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Workshop Series 3: Achieving Policy Impact (Thursday, March 6, 4:00-5:30pm)
Eliminating Poverty This year may be a watershed in the struggle to eliminate poverty. Elected officials, from mayors to presidential candidates, are talking about the issue; voter support for living wage measures continues to grow; and community, faith-based, and policy organizations are putting forth bold yet pragmatic solutions. Join a discussion about promising anti-poverty strategies, the politics of implementation, and how to keep poverty front and center in the 2008 elections. Moderator: Mark H. Greenberg, Executive Director, Task Force on Poverty, Center for American Progress Panelists: Linda Gibbs, Deputy Mayor, Health and Human Services, New York City The Honorable Otis S. Johnson, Mayor, City of Vicky Selkowe, Poverty Attorney and Manager, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families
Rural Communities, Real Choices At the 2005 summit, rural delegations called for an advocacy agenda that addresses issues of equity, race, class, and leadership in rural Moderator: Richard M. Foster, Vice President for Programs, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Panelists: Dee Davis, Founder and President, Center for Rural Strategies The Honorable Robert L. Jackson, Senator, Mississippi State Senate Jerry Pennick, Director, Lorette Picciano, Executive Director, Rural Coalition
Rebuilding How can regional equity become a reality in older industrial regions struggling to reposition in the face of deindustrialization and sprawl? State policy is critical to charting a brighter future, and rebuilding regional economies in ways that enable all residents to participate and prosper. Hear about frameworks for action, policy innovations, coalition-building lessons, and strategies for navigating tough political waters from leaders of bold state initiatives and campaigns. Moderator: Michael Hickey, Vice President, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and Community Development Finance Group Panelists: Lavea Brachman, Co-Director and Director of Research and Policy, Greater Ohio Julie W. Seward, Director of State Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Jennifer S. Vey, Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution
Local Access to Healthy Food Local access to healthy food retailers can improve residents’ health, provide new jobs, spark economic development, and increase demand for small-scale farmers. This session highlights business, government, and advocacy perspectives on the issue, and presents innovative strategies to make fresh, nutritious food readily available in underserved neighborhoods. Moderator: Mary Lee, Senior Associate, Policylink Panelists: Paul D. Charles, Executive Director, Neighborhood Recovery Community Development Corporation, Houston Aurora Flores, Project Coordinator, South L.A. Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) Initiative Patricia L. Smith, Director of Special Initiatives, The Reinvestment Fund
Achieving Equity in Transit Oriented Development Moderator: Shelley Poticha, President and Chief Executive Officer, Reconnecting America Panelists: Nora Liu, Senior Policy Advisor, Mayor’s Community Development Team, City of Seattle
Infrastructure and Jobs A massive, long-term building boom is underway around the country, as hundreds of billions of dollars are spent to repair and expand the nation’s aging infrastructure. Many of these projects produce jobs that pay good wages and benefits, and open the door to advancement. How can we ensure that low-income community residents are prepared for and connected to these opportunities? Hear from community, labor, community college, and business leaders who are developing creative workforce education and preparation linked to regional job opportunities. Moderator: Ruben Lizardo, Associate Director, PolicyLink Panelists: Robert Alvarado, Executive Officer, Northern California Carpenters Regional Council
Legal Strategies for Regional Equity This session explores the way law is being used to advance equity by lawyers and researchers whose expertise is being applied to land use, public health, and redefining the education debate. This panel will share how their connections to community are crucial to their work in developing effective content, strategy, and approaches. Moderator: Dayna L. Cunningham, Executive Director, Community Innovators Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Panelists: Marice Ashe, Director of the Public Health Law Program, Public Health Institute -- Download Powerpoint Community Benefits Agreements 2.0 In several cities, coalitions of community, labor, and religious groups have succeeded in obtaining Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) to ensure that development projects yield tangible benefits for people who live in the area, and not just for investors. CBAs can represent a huge win for a community, but they are time-consuming to achieve and implementation must be monitored carefully. Hear about the country’s leading CBA campaigns, their successes and challenges, and efforts to strengthen the next generation of these agreements. Moderator: Alex Dong Zhang, Community Planner and Organizer, Asian Community Development Corporation Panelists: Zelenne L. Cárdenas, Director of Prevention Services, Social Model Recovery Systems, Inc.
Reclaiming Vacant Properties Vacant and abandoned properties are a drain on the health, safety, and vitality of communities, and a financial liability for local governments. But they are also latent assets that can be reclaimed to stabilize neighborhoods and connect them to the regional economy. In this session, local and national experts will discuss the roles of local government leadership, grassroots advocacy, innovative community development practices, and state and federal policy. Moderator: Vernice Miller-Travis, Executive Director, Environmental Support Center Panelists: Daniel Kildee, Treasurer, Genesee County, Michigan
The New Metropolis: America's First Tier Suburbs and Sprawl The New Metropolis, an hour-long public television documentary, looks at the burgeoning struggle between older and newer suburbs, as seen through people on the frontlines of change. Viewers take a journey across suburban America to hear and see activists, mayors, developers, and civil rights advocates as they try to save their aging communities from losing people and resources to the rapidly growing fringe suburbs. The New Metropolis is a cautionary tale for every neighborhood in America: today's bright and shiny suburban showcases may become tomorrow's forgotten places. Hear a brief introduction from filmmaker Andrea Torrice, followed by a clip of the film and a discussion. Introduction: Andrea Torrice, Director, The New Metropolis Moderator: Ellen Schneider, Founder and Executive Director, Active Voice Panelists: Carl Anthony, Senior Ford Foundation Fellow, University of California at Berkeley
Creating Housing Opportunity Through Inclusionary Housing and Shared Equity Ownership Innovative housing policies of the last 20 years have come of age in diverse communities across America. Over 200 localities require affordable housing in new market rate developments through inclusionary zoning, and states and localities provide increasingly diverse affordable ownership opportunities in a ‘shared-equity’ context. Hear from national leaders who are advancing these strategies in community land trust, post-disaster, and municipal and state contexts. Their work promises access to quality housing in communities of opportunity while building the assets of communities of color and lower income households. Panelists: Adam Gross, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest |
