The Nebraska Civic Engagement Table (NCET) is a left-of-center voter mobilization group that seeks to increase voting participation among what it calls the “rising electorate,” which includes minorities, LGBT people, new citizens, and young voters. ¹ NCET is part of the left-leaning State Voices family, ² and is connected to other aligned organizations including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, ³ the Democracy Alliance, ⁴ and Black Lives Matter. ⁵

Its top leadership is comprised of former executives of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. ⁶ Through a broad umbrella of partners and members, NCET is connected to dozens of other similar voter mobilization groups. ⁷

Affiliations

The Nebraska Civic Engagement Table is the Nebraska chapter of the national left-of-center organization State Voices. ⁸ It received more than $1 million from the left-of-center Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and several hundred thousand dollars in funding by the Open Society Foundations founded by George Soros. ⁹ It was a member of the left-leaning network Democracy Alliance. ¹⁰

Members

The members of the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table are advocacy groups doing left-of-center voter mobilization work in Nebraska. NCET allowed members access to its resources and staff to “build power in their communities.” ¹¹

Members included left-leaning groups such as Planned Parenthood of the North Central States, ACLU Nebraska, Bold Alliance, Center for Rural Affairs, Common Cause, Heartland Workers Center, League of Women Voters of Nebraska, and Nebraska Appleseed. ¹²

Partners

The Nebraska Civic Engagement Table also has a partnership program for aligned nonprofits that do not engage in civic or voter engagement activities, especially those that represent ethnic and racial minority groups, such as Inclusive Communities, Black Men United, and Community Action of Nebraska. ¹³ Community Action of Nebraska was the local affiliate of the left-leaning National Community Action Partnership, which asserts that systemic gender, race, and additional inequities are barriers that must be overcome. ¹⁴

NCET was connected to other national left-progressive organizations such as Black Lives Matter. In its 2020 annual report, NCET devoted a page to Black Lives Matter, claiming that there is a “long history of state violence committed against black people,” and that “police violence has continued to claim the lives of people who deserved much better.” ¹⁵ The organization asserted that the deaths of George Floyd and others were “the direct result of the white supremacy that has put Black lives at risk of death and harm since this country was founded.” ¹⁶

Leadership

Meg Mikolajczyk is the executive director at the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Mikolajczyk, ¹⁷ deputy director Angie Remington, ¹⁸ and board president Katie Weitz, ¹⁹ all worked with Planned Parenthood of the North Central States (now known as Planned Parenthood of the Heartland) prior to their work with NCET. ²⁰

While at Planned Parenthood, Mikolajczyk was a deputy director and legal counsel. ²¹ She testified that abortion is a fundamental human right and in favor of same-sex marriage. ²² She also testified in favor of LB 183, ²³ which would require all healthcare facilities, including Catholic ones, to perform abortions. ²⁴ She ran as a Democrat for city council in Lincoln, Nebraska, losing to Cyndi Lamm, who opposed public funding for Planned Parenthood. ²⁵

Angie Remington is the deputy and acting executive director for the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Before working at NCET, she was a spokesperson at Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. While there, she argued against legislation that prohibited so-called “D&E” abortions, claiming that they were a “medical option.” ²⁶ She defended Planned Parenthood against a former employee’s lawsuit and allegations of Medicaid fraud. ²⁷ Remington was the president of the board of directors for the environmentalist organization Earth Day Omaha Coalition, affiliated with the left-of-center activist group Earth Day Network. ²⁸

Katie Weitz is NCET’s board president, ²⁹ and the executive director of the Weitz Family Foundation. ³⁰ Weitz sat on the board of Planned Parenthood, ³¹ and celebrated her 42nd birthday by raising over $100,000 in funding for Planned Parenthood Voters of Nebraska. ³²

1. Ken Schwencke, Mike Tigas. “Nebraska Civic Engagement Table, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/812233379/201941359349303264/full
2. “Nebraska.” State Voices. October 29, 2020. https://www.statevoices.org/state-tables/nebraska/
3. 2018 -Post-Election-Report. State Voices. 2018. http://statevoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Complete-SV-Post-Election-Report-2018-digital.pdf
4. Thayer, Parker. “A ‘Dark Money’ Assault on U.S. Elections: Meet the Team.” Capital Research Center. Capital Research Center. https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-dark-money-assault-on-u-s-elections-part-2/
5. Annual Report. NCET. 2020. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g7bpf4KMqxn6S6_RroTASNripUZa2apG/view?link_id=4&can_id=02ebd0dbfed627ae85795c5046deaa1c&source=email-what-our-network-accomplished-in-2020&email_referrer&email_subject=what-our-network-accomplished-in-2020
6. “Executive Director Announcement : Executive Director Announcement.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. September 27, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/executive-director-announcement/executive-director-announcement.html
7. “Collaboration: Our Members.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Accessed November 6, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/collaboration/members.html
8. “Nebraska.” State Voices. October 29, 2020. https://www.statevoices.org/state-tables/nebraska/
9. 2018 -Post-Election-Report. State Voices. 2018. http://statevoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Complete-SV-Post-Election-Report-2018-digital.pdf
10. Thayer, Parker. “A ‘Dark Money’ Assault on U.S. Elections: Meet the Team.” Capital Research Center. October 9, 2020. https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-dark-money-assault-on-u-s-elections-part-2/
11. “Collaboration: Our Members.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Accessed November 6, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/collaboration/members.html
12. “Collaboration: Our Members.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Accessed November 6, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/collaboration/members.html
13. “Collaboration: Our Partners.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Accessed November 6, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/collaboration/our-partners.html
14. “The Vision of Community Action Partnership.” National CAP. Accessed November 6, 2021. https://communityactionpartnership.com/mission-and-promise/
15. Annual Report. NCET. 2020. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g7bpf4KMqxn6S6_RroTASNripUZa2apG/view?link_id=4&can_id=02ebd0dbfed627ae85795c5046deaa1c&source=email-what-our-network-accomplished-in-2020&email_referrer&email_subject=what-our-network-accomplished-in-2020
16. “Black Lives Matter.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. Accessed November 6, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/black-lives-matter.html
17. “Executive Director Announcement: Executive Director Announcement.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. September 27, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/executive-director-announcement/executive-director-announcement.html
18. “Angie Remington – LinkedIn.” LinkedIn. 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-remington-0ab86635
19. “Danielle & Robb’s Story – Planned Parenthood.” Planned Parenthood. 2011. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/25376755/danielle-robbs-story-planned-parenthood
20. “Executive Director Announcement: Executive Director Announcement.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. September 27, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/executive-director-announcement/executive-director-announcement.html
21. “Executive Director Announcement: Executive Director Announcement.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. September 27, 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/executive-director-announcement/executive-director-announcement.html
22. “Removing Gay Marriage Ban from State Constitution: Planned Parenthood Testimony.” Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska. February 11, 2021. https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-advocates-nebraska/blog/pp-testimony-removing-gay-marriage-ban-from-state-constitution
23. Parenthood, Planned. “Emergency Contraception in the ER: Planned Parenthood Testimony.” Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska. February 19, 2021. https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-advocates-nebraska/blog/emergency-contraception-in-the-er-planned-parenthood-testimony
24. “Nebraska Legislature.” Nebraska Legislature – Legislative Document. 2021. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=43756
25. “Lincoln Election Results.” Nebraska Feminist. May 6, 2015. https://nebraskafeminist.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/lincoln-election-results/
26. Murphy, Sean. “Oklahoma Approves Ban on Second-Trimester Abortion Method.” New York Daily News. June 10, 2018. https://www.nydailynews.com/sdut-oklahoma-approves-ban-on-second-trimester-2015apr08-story.html
27. Petroski, William. “Branstad: ‘We Cannot Defund Planned Parenthood.’” Des Moines Register. September 30, 2015. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/29/branstad-we-cannot-defund-planned-parenthood/73032694/
28. “Earth Day Omaha About Us.” Earth Day Omaha. 2021. http://earthdayomaha.org/about-us/
29. Schwencke, Ken and Tigas, Mike. “Nebraska Civic Engagement Table, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/812233379/201941359349303264/full
30. “About Us: Board & Staff.” Nebraska Civic Engagement Table. 2021. https://www.nebraskatable.org/about-us/staff.html
31. “Danielle & Robb’s Story – Planned Parenthood.” yumpu.com. Planned Parenthood, 2011. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/25376755/danielle-robbs-story-planned-parenthood
32. Weitz, Katie. “Are You in a Giving Mood: Katie Weitz.” Vimeo. 2015. https://vimeo.com/149677496