IDFA has added an exciting new opportunity for registrants of this year’s Advocacy Days, June 17-18, to help prepare them for upcoming meetings on Capitol Hill and enhance their impact. Amy Showalter of The Showalter Group, Inc., will conduct a complimentary pre-fly-in webinar, “How to Survive and Thrive in Your Legislator Meetings,” on Thursday, June 11. The webinar will provide guidance on the best practices for maximizing effectiveness when meeting with policymakers.

Showalter is a grassroots influence expert who founded The Showalter Group to help associations and corporations increase their grassroots effectiveness. She counts Buffalo Wild Wings, International Paper, the American Heart Association, Pfizer, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Federation of Independent Business among her clients. Her blog “Politicking the Bottom Line” is published on Forbes.com, and she also blogs for K St. Cafe.com.

Over 500 media outlets have featured her insights, including the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Times, Politico, CNN Money.com, Foxnews.com, CNBC.com, and Roll Call. She is the author of ”The Underdog Edge: How Everyday People Change the Minds of the Powerful. . . and Live to Tell About It” and “105 Ways to Build Relationships with Your Elected Officials.”

“We are very excited to offer this exclusive opportunity to Advocacy Days registrants this year,” said Ashley Burch, director of political programs. “Amy has decades of experience training advocates on how to influence, and build long-lasting relationships with, their legislators. With Amy’s guidance, we are confident Advocacy Days attendees will feel better prepared for their meetings on Capitol Hill, ultimately maximizing their impact during their time in town, and better equipped to maintain that momentum even after they have returned home.”

Advocacy Days begins on June 17 with a legislative issues briefing by IDFA’s subject matter experts and concludes on June 18 with the 33^rd Annual Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party. Only Advocacy Days registrants will have access to the webinar on June 11, so all IDFA members are encouraged to register for Advocacy Days today.