Spotlight on … Andrew Holt
July/August 2024
Grassroots Advocacy Director
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
Both of your parents are scientists. Was this a good background for a public affairs professional at a time when the role of data has never been greater?
I can say this. Thanks to the intellectual environment of our home, I was always a very curious child. My siblings still blame me for ruining family vacations. Instead of going to the beach or an amusement park, because of my interests, we’d end up at some historical site. And I’m still a curious person, eager to understand how to interpret and use data in our advocacy efforts. It’s a challenge, but the best advice I can give is to understand as much as you can about what motivates your people, and there is no shortage of data to help you determine their motivations.
You spoke on this subject at the Council’s Digital Media & Advocacy Summit in June, right?
I did. I talked about how you can use data to keep people engaged. We are tracking 3,000 pieces of legislation in Congress right now and working with our team to determine how such legislation might affect our members. Instead of thinking in terms of Republicans and Democrats, we like to think of our people as members of “the party of insurance and financial advisors.”
How is grassroots advocacy done differently in this rapidly changing environment?
A lot is changing, and I credit the Council’s incredible conferences with helping keep us informed about the new tools as they become available to us. The pandemic was an important moment in grassroots advocacy. Suddenly, we had to pivot from in-person meetings, for example, to doing so much on the digital side. One size doesn’t fit all, and what tools work for one organization might not work for another. You have to learn the key touch points, and each generation understands communications differently. And one thing we have learned is how important text messages have become in grassroots advocacy. We’ve already moved from a world in which people emailed each other, to one where many younger people now prefer texts.
You seem to have traveled the world, in your career and for fun. How has that — no pun intended — widened your horizons?
At last count, I’ve visited more than 20 countries, including Cuba. My wife and I have decided that instead of buying things, we would use that amount of money to travel. Besides visiting Havana shortly after the embargo was lifted, we have also been to Svalbard, Norway, which is the northernmost city in the world, with only about 1,800 residents. There’s a space station there that tracks more satellites than any other station across the globe. We wanted to see the northern lights and go dog-sledding. There was total darkness for 24 hours. An experience like that is difficult to describe, but it does give you a deeper appreciation for how vast our world is.
You have a dog and a cat. Does this experience provide any insight into the challenges of working with Republicans and Democrats these days?
Definitely. Our cat pretends not to like our dog, but that’s just a pose. And I think people in politics these days often act as if they really hate members of the other party. I like to believe that, too, is a pose. When people get to know each other as individuals, they tend to get along much better than you might imagine. And that gives me hope.
Reach Andrew at [email protected].
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You have to learn the key touch points, and each generation understands communications differently. And one thing we have learned is how important text messages have become in grassroots advocacy.
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