Ashley Dixon didnt see a lot of community activism as she grew up in Parsons. But while she attended colleges in New York and Nashville, Dixon involved herself in numerous causes: Diversity training, workers rights, immigration and anti-racism efforts.
Now, as an Iola resident and a campaign director with Kansas Appleseed, Dixon wants to bring the skills she learned as a community organizer to southeast Kansas. Over the next three years, shell be working with counties throughout the region to register voters and reduce food insecurity.
Growing up, I didnt see people around me who were organizing and I thought it would be great to bring that back here, Dixon said. Theres so much power when people come together.
DIXON moved to Iola Feb. 1. Kansas Appleseed established an office for her at Thrive Allen County. Though the two organizations may coordinate their efforts on projects, they arent directly related.
Kansas Appleseed is a state-wide nonprofit organization that advocates for laws and policies for vulnerable and excluded Kansans, particularly on issues affecting children, immigrants and the fair administration of justice. Dixons position is made possible by a three-year grant from the Kansas Health Foundation.
Kansas Appleseeds symbiotic relationship with Thrive and the trail system in Iola drew Dixon to move to the city. She hopes Thrives connections will help her meet and develop relationships with residents. She also enjoys hiking and is excited about exploring the trails.
Most of her time, though, is spent on the road. She organizes meetings to teach people about community organizing, and shell help residents establish and work toward goals. Shell organize teams of volunteers to help people register to vote, especially those who have been incarcerated.
So far, her focus has been in Pittsburg and Chanute, and shell soon have a meeting in Independence. She expects to begin organizing meetings in Iola this summer.
She attended a recent community forum in Iola to discuss food insecurity. Thats one of the areas shell cover when she organizes community conversations here. Its important for residents to identify key areas that contribute to lack of food, she said. That could include such things as a lack of affordable housing or transportation.
AFTER DIXON
graduated from high school in Parsons, she attended Bard College in New York and graduated with a degree in anthropology. She earned a masters degree in education policy from Vanderbilt University.
At Vanderbilt, Dixon led efforts to increase diversity-related themes in classes. Those efforts led to new critical race theory classes and the hiring of a dean of equity, diversity and inclusion. She also worked on projects related to workers rights and with anti-racist organizations.
Shes looking forward to teaching people how to help others register to vote.
