Photo: ROC residents Lisa Rollins, Kim Capen, and Tim Guerin met with Rep. Joe Alexander (second from right) as part of the Advocacy Academy.

A big part of Abby Bronson's  job at the Community Loan Fund as director of policy is to help make it easier for borrowers to navigate the happenings of the State House. Often, it can be an intimidating place and figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. Policy and Advocacy Academy is designed with that in mind. The course provides residents of manufactured housing communities with the tools that they need to advocate — particularly at the State House — on the policies that impact them. 

Congratulations to the 2025 graduates of the NH Community Loan Fund’s Policy and Advocacy Academy: Kim Capen (Medvil Cooperative), Tim Guerin (Lakeside Cooperative), and Lisa Rollins (Rural Bend Cooperative). 

Over the course of four classes, these individuals explored things like what “policy” and “advocacy” really mean, how the New Hampshire legislature (aka the General Court) works, why their stories matter, and more. Policy and Advocacy Academy culminates in a visit to the State House to see where policy is made and an important form of advocacy — testifying at public hearings — happens. 

For many Granite Staters, visiting the State House is something you do only in elementary school. In fact, a few of our graduates hadn’t been since their school field trips. We were excited to change that at the end of January. We not only visited the State House but got the opportunity to meet and chat with some of their elected officials: Senator Tim Lang (District 2) and Representative Joe Alexander (Hillsborough 29). 

It was invaluable to meet with these two policymakers and put the lessons learned during Policy and Advocacy Academy to good use. During our meeting with Senator Lang, he immediately took graduates to the Senate floor to answer their questions. 

His pro tip: send your elected officials a hand-written postcard with your name, town, and position on a bill. They may receive hundreds of emails in one day on any given bill so the personal touch helps! 

In the afternoon, Representative Alexander met with graduates in the House Committee on Housing hearing room. He discussed his work as Chairman of this important Committee with graduates. He also listened to their first-hand experience living in Resident-Owned Communities, one of the few remaining sources of affordable homeownership in the state. 

We thank both Senator Lang and Representative Alexander for taking time out of their busy days to meet with us. We also want to thank Senator Reardon (District 15) for giving the graduates a special shoutout on the floor of the Senate.

Photo below: Graduates of the Advocacy Academy Kim Capen, Tim Guerin, and Lisa Rollins visited the State House in Concord in January with Community Loan Fund staff Johanna Beachy, Kelli Cicirelli, Elise Foerster, and Abby Bronson. (Left to right: Johanna, Lisa, Kim, Kelli, Tim, Elise, Abby)