Dr. Ana Mitchell is Starting a Cultural Revolution

From January until April of 2025, Dr. Ana Mitchell lived in fight or flight mode, not knowing each day if she would be part of the layoffs or Reduction-in-Force (RIF) actions of the new administration. On April 1, 2025, Ana lost her dream job as a Project Officer/Public Health Advisor with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Chronic Disease Center. In the midst of uncertainty and confusion, Ana turned her despair into action and rebranded herself as "Ana Fired Fed."After her RIF notice, Ana spent a month recentering and acknowledging her anxiety and grief. At the urging of her friends, Ana shared her story of resilience through social media and was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. Ana quickly gained a following of other former federal employees looking for ways to continue making a difference in their communities.Now, Ana is on a mission to make civic engagement a part of people's everyday life. Ana is using social media to start a cultural revolution, making civic action accessible, authentic, and sustainable. Ana is determined to make civic engagement a lifestyle by helping people become civically fit and strengthening democracy. Ana is taking to the internet to guide people on their civic fitness journeys whether they are beginner, intermediate, or advanced. One easy way to start is by practicing digital resistance. Digital resistance can be as simple as sharing information that is important to you on social media or commenting on posts for community reach. Follow Ana on Instagram and TikTok to learn how taking consistent, small actions over time can make big impacts on your community. ----------Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Mastodon, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.If you enjoy Forking Off with us, consider supporting us on Ko-fi where we've set a goal to upgrade our hosting services.----------After April Fools’ Day purge, U.S. health agencies spiral into chaosScience, Vol 388, Issue 6743----------Read more about Ana's story at The Fed Up----------Read the notice terminating the Presidential Management Fellows Program----------Learn more about the ADKAR model----------Find ways to get civically engaged with the 5 Calls app----------Contact your elected officials all at once with Resistbot----------Sign the petition to Protect Public Health Employees from Continued Threats, Harassment, and Targeting-----------Learn more about Heal the Bay -----------Learn more about the Westside Food Bank in Santa Monica----------The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the individuals providing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the FBI, the DOJ, the United States, or any past or current employers.