Spitfire Sparks

One of the best jobs I ever had was at Exploration Summer Camp (their motto: where you make summer meaningful), where I worked from ages 18-21. As counselors, we made up classes to teach and we did activities in the afternoon. One day, I found myself co-leading a contraception...

To Dennis Poplin, all the world’s a stage — at least when he’s leading a training session. As Senior Vice President at Spitfire and the firm’s head of capacity building, Dennis combines his background in directing and acting with his many years of experience in advocacy...

The Trump administration’s rhetoric and policies around immigration, including the now-revoked “zero-tolerance” policy, have reawakened calls for immigration reform. In recent months, the photos and cries of children in cages have inspired Americans to flood the streets in...

When people ask Lauryn Fanguen what she did with her summer vacation, she’s going to have a lot to talk about. Lauryn is one of eight scholars chosen for this year’s Frank Karel Fellowship, which encourages first-generation and minority students to consider professional...

Voter intimidation is nothing new, but people have been hearing President Trump’s false allegations of widespread voter fraud — often laced with racially coded language connecting voter fraud to urban and immigrant communities — since his 2016 campaign. The launch of the...

The Trump administration’s relentless assault against immigrants suffered a blow in May, thanks to the tireless work of a coalition of digital civil rights advocates—and Spitfire was honored to support them. In the summer of 2017, on the heels of President Trump’s draconian...

Young people take center stage as Spitfire brings their voices to the forefront. Annabelle Gardner believes in the power of young people to change the world. A devoted advocate for youth — particularly in the areas of mental health and foster care — Annabelle feels strongly that...

Every month, Spitfire hosts a strategy lab where we discuss best practices or hear from external experts to improve our craft and make us smarter. For the March strategy lab, we held a special alumni edition, inviting former Spitfires to join current staff and explore a topic...

Data is inherently neutral. How you obtain data and what you do with it is what makes it good or evil. That’s at the center of the recent firestorm with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm founded by Steve Bannon and Republican megadonor, Robert Mercer. On...

A conversation with Spitfire President Kristen Grimm on the historic achievements of women — past, present and future. It is well worth celebrating the accomplishments of women during Women’s History Month, but the fact is that women are making history every single day. That’s...

Being patrolled by armed military guards at a conference gala in Latin America. Getting driven through the dark of night in Kampala, Uganda, unable to see anything through the tinted windows of a beat-up Toyota Corolla except for fire pits burning in remote villages. It’s all in...

Spitfire’s special sauce is its people. They are tremendously talented and committed. We know they would never brag about themselves, so we are going to do it for them. This occasional series gives you a chance to get to know the people of Spitfire better. Enjoy. Seeking the...