{"id":6594,"date":"2023-11-01T14:52:49","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T19:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/?p=6594"},"modified":"2023-11-04T14:38:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T19:38:06","slug":"networks-new-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/2023\/11\/01\/networks-new-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressive Network’s new director promises “big ideas and bold actions”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The SC Progressive Network<\/strong><\/a> is pleased to welcome Brandon Upson<\/strong> as our new interim Executive Director. The Aiken native has a wealth of experience in South Carolina politics and grass roots organizing, and is uniquely positioned to expand our reach and maximize our capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upson will oversee the political education arm of the Network\u2019s portfolio, with a special focus on the nonpartisan Missing Voter Project<\/a><\/strong>‘s work with under-represented communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m really\nexcited about where we are, and in the possibilities of where we can go.\u201d Upson\nsaid. \u201cI want to move the Network forward and upward without losing the\nidentity and the spirit of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brandon Upson (right) and Brett Bursey at October board meeting in Columbia.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Brett Bursey<\/strong>, who has served as Executive Director since co-founding the Network in 1996, will focus on research and policy work, as well as manage the Modjeska Simkins School<\/strong><\/a>, the Network\u2019s leadership institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrandon has come to share the vision that has guided my work since I began organizing 55 years ago,\u201d Bursey said. \u201cWe\u2019ve taken the time to get to know each other, and I trust that he can take what we\u2019ve built over these many years and take it to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upson\nsaid, \u201cI don\u2019t take this lightly at all. It takes a lot to build an\norganization, to put everything you have into that organization \u2014 the blood,\nsweat, and tears \u2014 and then pass it on to the next generation. I join the SC Progressive\nNetwork family with great reverence and excitement. To have the opportunity to\nbuild upon the great work that has helped fuel four decades of the South\nCarolina progressive movement is an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upson\u2019s 13 years leading electoral campaigns and legislative caucuses brings critical skills to the Network. He knows first-hand how the political system works in South Carolina, how it doesn\u2019t, and what we can do to reform it. He also has plans for finding new revenue streams, using skills he honed while helping raise $2.1 million for nonprofits in the last four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upson\u2019s roots in the Palmetto State run eight generations deep. He graduated in 2013 from the College of Charleston, where he met his wife, Monica.<\/strong> They live in Tega Cay with their young children Cossette<\/strong>, Sophie<\/strong>, and Patrick<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upson is an Army veteran who served in Iraq, where he was awarded a Commendation Medal and was his Company’s Soldier of the Year in 2006. He was NCO of the Year in 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upson\u2019s hiring comes after a lengthy transition period during which the staff and board revamped the Network\u2019s 25-year-old bylaws and laid plans for installing new leadership and expanding our staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Network Co-chair Marjorie Hammock<\/strong> said Upson\u2019s background and skills make him a great fit for the Network. \u201cI\u2019m very impressed with him,\u201d she said after his recent presentation to the board where he outlined his proposed plans for the coming year. \u201cHe seems committed to keeping true to our original mission while bringing new energy and ideas. I am thrilled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brandon and his wife, Monica<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Upson’s background will help advance the Network\u2019s anti-partisan, \u201cinside\/outside\u201d strategy. Last spring, he ran a spirited campaign for SC Democratic Party Chair, a race he nearly won. (You can watch his convention speech here<\/a>.) He founded the nonprofit Amplify Action, dedicated to \u201crebuilding political power within marginalized communities across the South through the voter registration and civic mobilization of Black men.\u201d In 2020, Amplify registered more than 39,000 Black men and mobilized more than 450,000 Black voters in the South to get to the polls. That background will serve our Missing Voter Project well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Network\nboard member and union organizer Russell\nBannan<\/strong> has worked closely with Upson on labor-related matters and said, \u201cThere\nis no better man for this position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upson plans to focus at first on election protection<\/a> and the Missing Voter Project, which he sees as a long-term engagement process in targeted communities. \u201cInstead of going wide,\u201d Upson said, \u201cwe need to go deep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upson promises \u201cbig ideas and bold\nactions\u201d in the coming year, and invites members and allies to get involved\nlike never before. \u201cNow is our time to take ownership of our work and advance\nour cause. We all know what’s at stake. Let\u2019s do this \u2014 together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The SC Progressive Network is pleased to welcome Brandon Upson as our new interim Executive Director. The Aiken native has a wealth of experience in South Carolina politics and grass roots organizing, and is uniquely positioned to expand our reach … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-network-newsevents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6594"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6608,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6594\/revisions\/6608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}