People's Community Empowerment Institute

Are you hungry for change (and amazing Southern cooking)?

Join PCEI at on Monday, February 9th to eat some of the best food in Seattle and learn how to de-escalate difficult situations and speak up when you see injustice happening.

We take care of each other!

$20/person or $30/couple... and it includes *incredible* food!

🔗 for tickets in our bio!

This Friday, January 16th, PCEI is proud to present at :

Fat Defiance in Policy:
Running for Local Office as Your Authentic, Powerful Self

This session is for:
• People who are running
• People who’ve considered running
• People who think they never could
• People who want to support fat candidates

Facilitated by Krystal Marx, this workshop breaks down actionable strategies for campaign development, authentic messaging, and community engagement — all designed for bodies that systems too often ignore.

🎁 PCEI will be giving away over $300 in FREE first-time candidate materials at the end of the session, including messaging toolkits and campaign planning resources.

If you care about expanding who gets to lead, we’d love to see you there.

🚨 NEW FROM PCEI 🚨

Too many people who care deeply about their communities are left to figure out running for office alone — or are pushed toward hype instead of preparation.

Today we’re launching Campaign Launch Lab, a new community-based space for people preparing to run for local office with intention, integrity, and real-world support.

This is not about shortcuts or guarantees.
It’s about readiness, responsibility, and building public power without burning people out.

🔗 Join us here:
https://www.skool.com/pcei-campaign-launch-lab/about?ref=77cfb4c44eaf4edab5981d65beee7ae8

Preparation is political. We’re making space for it.

PCEI is thrilled to share that our founder, will be presenting at Fatcon 2026 this January!

Krystal’s session, Fat Defiance in Policy: Running for Local Office as Your Authentic, Powerful Self, dives into what it means to lead boldly in public spaces while challenging the harmful narratives that police whose bodies are seen as “professional,” “electable,” or “acceptable” in civic life.

At PCEI, we believe in building safer communities, stronger leaders, and better nonprofits — and that includes expanding who gets to lead and ensuring that every body is welcome in rooms where decisions are made.

Fatcon is a powerful gathering centered on joy, defiance, community care, and radical self-celebration, and we’re proud to be part of it.

🎟️ Tickets + event details on social, and right here:https://www.eventeny.com/events/fatcon2026-17681/

Everything feels uncertain right now - for nonprofits, community orgs, campuses, and teams trying to do good work under growing pressure.

But stability doesn’t mean everything stays the same. Real stability is something you build together.

In our latest blog post, "How to Lead When Everything Feels Uncertain," we outline practical, trauma-informed approaches to lead with clarity, care, and values - even in times of stress.

👉 Read it here: https://www.pceinstitute.org/blog/2859263_how-to-lead-when-everything-feels-uncertain

If you lead a team, cohort, or organization - or care about supporting one - this might give you some much-needed tools for the next few months. 💛

NCSL students showed up this morning READY to lead.

We talked about:
– why lived experience is political expertise
– why young, non-traditional candidates win
– how to build a people-powered campaign

If you missed the workshop, all of our free tools are still available! Just DM us, and we'll send you the link.

Thank you, , for bringing these amazing collegiate leaders together for this outstanding event! They aren't just ready to lead, they ARE leading!

Atlanta, we've arrived! Excited to connect with hundreds of student leaders this weekend at NCSL.

Tonight: networking. Tomorrow: my session on why non-traditional candidates DO win. Let’s go.

Headed to Atlanta for the National Conference on Student Leadership!

We're bringing PCEI’s strengths-based candidate tools, and can’t wait to meet the next generation of local leaders. If you’ll be at NCSL — come say hi. Our founder, Krystal Marx, is excited to connect!

(What are *your* guilty pleasure flight snacks?)

As we head to Atlanta for the National Conference on Student Leadership, we’re reflecting on something important:

Leadership doesn’t come from pedigree; it comes from lived experience.

Our founder, Krystal Marx, brings perspectives shaped by poverty, homelessness, and disability. These experiences create anxiety and uncertainty at times - and they also build resilience, clarity, and deep community understanding.

That’s exactly why PCEI is headed to NCSL.

On Saturday, Krystal will lead "Local Leadership Lab: Equipping Changemakers to Run for Office" - a strengths-based session about why non-traditional candidates DO win and how students can step into leadership with the tools they already hold.

If you’re attending NCSL, come visit our exhibitor table or join the session.
You are candidate material.