Successful Participant
Stories
Katie Steen, U.S. PIRG
OpenCon 2014 Alum

U.S. PIRG
• U.S. Public Interest Research Group
• National consumer and student advocacy
nonprofit
• Working to push back on special interests
• Big money in politics, consumer protection, tax and
budget, public health, accessible and affordable
higher education, etc.
• Higher Ed Project:
o Making college more affordable through Open Textbooks
campaign
o Open Textbooks Alliance

In the beginning…
• The Associated Students of the University of Missouri
(ASUM)
• University of Missouri Graduate Professional Council
(GPC) National Affairs Committee
• The National Association of Graduate Professional
Students (NAGPS) Legislative Action Days in D.C.
• OpenCon 2014

OpenCon2014

National and Campus Work
• Changing the status quo through graduate student
engagement on campus and at NAGPS LAD
• Met with librarians on campus to create partnership
on Open Access week
• Pushed faculty at campus level and administrators
at System level for change
• Passed Open platform in ASUM statewide student
association
• Met with Sen. McCaskill (D-MO) when Open Access
bill was moving through committee
• Created coalitions with stakeholders at the campus
and national level

Today
• Higher Education Fellow at U.S. PIRG
• Student PIRGs and Open Textbooks Campaign
o Chapters across the country
o Open Textbooks campaign
o OER pilot programs
• OpenEd 2016
• OER Coalition
• Open Textbooks Alliance
o opentextbooksalliance.org

Advocate Strategies
• Undergraduates and graduates must work together
• Educate, educate, educate
• BUILD COALITIONS!
o Open supporters are out there, you just have to find them
and organize together

Contact
• Katie Steen
• Work: ksteen@pirg.org
• Personal: katiesteen27@gmail.com
• Cell: (816) 645-1189