Workshop Descriptions

Workshop Series #1: Setting the Context and Building Blocks

A. HCZ Model Overview, Core Principles, Lessons Learned
It has taken the Harlem Children’s Zone over ten years to reach the place it is now, including many plans, assessments, iterations, and redirections. This workshop will review HCZ’s core principles that have guided its development; key decision points and changes in HCZ’s history; and key lessons learned over the years at different stages of development.

• Kay Fernandez Smith, Associate Director, PolicyLink (moderator)
• Marilyn Joseph, Director, Baby College, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Mitch Kurz, Trustee, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Rasuli Lewis, Director, Practitioners Institute, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Lucius Laconia Smedley, Community Advisory Board Member, Harlem Children’s Zone

B. Creating Accountable Collaborations
Collaborations with other organizations can be an effective and efficient way to bring together services and expertise for families you serve. Likely, most initiatives will need to develop collaborations to meet all the needs of a comprehensive pipeline approach. This workshop will present issues to review internally and with potential partners before entering into a partnership and will share models of best practice collaborations.

• Manuel Pastor, Professor of Geography and American Studies & Ethnicity, University of Southern California (moderator)
• Karen B. Redlener, Executive Director, The Children’s Health Fund; Executive Director, Community Pediatric Programs, The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore
• Sharmain Matlock Turner, President, Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition
• John Wallace, Jr., Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh

C. Engaging the Community and Assessing Needs
Developing a strong and ongoing relationship with the community is critical to ensure an initiative is addressing needs that are important to the community, that the initiative evolves as the community does, and that community leaders and adults understand the role they need to play as role models for young people as well as how the surrounding environment strongly affects children’s growth and development. This workshop will review different approaches for engaging the community in your efforts.

• Jim Gibson, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy (moderator)
• Roque Barros, Director of Community Building, Jacobs Family Foundation and Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
• Kaaryn Nailor, Director, Community Pride, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Alicia Ruiz Orbin, Executive Director, Youth Success Zone
• Benita Stembridge, Community Advisory Board Member, Harlem Children’s Zone

D. Leadership and Leadership Development
Strong leadership at multiple levels forms the lynchpin of a successful initiative. This workshop will explore competencies of the person to lead this type of initiative and of the leaders within this initiative; how to find the right leaders; how to build institutional capacity for leadership at all levels; and how leadership needs may change over time.

• Ellen Schall, Dean and Martin Cherkasky Professor of Health Policy & Management, NYU Wagner School of Public Policy (moderator)
• Juliet Ellis, Executive Director, Urban Habitat
• Kirk Kramer, Partner, Bridgespan Group
• Stewart Kwoh, President and Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
• Conrad Pinnock, Director, Human Resources, Harlem Children’s Zone

Workshop Series #2: Organization Structure and Planning

E. Evaluation, Data Sharing, and Performance Management
A strong commitment to setting, measuring, and analyzing both intermediate metrics and long-term intended impact is critical to ensure that a neighborhood-based initiative can continuously assess and modify programs and practices to achieve its mission and to sustain committed high level funders. This workshop will explore the challenges of evaluation and strategies for addressing these challenges.

• Betina Jean-Louis, Director, Evaluation, Harlem Children’s Zone (moderator)
• An-Me Chung, Program Officer, Mott Foundation
• Frank Farrow, Director, Center for the Study of Social Policy
• Philip Uninsky, Executive Director, Youth Policy Institute

F. Developing a Pipeline of Best Practice Programs
There are numerous effective programs for helping children and communities succeed. However, in most impoverished neighborhoods, one good program alone will not break that cycle of poverty for the majority of children and families. This workshop will focus on why it’s integral to build a closely linked pipeline of programs, what supports should be included in the pipeline, and how this can be accomplished.

• Lisbeth B. Schorr, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy (moderator)
• Shana Brodnax, Senior Manager, Early Childhood Programs, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Don Lau, Chair of Building Blocks for Kids, Richmond, CA
• Carol Redmond Naughton, Vice President, New Community Ventures, LLC.
• Ralph Smith, Executive Vice President, Annie E. Casey Foundation (Lisa Roy, Center for the Study of Social Policy)

G. Strategic Planning and Capacity Building
A fundamental first-step towards developing a holistic, neighborhood-based initiative like the Harlem Children’s Zone is developing a long-term strategic plan. This workshop will review questions such as: Who should be involved in the process? How do you plan for change? When do you build capacity? How do you balance an ambitious vision with today’s reality? What staff do you need to achieve this strategy and when should you bring them on?

• Josh Kirschenbaum, Vice President, Strategic Direction, Policy Link (moderator)
• Karen Fox, President and CEO, Delta Health Alliance
• Don Howard, Partner, Bridgespan Group
• George Khaldun, Chief Operating Officer, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Andrew Moffit, Senior Practice Expert, McKinsey & Company

H. Creating a High Performance Agency Culture
An organization’s staff members are the largest, most time consuming, and most expensive tool we have to help clients be successful. Developing a strong and effective agency culture -- which places children’s achievement at the forefront of everything -- is paramount to a successful initiative. This workshop will discuss the importance of and strategies for clearly articulating and creating this type of culture.

• Janet Spencer, Partner, Oliver Wyman Delta (moderator)
• Marlene Fox, Senior Manager, Youth/Beacon Programs, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Gabriella Giglio, Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources, American Express
• David Levin, Co-Founder and NYC Superintendent, KIPP

Workshop Series #3: Coordination and Collaboration with Partners

I. Developing Effective Partnerships with Local Government
Local governments have a critical role to play in supporting and building an initiative through planning, data, facilities, expertise, funding, and policy change. This workshop will address how a CBO and government can begin working together to build a long-term relationship, what types of roles government can play, and how an initiative can be sustained across election cycles and leadership changes.

• Dwayne Marsh, Senior Director for Policy Engagement, Director of Demand Equity Now, PolicyLink (moderator)
• Fred Blackwell, Executive Director, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
• Creighton Drury, Assistant Attorney General, State of New Jersey
• Oleta Garrett Fitzgerald, Director, Children’s Defense Fund, Southern Regional Office
• Katherine Shoemaker, Director, Policy and Special Projects, Harlem Children’s Zone

J. Fundraising 360: All Perspectives
This panel discussion will offer insight and practical ideas from key leaders in the funding community, including individuals, foundations, and corporate supporters. The panel of funders will discuss their needs, expectations, and approaches to grant-making and how to collaborate to ensure effective partnerships.

• Stacy Palmer, Editor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy (moderator)
• Russ Carson, General Partner , Welsh, Carson, Anderson, & Stowe
• Florence Davis, President, The Starr Foundation
• Mimi Clarke Corcoran, Director, Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation, Open Society Institute
• Janice C. Kreamer, Trustee, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
• Robert K. Ross, President and CEO, The California Endowment

K. Working with Schools
Strong, sustained partnerships with schools are a critical element of a pipeline of services for children in a neighborhood. These partnerships must benefit all involved and include both public charter schools and traditional public schools in the area in order to reach scale. This workshop will present experiences and lessons learned from a number of school-CBO partnerships.

• Jeff Howard, Founder and President, The Efficacy Institute, Inc. (moderator)
• Michele Cahill, Vice President, National Programs, Carnegie Corporation of New York
• Margaret McKenna, President, The Walmart Foundation
• Stephen Perry, Principal, Capital Preparatory Magnet School
• Manuel Rivera, CEO, Global Partnership Schools

L. Opportunities for Federal Collaboration
President Barack Obama has committed to funding Promise Neighborhoods -- modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone -- around the country. This is an interdisciplinary initiative that requires the expertise and coordination of many federal agencies. This workshop will explore the latest thinking from the federal administration around Promise Neighborhoods from several key agencies.

• Judith Bell, President, PolicyLink (moderator)
• Sandra Henriquez, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
• Carmen Nazario, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education

Plenary: Making It Work at a Neighborhood Level
• Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, New York City (greeting)
• Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and CEO, PolicyLink (moderator)
• Cory Booker, Mayor, Newark, NJ
• Otis Johnson, Mayor, Savannah, GA
• Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Director, White House Office of Urban Affairs

Plenary: Efforts Across the Country
• Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone (moderator)
• Creighton Drury, Assistant Attorney General, State of New Jersey
• Barbara Fabre, Director, White Earth Child Care Programs
• Karen Fox, President and CEO, Delta Health Alliance
• Don Lau, Chair of Building Blocks for Kids, Richmond, CA
• Alicia Ruiz Orbin, Executive Director, Youth Success Zone
• John Wallace, Jr., Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh

Workshop Series #4: Interactive Peer Learning and Experience Sharing

These interactive workshops will offer attendees a chance to engage in productive conversation and brainstorming around their challenges and successes on a variety of topics. These sessions will include brief introductions by several experts and practitioners, responses by the experts and practitioners to top challenges and questions, and open questions and discussion from the audience. The sessions are on the following topics:

M. Collaboration, Governance, and Accountability

• Elizabeth Mason, CEO, Single Stop USA (moderator)
• Betina Jean-Louis, Director, Evaluation, Harlem Children’s Zone
• William Jones, CEO, Focus Hope
• Yael Lehmann, Executive Director, The Food Trust (Brian Lang, The Food Trust)

N. Getting Started – Planning, Capacity Building and Program Strengths

• Don Howard, Partner, Bridgespan Group (moderator)
• Irasema Salcido, CEO, Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy
• Blair Taylor, CEO, Los Angeles Urban League

O. Building a Diverse Fundraising Program

• Bob Kissane, President, CCS Fundraising (moderator)
• Mindy Miller, Vice President, Development, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Sean O’Connor, Operational Vice President, CCS Fundraising

P. Creating an Evaluation Team and Processes

• Victor Rubin, Vice President, Research, PolicyLink (moderator)
• Heather Weiss, Founder and Director, Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Bessie Wilkerson, Director, Education Research, Harlem Children’s Zone

Q. Strategies for Working with Schools

• Jazmine Lewis, Director, Peacemakers North, Fifth Grade Institute, and A Cut Above, Harlem Children’s Zone (moderator)
• Tawakalitu M. Jogunosimi, Assistant to the Mayor, Education, City of Chicago
• Dennis McKesey, Principal, Promise Academy I Middle School
• Dishon Mills, Senior Manager, Department of Extended Learning Time, Afterschool, and Services, Boston Public Schools

R. Developing Early Childhood Programs

• Shana Brodnax, Senior Manager, Early Childhood Programs, Harlem Children’s Zone (moderator)
• Adrienne Crudup, Director, Harlem Gems, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Lisa Landau, Director, NYC Nurse-Family Partnership
• Susan H. Landry, Director, Children’s Learning Institute, University of Texas – Houston

S. Strategies for Adolescent Academic Achievement Outside of School

• Lawrence W. Pasti, Director of Technical Partnerships, Forum for Youth Investment (moderator)
• Lucy Friedman, President, The After-School Corporation
• Allen Fernandez Smith, Executive Director, California School-Age Consortium
• Laura Vural, Director, Education, The Harlem Children’s Zone

T. Strategies for Engaging the Community

• Marian Urquilla, Director, Program Strategies, Living Cities (moderator)
• Thomas Mills, Administrator, Office of Economic Development, Richmond, California
• Kaaryn Nailor, Director, Community Pride, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Cathy A. Coyne, Director, Division of Community Health and Health Studies at Lehigh Valley Health Network

U. Partnering with Local Government

• Anne Williams-Isom, Assistant Commissioner of External Affairs, New York City Administration for Children’s Services (moderator)
• Tamar Bauer, Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer, Nurse-Family Partnership
• Theresa Fujiwara, Strategy and Policy Advisor for the White Center Community Development Association, Making Connections Initiative, Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Olis Simmons, Executive Director, Youth UpRising

V. Developing Health and Family Support Programs

• Mildred Thompson, Senior Director, PolicyLink; Director of PolicyLink Center for Health and Place (moderator)
• Michael Carrera, Director, Adolescent Sexuality and Pregnancy Prevention Programs, The Children’s Aid Society
• Debbie Gonzalez, Senior Manager, Preventive Programs, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Leon Smart, Program Director, Harlem Children’s Health Project