Legislative Advocacy Program (LEAD)

LEAD is designed to equip Yale School of Medicine resident and fellow trainees with the advocacy skills and knowledge necessary to impact state-level legislative change. Advocacy skills and knowledge acquired at LEAD can readily be applied in other local, state, and federal legislative systems.

LEAD welcomes resident and fellow trainees from across all Yale School of Medicine departments. LEAD seeks to serve as a convener of Yale residents and fellows for cross-disciplinary collaboration on advocacy and policy issues that reflect the interests of the various participants.

LEAD is comprised of three learning components. Participants may elect to complete all 3 components at their own pace, e.g., either within a single training year or over as many training years as they choose. LEAD encourages participants to identify the right pace for their own schedule and learning needs.

• Didactic Basics Component - Participants are grounded in the knowledge basics necessary to begin practicing state legislative advocacy. Four 90-minute in-person learning sessions are offered in the fall of each academic year. Session topics include the following: common structures and processes encountered in legislative advocacy; how to effectively engage with legislators and advocacy organizations; how to message and frame an advocacy issue; and common communication formats used in legislative advocacy.
• Experiential Practice Component - LEAD utilizes the Connecticut General Assembly as our experiential learning platform. Participants develop, practice, and hone a range of legislative advocacy skills by engaging in direct advocacy with the Connecticut General Assembly e.g., meetings with legislators and providing public testimony at legislative committee hearings. Participants also work together in trainee-led interest groups to effect state legislative change in the policy area of their choosing. Using workshops, office hours, and individual feedback sessions, LEAD faculty supervise, mentor, and assist participants with all aspects of their legislative advocacy efforts.
• Guest Lecture Series - LEAD organizes sessions for participants to learn directly from a range of experts in the advocacy and policy space. This series includes “Roundtable Discussions” with CT state legislators and regulators, meetings with grassroots activists and lobbyists, and lectures by legal advocates. In addition, special topic sessions are offered that reflect the interests of that particular year’s participants.

LEAD spans the academic year from September through June.

• LEAD begins in September and October with the Didactic Basics Component – a series of four 90-minute in-person sessions that take place every other week and are scheduled at the end of the traditional workday (usually starting at 5:30 pm.)
• The Experiential Practice Component kicks off in January with an in-person organizational meeting and continues through May. LEAD faculty provide supervision and mentorship to individual participants and interest groups using online workshops, in-person faculty office hours, and individual virtual meetings.
• The Guest Lecture Series takes place throughout the academic year, from September through June. Most lectures are virtual with some offered in-person and hybrid.

After completing all 3 components, LEAD participants will be able to:

• Identify, develop, and advance personally meaningful legislative solutions to address health and healthcare inequities and disparities.
• Frame and message an advocacy issue to a range of audiences.
• Collaborate more effectively with state policymakers, other advocates, and advocacy organizations.
• Provide oral and written testimonies to state legislative committees.
• Craft and publish advocacy-focused Op-eds.