressful if you have a great team leader or fellow you can lean on, as well.
Page 1 and 2: 63 Magazine Leadership For Politica
Page 3 and 4: Luis is a brand new organizer. Gabb
Page 5 and 6: 63 Magazine Motivation & Muses Cont
Page 7 and 8: Contents Organizer Spotlight Highli
Page 9 and 10: Letter from the Editor Alice McAlex
Page 11 and 12: Motivation & Muses Interviews and g
Page 13 and 14: Origins “Communities had to be cr
Page 15 and 16: As an organizer, Obama learned to u
Page 17 and 18: Traits The best organizers are stro
Page 19 and 20: Hillary realizes that despite all o
Page 21: Do Your Job Advice and best practic
Page 25 and 26: 2) Take solace in the fact that the
Page 27 and 28: Here are the best practices he shar
Page 29 and 30: Grow Your Skills Outside lessons to
Page 31 and 32: Now, as deputy political director,
Page 33 and 34: 2:30 PM 30 minutes late, Senator Ka
Page 35 and 36: On! Get the Sleep You Deserve Dream
Page 37 and 38: Celebrate sleep. Now, here are a fe
Page 39 and 40: Available on
Page 41 and 42: Start slowly. You’re an organizer
Page 43 and 44: Don’t beat yourself up on the bad
Page 45 and 46: Organizer Life Hacks Easy changes t
Page 47 and 48: Organizer Spotlight Highlighting or
Page 49 and 50: “When I was 14 years old, I was w
Page 51 and 52: While organizing seminars, attendin
Page 53 and 54: Nashville Rise is a relatively new
Page 55 and 56: Fun Zone Click here to play video.
Page 57 and 58: Ready, Set, Action! Actionable take

63 Magazine - Issue 4

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