In describing CLINIC’s work in 2024, Jeremy Weitz, CLINIC’s director of communications, used the image of a building’s foundation. 

“When you’re trying to maintain a home or building, you need to focus on the foundation first,” he said. “You can try to build up, to grow the house in height or width, but if the foundation isn’t stable, you’re not going to get anywhere.” 

Similarly, he reflected, in 2024 CLINIC responded to an enormous demand for our services by spending time furnishing our “foundation” – our structure, policies, and practices that allow us to serve the network well and are critical to its functioning. Some of this is behind the scenes work that doesn’t always receive attention, but without which the work could not go on. 

This was true across all departments within CLINIC, but particularly regarding our work in the field engagement and operations.  

Leya Speasmaker, CLINIC’s associate director of field engagement, said she is proud of the strategic planning work that was done in 2024. 

 “We have really set ourselves up for the next decade of success,” she reflected. “We’ve seen exponential growth in the network and now we have a sustainable system to serve them following the critical work we did in 2024.” 

The field engagement team completed major groundwork in order implement a new Affiliate structure in 2025, including restructuring Affiliate dues based on Affiliate program size and needs.  

“Before we could restructure our dues and service delivery models, we needed better data,” said Speasmaker.

“How can we best serve the network if we don’t understand who the network is and what their specific needs are? So, we started by asking a lot of questions. Now we are gaining a better understanding for questions like, what percentage of the network is made up of attorneys vs. Department of Justice accredited representatives?*

"How many of our organizations have just 1-2 staff members, and how many employ dozens of people? We have a better profile of the network now, and that has allowed us to shift strategies to serve people better.” 

Through data collection, stakeholder conversations, and careful reflection, the field engagement team developed a new Affiliate structure that is being implemented in early 2025.  

“In the new system, Affiliates pay their dues according to program size and how many staff members they employ, not just a blanket fee,” says Speasmaker. “This helps us tailor our services to meet their needs and allows them to pay a corresponding amount to how much support they need from us.”