Get the support & training you need to win transportation changes in your community
You can make your community safer, more accessible, and greener by getting your local government to install bike lanes, bus lanes, better crosswalks, wider sidewalks, car-free plazas and other pedestrian safety improvements.
Winning those changes can feel daunting. Whether you are just getting started or you’ve been pushing for a while, it’s easy to feel stuck or lost --
But you can win and I’m here to help.
Here’s me delivering over 120,000 petition signatures to the Governor of California as part of a rally I co-organized.
Knowing how to wage and win a campaign is a learnable skill:
Hi, I’m Carter Lavin, a climate activist in Oakland, California. Nice to meet you! I help organizations and individuals build political power, hone strategy, and win campaigns on the local, regional, and state level.
For over 15 years I have helped businesses, non-profits, candidates, grassroots groups, and independent activists win campaigns and look forward to helping you do the same.
Whether you want to mobilize supporters, translate your idea into a campaign, get heard by a key decision-maker, build a coalition, map a path to victory, fundraise, manage event logistics, learn how to make & use petitions, lobby, improve your PR & media management, prep for public speaking, or if you’re just getting started (or even just plain stuck) -- I’ve been there and helped clients through it.
My experience includes:
Growing & mobilizing Bay Area transit & bike coalitions to reverse proposed transit funding cuts of $4B and win a $1B increase in transit funding
Leading a local anti-traffic violence campaign that won a 40% increase in safer street infrastructure spending in Oakland in the face of an historic city budget deficit
Passing bus lane legislation through the California State Senate
Training bike advocates, transit activists, and pedestrian safety advocates in over 36 states
Politically mobilizing the California solar industry
Serving as a core member of a city council campaign
Elected as a California Democratic Party Assembly District Delegate
Upcoming Events!
I am thrilled to be working on my book for Island Press on how to be an effective bike, transit, and street safety advocate! Until I get my manuscript in, I’m taking a pause on the Free Monthly Advocacy Trainings, so that I can spend more time working on the book.
Get invitations to upcoming events by subscribing to the newsletter here
Past Online Events
2/23/23 February Open Discussion Zoom Happy Hour. Discussion Topic- “Organizing riders while on transit -- is it effective, weird, rude, smart, fun?”
2/28/23 Training: “How to overcome the opposition and win a bike lane.”
3/22/23 March Open Discussion Zoom Happy Hour. Discussion Topic- "What's going on with Slow Streets in your community, what's next and how do we build on their success?"
3/28/23 Training: “A beginner's guide to getting a protected bike lane in your community.”
4/11/23 Training: “How to overcome the opposition and win a bike lane.”
4/12/23 April Open Discussion Zoom Happy Hour. Discussion Topic- "Beyond tokenization— how can we all build coalition partnerships that are actual partnerships?"
6/14/23 Training: “How to pick a goal you can win and chart a path to victory.”
6/20/23 June Open Discussion Zoom Happy Hour. Discussion Topic- "Navigating dynamics between transit agencies and transit activists"
7/19/23 Training: “How to win bigger by bridging the local and state-wide organizing gap.” Sponsored by Cleverhood
7/26/23 July Open Discussion Zoom Happy Hour. Discussion Topic- "Translating bike joy into bike political power."
7/27/23 Training: “A beginner's guide to getting a protected bike lane in your community.”
8/16/23 Panel: “What would it take to complete the California High-Speed Rail in 5 years?”
8/22/23 Training: “How to build a coalition and win bigger.”
8/23/23 August Open Discussion Zoom Happy Hour. Discussion Topic- "Getting decision makers literally on the bus, train, and bike. What works, what doesn't and why do it."
8/30/23 Training: “How to overcome the opposition and win a bike lane.”
11/8/23 Training: “A beginner's guide to getting better bus service in your community."
11/16/23 Training: “A beginner's guide to winning the political changes you want."
11/30/23 Training: “How to build a coalition and win bigger.”
1/18/24 Training: “Politically Organize for Pedestrian Dignity” in special partnership with the "Walking Artist” Jonathon Stalls
2/21/24 Training: “How to make your transit fantasies reality” in special partnership with the “The Transit Guy” Hayden Clarkin
3/20/24 Training: “A beginner's guide to building pro-transit & bike political power.”
4/23/24 Training: “How to use cargo bikes to improve your life and how to use them to win protected bike lanes.” in special partnership with “Cargo Bike Momma” Maddy Novich! Sponsored by Flanzig and Flanzig, LLP, and Bosch eBike Systems.
People from across America have attended the trainings to become more effective bike & transit advocates
References
“Carter is thoughtful, organized and super positive in motivating people to make change. You’ll want to get right out there after one of his trainings.”
“Carter was an extraordinary and essential force leading a broad coalition for Bay Area transit priority legislation. He has valuable skills and lessons to offer on how to be a proactive, strategic, and energizing team player. ”
“Carter gave us a new view on our local and state transportation advocacy plan. The whole team walked away with new energy and is excited to get cracking.”
“Carter led a fantastic training for BikePGH and our people are SO pumped as a result. Immediately afterwards, volunteers were sharing their excitement and gratitude on our Slack as they start preparing their own advocacy campaigns across the city. Such a joy to partner with Carter on this!”
“Carter is an enthusiastic and helpful organizer who can help organizations and volunteers take constructive and effective action for change.”
“Working with Carter was exactly what our group needed, and far more productive than I’d dared hoped for. In one hour, he helped us to not only identify multiple strategic opportunities we hadn’t explored, but also recognize our many strengths and renew our excitement about our mission. It was so refreshing to hear his enthusiastic, earnest, and insightful perspective! I highly recommend a consultation with Carter to other organizers.”
“Carter is very knowledgeable about the range of ways to advance community organizing and advocacy work. In our session with him he was engaged, positive and encouraging. Carter had lots of ideas to bring to the table. We enjoyed working with him.”
“Carter’s passion for community engagement and uplift through political empowerment is a gift that is demonstrated through his tireless advocacy. Having worked with him on two political campaigns, I can attest to his being an absolute delight and joy to work with. Whether it is managing statewide campaigns for environmentally-sound legislation or working on ways to improve local public transportation, Carter is skilled in strategizing collaborative approaches that are informed by a breadth of political knowledge and a history of winning campaigns. He knows his stuff and gets the job done.”
“I worked closely with Carter on the NEM 3.0 solar campaign in California and was thoroughly impressed by his ability to coalesce an entire industry around a most important cause. From his ability to understand and traverse complex political systems, to organizing statewide rallies, to leading information webinars, to navigating bureaucracy, Carter’s unique ability to fight the good fight was downright inspiring. I would highly recommend working with Carter for anyone looking to make a real difference in their community.”