🍪 Virtual Cookie Exchange, Human First Messaging, and Community Voices Recap

November 2025 Edition

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🍪 Join us for a Virtual Community Cookie Exchange!

Let’s end the year on a sweet note! We may not be able to share cookies in person, but we can swap our favorite recipes. Join us for this fun virtual mixer, and be ready to share:

1. A favorite cookie recipe (extra credit if it comes with a good story!)

2. Your “ingredients” for making this interest group even more successful next year

👉 Save you space now on Eventbrite

👀 Also keep your eyes peeled for an end of year survey coming soon.

If you have any feedback in the meantime, please let us know at hello@apacommunityengagement.org

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🎙️ New Podcast Episode!

In this latest episode, host Kelly Hickler talks with Katie Evans, Senior Communications Strategist at Woodard & Curran, about what it really means to make public communication human-centered — from translating technical jargon into plain language to running effective listening sessions that build trust.

They dive into:

• How to turn required notices into meaningful messages

• The art of listening without defending

• Why every project should start with impact

• Creative ways to boost participation (yes, food helps!)

If you’ve ever struggled to get people to care, show up, or understand why your work matters, this episode is for you.

📺 Watch now on YouTube
🎧 Listen on our website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts
🔗 Connect with Katie Evans on LinkedIn

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💬 Community Voices Recap: Youth Are Not the Future, But the Now

Young people aren’t just tomorrow’s leaders—they’re shaping communities today. In this inspiring session, panelists shared practical strategies for bringing youth into planning processes as active collaborators, not passive participants. From creative projects like “The Floor is Lava” to mentorship and advisory roles that turn ideas into action, speakers highlighted how authentic, trauma-informed engagement builds trust and empowers youth to co-create better cities now—not later.

🎥 Watch the replay
📖 Read the summary

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