News & Updates

We’re shifting the focus from outrage to action, and building the blueprint for a democracy that truly works for the people it serves.

Hello, hello. When you opened this letter, we hope you were pleasantly surprised by the new logo and design on your screen. Take another glance at it. We think it's a perfect fit for the new name we are adopting for our organization. The phoenix captures our vitality and our seriousness of intent, as well as yours. We are all eager for durable, positive change in our country and have been working on ways to make that happen. 

Along the way, we realized that the name we started with, Project 2029, was being confused with other organizations that are similarly named, including one that’s a major political party affiliate. We continue on as the independent, nonpartisan group rebuilding democracy from the ground up. So we are now using our updated name. We invite you to stay tuned and come with us to We Are Next. Please make us a trusted sender on your email program. 

Editor’s note: some of the page links from this newsletter may still show our previous name, project2029.me. We’re still updating some website details but that won't prevent you from reading further. Thank you. 

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

Resurrecting the Old “isms’’ and the Fear They Inspire

By Roger Rosenquist

It’s become common to hear the label of  “communism” applied to any opponents of the current administration, replacing a previously applied label of "socialism."

A recently released GOP memo instructs party members in the use of the label “communism” in place of “socialism” and provides a clear insight into the reason for the change.

Believing the accusation that anyone who supports federal, state, or local social programs are, in effect, supporting communism ignores the true meaning of what communism is as an economic and political system. But of course, using labels to demonize and foster fear of others always ignores truth.  

Photo by Troy Mortier on Unsplash

Gimme Shelter and Pick Up the Pace  

By Alice Bond

The bipartisan “21st Century ROAD to Housing ACT” that became law in July is the biggest federal housing overhaul in decades.

And America has been in need for a long, long time. It’s not just that our population needs an expanded supply of housing — we need housing that people can afford. So, how does the new law measure up to the challenge? 

The ROAD Act does some good things. But it will take awhile, with estimates predicting it will be three to five years before most communities see measurable results. 

Was more possible? We Are NEXT/Project 2029 says: Yes. Our organization has a recommended housing policy in place, and in our blog we compare it in detail to the new law to see where additional strategies can be employed to help.

Photo by alghozy on Unsplash

Time to Stop Muzzling Public School Teachers

By Jo-Ann Johnston and Christopher Hart

You might think public school teachers have a hard enough time functioning within tight school district budgets, handling student discipline problems, and covering their cost of living at their salaries. And you would be right. But there’s another pervasive problem that deserves federal policy attention as soon as a new presidential administration is installed in 2029.

Through state actions, encouraged by the Heritage Foundation influence, teachers are having to function under proposed or recently enacted censorship laws and regulations that produce harm, not good. The new laws actually degrade the quality of education students can receive in public schools.

This is widespread. More than 40 states have introduced legislation that — usually without specific guidelines — limits discussions of race, gender, and sexual orientation in classrooms.

Even where new rules have not been passed, teachers have become afraid that what they say in the classroom can still get them in trouble. They feel forced to limit discussions of historical facts. Students receive less information that can provide meaningful context for their education.

Additional legal harms have been created by these regulations as well, making a new federal policy approach necessary to reverse the breadth of damage being created. 

Researcher and educator Christopher Hart has proposed a solution, now available in the policies section of the We Are Next/ Project 2029 website. For a parent-friendly summary with more context:

To read the full policy, visit:  “Addressing Teacher Self-Censorship and Hostile Working Environments Under Discriminatory Censorship Laws.”

Our Leadership Talks Policy and Progress.
(It’s Really Not That Complicated.)

We’re not an untested or new concept any more. And we’re definitely not just watching as things get worse in our country. We’re working to fix it.

We Are NEXT.

Our nonpartisan, grassroots operation has been running on volunteer power for more than a year now, envisioning ways to improve our civic lives once a new presidential administration is sworn in. 

We have made ourselves into an organization that is delivering viable policy recommendations to build a society with dignity for all.

Of course, we are not the only organization that exists to research and advocate new or revised policies for our federal government. But we are unlike others that may be tied to an industry, a political party, a particular philosophy, or an elite tax bracket. (No billionaires here.)

What sets us apart is our citizen-led core. We are people who care deeply about positively influencing democracy, so deeply that we volunteer our time and expertise. We collaborate remotely and offer sensible, compassionate policies that can be enacted quickly.

Now happens to be a good juncture to pause and share the work we’ve been able to develop so far, and to explain the challenges we see coming next. 

So, we asked CEO Ali Cleveland and Chief Policy Officer Rebecca Moryl to meet and share the questions they have fielded most frequently about how our organization operates. They agreed, and have provided us with down-to-earth answers that we can all relate to. Ali and Rebecca also understand how much some of us need an active, practical project in these times, and they are all for it.

We’ve posted their discussion on our Blog Page for you to enjoy. At the end, you’ll have a clearer sense of how purposeful talk can actually lead to action, and some steps you can follow to dive in. 

What we do at We Are NEXT may be one of the most meaningful ways — in addition to voting — that we can fulfill our role as citizens.

Photo by Tina Floersch on Unsplash

Get Ready: Trump Weighs Tax Savings and Toddlers

We’ve got an important alert for families, teachers, anyone who cares about making consistent, quality, free early childhood education services available to children from poor and working class homes, and to some children with documented disabilities. The Trump Administration is conducting one of its so-called efficiency reviews, this time at Head Start. 

The staff of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who heads the Department of Health and Human Services, posted 75 pages in an official publication called the Federal Register about how he wants to put the program in the hands of the states and parents and cut red tape. Kennedy can do this (at Trump’s behest) as HHS provides most of the money to local governments, as well as to nonprofits, for-profits and faith-based organizations to run programs in their own communities.

Administrators running the programs — hiring the teachers, renting space, supplying the materials — have so far had to meet federal standards for quality and safety. Under Kennedy’s vision, the same (for now) federal dollars would flow to the states, but the states would be making most of the regulations. The feds still make some rules.

You may already have seen news stories about this — but we think there hasn’t been enough coverage yet. Head Start children from ages 3 to 5 get schooling fit for children at their stage – learning letters, numbers, discovering books, practicing playing with friends, learning to listen to the teacher. (There are also programs for even younger children in some communities, called Early Head Start.)

Children from 3 and up also learn to brush their teeth after every meal — some reports made a big point of this — as that pairs with teaching healthy habits. It also fits with the free screenings children get there for medical and dental health needs.

But Head Start advocates, according to a New York Times article, fear that under different standards, local programs will end up: running bigger classes with fewer teachers; eliminating instruction delivered in Spanish or other non-English languages except at Tribal schools (to adhere to a new rule the federal government now wants); dropping health and hygiene checks; and operating for fewer hours a day. And this: children’s advocates are afraid that young children showing discipline struggles will more likely be suspended or expelled from the program, with nowhere else to go. 

One of the most effective courses of action now for people who want to influence this proposed change is to file a public comment in the Federal Register, where the changes have been described. This has to be done by October 6, 2026 and done online. 

Refer to your own community in making comments. Do not simply copy comments from others. You may want help from knowledgeable friends in education, public services, and other such fields. Look for the helpers, as Mister Rogers used to say. Here is the link:
  
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/07/2026-16134/reducing-federal-burden-for-head-start-programs#open-comment

Help Wanted!

Volunteer From Home! 

Volunteers are critical to the success of our grassroots movement. Project 2029 is growing quickly, which is great news! That means we need you! All roles are remote.

While we are always looking for new volunteers, we currently have some available positions we need to fill quickly. 

Critical positions: 

• • Policy Manager HR & Talent Acquisition

  • Board Member

  • Chief of Outreach

  • Lobbyist

  • Deputy Chief Program Manager

  • Deputy Chief of Staff

  • Google Workspace Platform Lead

  • WordPress Platform Lead

  • Deputy Chief of Policy

  • Chief Development Officer

  • Communications Director

  • Issue Analysts 
    

If the roles above are not a fit for you, that’s OK too! We have many more opportunities available and will talk with you about the right role.

Please visit our website to learn more and complete our volunteer application!                                    

No time to volunteer? No worries!

You can support We Are Next in a variety of other ways!

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Your contribution helps us build a transparent and accountable government that truly serves ‘We the people.’

No billionaires here. We’re strictly nonprofit. No political party or corporate PAC is backing us, as we are independent by choice. Our organizers are unpaid. But if you can afford a few bucks, we’d appreciate the help covering expenses.

Thank you for your support!