By: Tiffany Dobbyn, Capitol Morning Report
Tbilisi scene (top), Green giving presentation (bottom left) and Green with Archbishop (bottom right)
“I left a little piece of my heart there,” said Brian Green, consultant with the Senate Democratic Caucus, after visiting the country of Georgia. His 10-day journey to eastern Europe last month brought him to the capital city of Tbilisi and other cities in the former Soviet republic to address government officials, public relations consultants and students about his work at the Senate, California’s legislative process, social media and ideas on how to communicate with constituents.
Green’s visit was part of the American Councils for International Education Professional Fellows Program, a two-way exchange program run by the US State Department. Young professionals from around the world are placed in month-long fellowships at government offices, non-profit organizations and businesses across the US, and American participants who have hosted fellows have the opportunity to travel overseas for reciprocal experiences. For the past two years, Green and his wife Sheila have opened their Sacramento home to host program fellows. But, it was a fellow from Georgia named Veka who was working in Chicago this spring who wanted to bring an experienced communications professional back to her home country. That’s how Green was invited to Georgia. “I wasn’t there to preach like, ‘This is how you should do it;’ I explained this is how we do it, this is how we communicate,” Green said. “The challenges that they have with communicating with constituents, how they present their elected officials, how they present their government working for the community — I think those same challenges/opportunities are the same as they are here.”
Teona & JudyAnne
Georgian attorney Teona Tsintsalashvili lived at Green’s home while working in the office of Legislative Counsel during her fellowship this past May. Teona, who works for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, worked closely with JudyAnne Alanis, an attorney in the Office of Legislative Counsel. Alanis says Teona was interested in the state laws and services that helped protect children because of the growing problem of children living and begging on the streets in her home country. Many of the policies resonated with Teona, so she invited Alanis to Georgia to present ideas that her country may be able to adopt. She went overseas two weeks before Green did to talk about the role of child protective services and education. “They thought the fact that we require kids to be in school and it’s strictly enforced… they were shocked that we would have such strict laws,” Alanis said. Alanis says she and Teona still exchange emails now as Teona continues her work drafting recommendations for her country . “We’re so far apart our countries. Our policies and our culture are so different, but we’re just people and we have similar thoughts and ideas,” Alanis said.
For both Green and Alanis, being able to share ideas from California – often through an interpreter – was an unforgettable experience. While most of their time was spent in meetings and giving presentations, Green and Alanis found some time to explore the country. Green said he was surprised to see a Dunkin Donuts at a rest stop along a Georgian roadway. He was even more surprised when he was invited to a luncheon hosted by Archbishop Grigol Berbichashvili of the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the western part of the country. Also during Green’s trip, Georgia voted to elect a new president, which he says was an honor to witness. “It was just an incredible experience to be part this culture,” Green said. “I truly love this country. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people.” Contact: Brian.Green@sen.ca.gov and JudyAnne.Alanis@legislativecounsel.ca.gov.
