Misty Rebik, esteemed alum, Iowa native and current Chief of Staff to Senator Bernie Sanders, recently spoke to School of Planning and Public Affairs students, faculty, staff and alums on “Advancing Public Policy Through a Federal Budget Reconciliation process--Opportunities and Challenges.” 

Rebik’s work with Senator Sanders has given her firsthand knowledge of the federal budget reconciliation process due to his chairmanship of the US Senate Budget Committee. Rebik presented a layman’s explanation of the reconciliation process, particularly relevant to the recent nearly $2 trillion major piece of economic, health, and social legislation bill passed by Congress which was evenly split in the Senate and is germane to the future of federal public policy. 

Rebik additionally shared much about her career in public organizing, which started locally in her co-founding of Iowa City’s Center for Worker Justice before her starting her master’s in Urban Planning, and prior to directing Bernie Sanders Iowa campaign in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination contest. Her background of growing up on an Iowa farm and having experienced the effects of working class family issues related to meat packing plant employees, stagnant family income, healthcare affordability, and her career trajectory in political organizing, along with her philosophies of working together for change, were inspirational. Her presentation is available through this link: https://uicapture.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=23b77c39-6a18-4856-b70d-acf0015403ec.