Advocating for Peace with BillTrack50

How comprehensive legislator information accelerates advocacy

Charlie Dennis

Volunteer

Charlie has always wanted there to be a better world.He was deeply influenced in his youth by singer songwriters like Bob Dylan, and songs like Blowin' in the Wind, and Where Have All the Flowers Gone. Fast forward to now, and he's retired and volunteering with an amazing group of goodhearted souls, in an organization called the Peace Alliance.

THE ISSUES

Identifying the correct legislators to contact
Managing advocacy at scale
Finding contact information quickly

OUR SOLUTIONS

Bill information including sponsors
Legislator pages with full contact details
Comprehensive legislative staff information

About the Peace Alliance

The Peace Alliance has been working for more than two decades to advance peacebuilding efforts in the United States. Founded with the vision of creating a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding, the organization mobilizes volunteers and engages Congress to address the root causes of violence and to shift American culture toward nonviolence and compassion.

The Challenge

For Charlie, a longtime volunteer with the Peace Alliance, advocacy often means reaching out to hundreds of congressional offices in the hope of securing support for HR 1111, the Department of Peacebuilding Act. Most of the time, those conversations are not with members of Congress themselves, but with staffers — legislative directors, aides, and assistants who are gatekeepers to the process. Finding the right person to talk to, securing their email address, and arranging a Zoom meeting can be the difference between moving a bill forward and stalling out entirely.

The reality is that small inefficiencies add up quickly. A missing phone number, a misheard email address, or outdated staff information can waste hours of advocacy work. As Charlie puts it, “99% of the time we’re speaking to staffers, not the members themselves. Having the right contact information at our fingertips is the difference between getting through and being stuck in voicemail limbo.”

The Solution

BillTrack50 has become central to Charlie’s daily advocacy work. Rather than hunting through multiple sources or relying on guesswork, he turns to the platform for up-to-date contact information, staff directories, and direct email addresses. That means when he is on the phone with a congressional office, he can confirm a staffer’s name and immediately find their contact details — no more back-and-forth or hoping for a returned voicemail.

Beyond saving time, BillTrack50 allows Charlie to scale his outreach. Instead of contacting one or two offices in an afternoon, he can work through many more, confident that he has the right details to follow up quickly. He also uses the platform to research legislation related to peacebuilding, identifying co-sponsors on similar bills who may be natural allies for HR 1111.

In his words, “BillTrack50 makes my work exponentially more efficient. It’s my right hand in this effort. It’s like the third hemisphere of my brain.”

The Results

The impact of using BillTrack50 is clear. Charlie and the Peace Alliance can now reach far more congressional staff in less time, which means more opportunities to make the case for a Department of Peacebuilding. Meetings start with accurate information and well-prepared advocates, strengthening the credibility of their message. And because BillTrack50 streamlines the administrative side of advocacy, volunteers like Charlie can focus on what really matters: building relationships, persuading lawmakers, and planting the seeds of peace one conversation at a time.

Karen Suhaka, founder of BillTrack50, is delighted that BillTrack50 can help, saying "Working with advocates like Charlie and the Peace Alliance is inspiring. BillTrack50 gives them the practical tools they need, but it’s their passion and persistence that bring those tools to life. We’re honored to play a part in their effort to build a more peaceful world."