The Budget Center communications team sat down with Lilian Duong (she/her), Outreach Manager at the Budget Center, who fosters strategic partnerships to advance community-centered public policies.
This Q&A series is your chance to get to know our team, their areas of expertise, and how their work at the Budget Center supports policy change in California. In this conversation, we’ll explore Lilian’s efforts to drive connections and awareness, her involvement in the Budget Power Project, and how outreach at the Budget Center has evolved.
This interview was edited by Kat Petsalis, Communications Strategist at the Budget Center.
Can you tell us about your role at the Budget Center?
My role at the Budget Center involves overseeing our outreach efforts, which include webinars, partner engagement, and special projects like the Budget Power Project. One aspect of my job that I really enjoy is cultivating and building relationships with new organizations. There are many organizations that may not be familiar with the Budget Center, and I find it rewarding to connect with them and share our work. Overall, my role encompasses a variety of tasks, allowing me to engage with a diverse range of initiatives.
Outreach at the Budget Center is the newest department and has been evolving continuously. When I first joined, outreach was relatively new and focused on identifying spaces where we could apply tools to meet our goals, such as building and expanding our network of relationships. Initially, it was somewhat on the fringe, but we’ve been working to integrate outreach more deeply into our everyday operations by enhancing cross-team collaboration and coordination.
Can you tell us more about the Budget Power Project and your involvement in the initiative?
The Budget Power Project (BPP) is a collaborative effort between the Budget Center, Million Voters Project, and Catalyst California. It was created to strengthen grassroots and community-based organizations by equipping them with resources and advocacy tools to shape budget decisions. This work stems from our recognition that while raising revenue for essential services is important, it’s equally important to involve those most affected by these budgets — especially underserved communities — in decision-making to ensure their needs are met.
Since its inception, BPP has brought together a cohort of about 20 organizations across the state, providing them with training, resources, and opportunities for peer learning to build their advocacy capacity. I’ve been part of the project from the start, initially contributing to workgroups and now coordinating programming for the cohort and working closely with our partners to keep the project running smoothly.
What excites you about the future of Outreach at the Budget Center?
I’m really excited about the ongoing work with the Budget Power Project — it’s incredibly rewarding to collaborate with such passionate people. Beyond that, one of the most exciting opportunities in outreach is improving how we map and analyze our partnerships across the public policy sphere. By conducting deeper power analysis, we can better understand who we’re connected with, identify potential new partners, and intentionally expand our reach to align with the communities we aim to support. Personally, as an Asian woman, I’m especially eager to see how our work can help advance issues that are important to API communities and other underrepresented groups.
What’s one thing you can’t get through the workday without?
I definitely need little breaks throughout the day. After a few meetings, I like to get up, stretch, and walk around a bit. Working remotely, like many of my coworkers, I love to take a moment to annoy my cat, Nacho. He always seems to know when I’m coming to bother him for a quick pick-me-up.
How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
Lately, I’ve been playing ping pong with my mom, which has been a fun new activity for us. I’ve also been enjoying binge-watching my favorite comfort shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Occasionally, I’ll explore new shows with friends, either watching together online or separately so we can talk about them afterward.
