Lobby Day is Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2019. 

​Every year we develop an agenda of issues that are important to the midwives and consumers of Washington State. We meet in Olympia and travel in in teams to visit our legislators and educate them about the value of the midwifery model of care for families!

Our annual pre-Lobby Day training Webinar will be Friday, February 8th, from 12-1PM.
Register here!
This is a great opportunity for anyone thinking about attending Lobby Day, whether it is your first time or not. It is also a good time to learn about our Legislative Agenda in detail and get all of your questions about participation answered.

For more general information, check out our Lobby Day Preparation Webinar Power Points:

​Lobby Day Preparation Webinar
If you have never attended Lobby Day before, we have also created a separate pre-recorded webinar just for you. Tune in below for Logistics including parking information, lobbying tips and why midwife lobby day is so important!  ​

Lobby Day 2019 Schedule

8am: Briefing at Amber’s house (our lobbyist): 1610 Water St SW Olympia, WA 98501. From there, you will follow your team lead to appointments
Noon: Lunch option at Amber’s, Bring $8 cash for pizza & salad
TBD: Group photo in LEG rotunda
After Lobbying: Dinner at Audrey’s house (board member): 217 17th Avenue SE, Olympia, WA

​What to Expect on Lobby Day:
​a note from our lobbyist, Amber Ulvenes

Coming to the Capitol during the legislative session is exciting and fun, but can be a little intimidating too. So, as a seventeen-year veteran, I've written a friendly guide to help you enjoy your day on the hill.

  1. Yes, it's true, parking is a pain in the neck. My advice is to arrive early, and check out our parking location suggestions in the slides below. You may have to park a ways away, but once you get to base camp, you are set for the day. We will walk everywhere else. Also, if you do have to park a ways away, we have this awesome free shuttle that will take you to campus. It's called the Dash bus, comes every 15 minutes, and they are painted in cheery individual colors-orange, purple and green. My kids love to try and predict which one is coming next.
  2. What to wear? Business casual is how I would describe it. Your everyday lobbyist types wear suits, which is not necessary for Lobby Day, but slacks and jacket, or skirt and sweater are appropriate. Though sometimes very tempted, I don't wear jeans, athletic shoes, or muddy boots to the Capitol.
  3. Arrive on time for the morning briefing. You won't want to miss this orientation to our Lobby Day agenda.
  4. Going to meetings with legislators. If you choose to, you can ALWAYS go with a team, and you don't have to say anything. There are those of us that might not let you get a word in edgewise anyway! Do what feels comfortable for you. You will get the hang of the meetings as we go. We will provide notes for you to speak from, and information for you to hand out.
  5. Food. We will have some morning snacks, coffee and tea at the briefing. For lunch, feel free to pack your own, or take advantage of the Dash bus to go downtown. La Gitana, Kitzel's Deli, Trinacria, and the Bread Peddler are all right off the downtown Dash stops and are locally-owned deliciousness. If its a nice day, it's also only a 15-minute walk down. Another option this year will be pizza at base camp. We will collect $8 in the morning from those interested, and our awesome host Jimmy will go pick up at our fabulous local pizzeria, Old School. The owner, with three home-birthed babies, is giving us a deal! For those able to stick around, Audrey Levine will be again hosting a lovely dinner at her home.
  6. Kiddos. It can be a long day, but you're welcome to bring them. It's nice for legislators to see some little ones.

​Lobby Day 2018 was very successful!
We had a record number of attendees, great response from many legislators,
​and even a standing ovation. We hope you'll join us in 2019!

Read our full report here.


Banner photo used with permission.