CBH Talk | The Alchemy of Movement Building

Join a panel of writers, organizers, and elected leaders for a powerful and urgent conversation about how movements are built quietly, locally, and out of public view, before erupting into collective action. Moderated by Saul Austerlitz, author of How to Assemble an Activist, this program explores the sparks that turn private alarm into public action. Drawing on his own journey from political observer to engaged organizer, Austerlitz offers a compelling case study of how ordinary people step forward, find one another, and begin the long work of change.

Austerlitz will be joined by Council Member Alexa Avilés, graphic artist and political zine-maker Megan Piontkowski, and senior national political manager at Indivisible and co-founder of Hands Off NYC Molly Sandley, whose voices are grounded in the day-to-day realities of grassroots work. Together, they will pull back the curtain on what happens beneath the headlines: the patient community-building, the creative interventions, and the sustained collaboration that allow movements not just to ignite, but to endure.