Thread by @WPeriyasamy

I'm not much for a personal year in review so instead, to celebrate New Year's Eve, here's a thread of people whose work and presence meant something to me this year (plus if you -still have donation dollars, some ideas!):  

1/??? (here's a cat to keep your attention)

2/ @WFPPups: @SaulFKahn & @raphyjacobson are both dear to me but also encouraged my addiction to enter button fury via textbanking to #VoteWFP. Love @nywfp @workingfamilies for investing in youth leaders & WFP Pups texting parties were among the bright spots of the 2020 election.

3/@SaulFKahn also works w/ one of my big hopes for South Asian feminist, socialist representation in @NYCCityCouncil, @ShahanafromBK. With disability advocacy, radical language access & more, Shahana's work is grounded in experience & love. Help them win: shahanafrombk.com/donate

4/ .@raphyjacobson, self-appointed (& winnja approved) brother figure, works for @tricia4nyc, a Japanese-Puerto Rican working mom running for City Council to combat maternal mortality, win universal child care and more. Come make noms w/ us & learn more!: bit.ly/3mfzBw6

5/ @votejgr & @BrianRny are going to Albany as a new assemblymember and chief of staff!! Cannot say enough about how insightful these two health advocates are, how intersectionally they think about community wellbeing & how lucky we are to have them in Albany.

6/ @UrsulaRozum & @lingkohsu are now the co-directors of @NYHCampaign! Along with the outgoing director Katie Robbins, these two grew my belief in stories as a way to build advocacy leaders & win policy change. Help them help us pass the #NYHealthAct: nyhcampaign.org/donate

7/ @queer_spice had a WILD organizing year from @TexasDemocrats to fighting for a Blue Georgia w/ @ossoff and I could not be more proud of her. She & @LFG_arrett are as wise about health policy organizing as they are loving and all I've got is GO HELP JON: mobilize.us/electjon/event…

8/ - going to let the twitter cool down for a bit before continuing...-

9/ Appellate courts decide what our laws mean & how they apply to us all. The @AppellateProj helps BIPOC students pursue appellate careers to help us shape the legal outcomes impacting our communities. The project has already moved me as a mentee. To help: theappellateproject.org/donate

10/ I adore @JohariFrasier. He's an incredible organizer & legal thinker who has turned his energy from NYU's journal strike to #DefundNYPD to SCOTUS organizing & more. Every moment I spend with him is time I spend learning & laughing & probs talking about anime. Go follow him!

11/ In 2020, I spent time organizing w/ Johari @twerkzbury, @theywithacane, @BeckieWeeds, @sej_singh, @molly_coleman & more at @PeoplesParity, which fights to build a justice system that values people over profits. I love these pals & love PPP - help out: peoplesparity.org/donate/

12/ @carlyncowen & @MartiGCummings do a wild amount of incredible things but what they are building w/ others at @UptownWagon is extraordinary & exemplifies community taking care of community. Proud of & adore them both.

https://twitter.com/WPeriyasamy/status/1342110863948394498

12.A/ (@carlyncowen was in @CityAndStateNY earlier this year if you want to know more about the rest of their work but idk, every year I get to know and grow with them is a year I'm lucky to have with a great friend)

https://twitter.com/WPeriyasamy/status/1315648562995359746

12B/ (@MartiGCummings is also a Council candidate & if you aren't paying attention to their race, change that! Wild to see an openly non-binary progressive pushing for all we deserve & I can't wait to see them bringing their gamechanging work to gov): them.us/story/marti-go…

13/ 280 chars can't handle the impact meeting @mattbc &
@cosetthetable has had on me but to not spend many tweets waxing nostalgic: in an ever burning world, some of my deep joys are tweeting on fanfic, fantasy authors & cooking media w/ them. Also. Wow am I lucky to know them.

14/ @sethmpk was probably my first twitter friendship turned real friendship but HEY HOW COOL IS THAT. I was a little intimidated by how cool his twittering is but grateful that behind the good drafts is a Very Smart Dude who is also Very Nice & Also Likes Cats. (Go hire him!)

15/ @ReichlinMelnick & @charanya_k were unexpected remote collaborators I admire so much. Their work in immigration & human rights law speaks to how to balance strategy w/ kindness, expertise w/ determination. Asylum work is one of many reasons to follow them, esp 2021 on.

16/ an aside - so weird to try this on a platform that rewards succinctness but I am fond of & grateful for all of the people above & hope that is v clear! And if you're not on here - that isn't to say you haven't had an impact, it's just hard to remember everyone I'm sorry! 👀

17/ so many at @popdemoc made an impression on me. @julesp__ is doing visionary work mobilizing folks to take on judiciary organizing. I owe @davepringus an email & his mind for criminal justice advocacy is fueled by a love & care for community. Go follow them!! They're great!

18/ @vinayrkrishnan both knows as much as I do about Star Wars (I wonder if I know more AHAHA) & has a way with words that makes calling it a "gift" feel so inadequate. All this is fueled by a heart I'm so joyful to know is in the world. Read their stuff:

https://twitter.com/vinayrkrishnan/status/1279817750660239360

19/ To name just one way @whitney_hu inspires me is in our now shared love of using food & APIA unity to mobilize & support community. No matter what she works on, I'd follow her anywhere. I think you can still buy cute things to support #SouthBKMutualAid:

https://twitter.com/whitney_hu/status/1341430505561083905

20/ @msanbornhum isn't here much but he & other dear Nick are two of the best friends I've made in school and in a time when zoom school of law forgets to invest in you, it's wild to have friends who invest in each other. Go follow him & maybe his housing brain will tweet more!!!

21/ Wild to meet electeds who believe in you as much as you believe in them. I'm not quite sure what I did to become friends (?!) w/ @yuhline, @Biaggi4NY, @NYSenatorRivera, @bradlander but the hype is real: their policy prowess is only outmatched by the kindness in their hearts.

22/ Always cool: Watching youth organizers see an elected treat their concerns as valid & have their organizing centered in his campaign & win. Forever inspired by
@emerson_toomey @DanielaFinlay @tylergiles_ @JoshuaRush & the whole @Students4Markey/ @edsreplyguys /markeyverse

23/ @mynameisjro is one of the most peaceful presences I know, someone who is as thoughtful an advocate as they are a neighbor. In a moment I was really struggling this year, he came through & you know, that's what Jason always does for everyone. Support him & @actupny, friends.

24/ -an interlude as I make dinner/ continue to work on this memo but wow, in a terrible year, it's kind of wild to still have people I only met this year who make things joyful what kind of universe sparks joy even in horror stuff is that???-

25/ It's wild to have @Elana_Brooklyn believe in you but wow, a privilege. Elana is a champ in all ways but the online conferencing experiences she ran & collaborated on (cc: @Organize20 @Netroots_Nation) in 2020 are nothing short of phenomenal. + it's fun podcasting w/ her too!!

26/ The lawyers I've met on here, especially in the disabled & disability advocacy spaces, make me feel respected & valued while also teaching me and motivating me to grow in this field. Shoutout to @bethanylilly @AlisonBarkoff @ConnConnection in particular for being such guides.

27/ Can't express how much I learn from @lilririah in a multitude of ways. It is always soft and joyful to communicate with them & always mind-opening to learn all the things they know - from dance to Autistic Black experiences to sexuality to just so much. V grateful for them.

28/ @SnoringDoggo!! Follow him! Noor is knowledge, radical honesty & vibrant self expression. It's hard to express how much I learn from and am calmed by their words on the TL but across disability advocacy, beauty & more (this doesn't do justice!), he's a great friend to follow.

29/ @Somesaylezzels is one of the compassionate forces I've met on here. She does such incredible work across electoral, disability advocacy, and more but she centers that in being her purest self - a kind, loving presence.

30/ Two I value much are
@SFdirewolf & @RebeccaCokley. And they both prove that sometimes it's worth it to talk to your heroes! I always dig their pop culture thoughts & stories, always learn from their insights. Check them both in #DisabilityVisibility!:

https://twitter.com/SFdirewolf/status/1344660129862406145

31/ Even in the before times, I was so lucky @KevinJ_McDonald & I became roommates. No one I'd rather ride out the apocalypse w/. A tough contender for kindest person in my life & I can't wait for what shenanigans & cat hyjinks 2021 brings. Meanwhile, a throwback to snow sharks:

32/ It's a gift to have inspiring college pals still v close - to watch them grow in their careers, in themselves, in all the ways you hope to see friends shine. To @MeganRKallstrom @andtsh_ @nnnnehaaaa @cbbsheng @ezactron & the whole slack crew, I'm so proud of all you are.

33/ It's wild @jessicakarchCER is STILL CONQUERING A PHD IN THIS HELLSCAPE while remaining compassionate, loving, wise despite or maybe because of years of academia idk, I just love Jess & am v excited to be googling words from her chemistry education writing for years to come.

34/ @embernic 's heart is SO BIG. How deeply and widely she loves! Being on bargaining committee of the new @WUWFP & simultaneously organizing w/ @WorkingFamilies in 2020 is wild but through all of it and more, Ember remained so funny, wise, creative. I'm blessed to knwo her.

35/ -AN INTERLUDE OF HOLY WOW I FEEL SO BLESSED FRIENDS HOW DID I GET SO LUCKY WITH SO MANY BEAUTIFUL SOULS IN MY LIFE-

36/ Knowing @wil_lopez & @LopezMSW is a gift. Wil is the lawyer I want to be, Luisa, the comms mind I want to be, their combined compassion is all I aim to center. WE CALL THEM NY'S FAVE POLITICAL COUPLE BC THEIR POLITICAL PROWESS IS ONLY OUTMATCHED BY HOW FIERCELY THEY LOVE.

37/ @kevinlwei is a force - from working multiple campaigns to consulting to organizing & being in grad school to boot, I'm so inspired always by all that they achieve and how rooted in justice & compassion his every action remains. Very lucky to keep organizing w/ them in 2021!

38/ I love & am so proud of @azhang852. One of my strongest digital to 3D friendships in 2020, Amy achieved so much SO MUCH. Writing in the NY Times & Atlantic, leading development of a small biz hub w/ @whitney_hu, losing uno to me (HA) & more.

HIRE AMY:

https://twitter.com/azhang852/status/1341096085067096064

39/ @JeremyR1992 is the lawyer I want to be end tweet. For real, Jeremy embodies the grace & compassion to law students/recent grads x ease in explaining immigration concepts I hope to embody as a lawyer. I'm so grateful to learn from, befriend, follow him & you should too!!

40/ @ReedVreeland @enjen99 are old friends but I got to collab with them in both spring & fall for the first time in a while & I'm just so lucky to learn from & grow w/ them. I'll always be just so so fond of the advocacy team at @housingworks and you should follow their work!

41/@samisadancer 's combination of compassion, warmth, light & science-health advocacy brain are all traits I constantly hope to embody & grow in myself. I look up to her so fiercely as both a dancer & health policy mind: go follow her and @Sci4NY to see more of what she's up to!

42/ @traependergrast is such a wealth of knowledge she shares easily (both of Star Wars & of oppression in medicine and how we can make healthcare more just for all). The work she & others do with @GetMePPEchi moves me so deeply - help them help Chicago:

https://twitter.com/GetMePPEchi/status/1343207332336054273