Susan O'Connor Delivers our Message to Capitol Hill
- Barbara Mathews
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 11
On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, the genealogists organized by the Records Preservation and Access Committee gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to speak with their representatives and senators about the need to maintain robust funding for the National Archives and Records Administration. Among the goals was to encourage representatives and senators to sign the bi-partisan House and Senate Dear Colleague letters urging their peers to support NARA.
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Susan's first scheduled visit was with Sen. Ed Markey, but she faced an hour-long security line on the Senate side. After a long wait, she made the decision to pivot to her meeting with Rep. Stephen Lynch. This meant walking the entire length of the nation's Capitol, but she made the appointment on time. She met with Monique Vaz, who pointed out that Rep. Lynch is a great supporter of NARA and of the veterans who need the records NARA maintains. He has signed on to the House Dear Colleague letters in the past and was looking forward to doing so again. It was a wonderfully positive start to a day of visits.
Next up was lunch, which was managed quickly in the House cafeteria, where Susan met up with Matt Menashes, Executive Director of NGS. Matt's first job in Washington, DC, was as a staff person for a senator, so he was able to offer helpful suggestions.
Susan was deeply grateful that Sen. Markey's staff called her to reschedule for late afternoon. Security delays were not uncommon for them and they were able to adapt.
The afternoon, then, could be spent on the Senate side of the Capitol building. First up was Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is managing the bi-partisan Senate Dear Colleague letter. Susan met directly with Khamare Garner, who is organizing the sign-ons. He had many questions about how the current administration's activities were affecting us in Massachusetts. He also had good news on the letter, which should have all its signers within a week. Fingers crossed.
Susan made an effort to connect wih Sen. Markey's staff person Michael Massiwer, remembering her days as director of community television in the City of Boston. She thanked the staff person for the senator's support of broadband and a new friend was made. She left the office knowing that Sen. Markey supports NARA.
Throughout the afternoon, Susan was supported by Jan Alpert, chair of RPAC; Suzanne Hoffman, president of APG and a rep. to RPAC; and Jennifer Zinck, BCG's rep. to RPAC. Jan logged 21,230 steps today -- beating her previous personal best by over 1,000 steps. By dinnertime, every exhausted person who was free met for dinner. They were cheerful and happy with the outcome of the day. These are the people who brought to Washington, DC, the message that genealogists support robust funding for NARA. They spoke for all of us. Let's all raise our morning Dunkin Iced in their honor and salute them.
