Speakers
Caitlin McNally,
Program Assistant and author of the State of the Art newsletter, POPVOX Foundation (moderator)
Martelle Esposito,
Partnerships & Advocacy Director and Nava Labs Co-lead/Co-creator, Nava PBC, Nava PBC
Anne Meeker,
Director of Government Innovation, POPVOX Inc
Dr. Megan Rickman Blackwood,
Director of Casework Programs, Civic
Co-hosted by Nava PBC, POPVOX Foundation, and POPVOX Inc
New research reveals a striking gap: thousands of constituents are experiencing problems with government agencies that legislative casework could address, but they never reach out. For legislatures, that unmet demand represents both a challenge and an opportunity: a chance to build trust, reclaim the power of the first branch, and surface the patterns of agency problems that only casework can reveal.
Legislative offices are already stretched thin, managing rising volumes of constituent input at the same moment that casework's potential value has never been clearer. But new AI tools are changing what's possible, helping offices handle more volume, spot patterns faster, and free up staff for the human judgment and trust-building that no technology can replace.
This reception brings together researchers and practitioners to explore what that looks like in practice. Megan Rickman-Blackwood will share new findings on unmet casework demand at the state and federal level. POPVOX Foundation and POPVOX Inc will share research on state legislative capacity and lessons from federal casework innovation, including the CaseCompass program. And Nava PBC will share how their new open-source AI tools are helping agency-side caseworkers manage volume while preserving human judgment, a useful window into what responsible AI adoption can look like in a legislative context.
5:00 PM — Reception opens
6:00–6:30 PM — Panel discussion and Q&A
6:30–7:30 PM — Happy hour continues
