Massachusetts Future Caucus Co-Chairs
2017 Millennial Engagement Initiative Report
In 2016, the Massachusetts Millennial Engagement Initiative hosted 11 roundtable discussions across the Commonwealth and engaged with millennials from all walks of life including region, gender, race, and class. Their voices form the core of the Senate’s Millennial Agenda.
This report focuses on those issues by presenting the greatest challenges for Millennials in Massachusetts—as told by participants in the tour — and proposing legislative solutions.
Recent Events
The Massachusetts Millennial Engagement Initiative recently hosted a forum for local millennials, calling on a diverse cross-section of participants to share their policy perspectives and concerns moving past the election. Hosted by State Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, the forum is one of a series of such events hosted around the state by members of the Millennial Engagement Initiative, such as co-chairs Sen. Eric Lesser (D) and Sen. Ryan Fattman (R).
Future Caucus News
On March 20, State Sen. Eric Lesser, SPARK Boston and General Assembly Boston, hosted a SPARK talk featuring a fireside style chat between Amy Mahler, director of SPARK Boston, and Lesser. Mahler supervises a council of 38 members between the ages of 20 and 34 who live throughout 20 different Boston neighborhoods.
While division and strife mark the national news, the news here in Western Massachusetts is about coordination and collaboration - especially among an emerging group of young leaders in government, business and the nonprofit sector who are tackling our region's longtime challenges with new energy and fresh perspectives.
In January 2017, two professors representing the Nichols College political science and psychology programs led 23 students on a two-week immersion experience in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump.The theme: Can we elevate the discourse?
State Sen. Ryan Fattman, and a handful of his State House colleagues, are among the youngest lawmakers on Beacon Hill.So when the 33-year-old Webster Republican found himself sitting next to state Sen. Eric Lesser, 32, D-Longmeadow, last year, a conversation about their generation soon put in motion an initiative: talk to fellow millennials and hear their concerns.
On Wednesday, the State Senate’s bipartisan group of millennial legislators unveiled the Senate’s report on its 2016 Millennial Engagement Initiative, sharing the priorities of millennial residents from across the Commonwealth.
A group of young senators who set out about a year ago to study the attitudes, interests, frustrations and aspirations of the so-called millennial generation has recommended formally establishing a legislative millennial caucus and creating a scorecard to gauge progress on issues important to young people.
The Massachusetts Millennial Engagment Initiative released a 44-page report looking at the priorities of millennials, the 20- and 30-somethings now beginning to take a major role in technology, government and industry.
The MA Senate 'Millennial' task force released a report Wednesday identifying the top issues for millennials. They made a potpourri of policy suggestions on topics such as affordable housing, transportation and student debt.
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and Senator Eric Lesser debunk one of the many faulty assumptions about the 2016 election: young Americans stayed in their dorm rooms rather than heading outside to vote.