Speakers
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Arne Duncan, was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Education in January 2009. Prior to that, he was the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country. Prior to joining the Chicago Public Schools, Duncan ran the non-profit Ariel Education Initiative, which helped fund a college education for a class of inner-city children under the I Have A Dream program. He was part of a team that later started a new public elementary school built around a financial literacy curriculum, the Ariel Community Academy, which today ranks among the top elementary schools in Chicago. |
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Melody Barnes is the President’s Domestic Policy Advisor and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council. Prior to her appointment, Barnes served as the Senior Domestic Policy Advisor to President Obama’s campaign. Before joining the campaign, she was the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress. As Chief Counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Director of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and assistant counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, she has worked extensively on civil rights and voting rights, women’s health, religious liberties, and commercial law. |
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Angela Glover Blackwell is the Chief Executive Officer of PolicyLink, founding the organization in 1999 to advance economic and social equity in America. A renowned community-building advocate, Ms. Blackwell gained national recognition as founder of the Oakland (CA) Urban Strategies Council, where she pioneered new approaches to neighborhood revitalization. A former partner at the public-interest law firm Public Advocates, Ms. Blackwell also served as senior vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation. Ms. Blackwell is a regular commentator on public radio's Marketplace and The Tavis Smiley Show and frequently appears on the op-ed pages of major national newspapers. |
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Geoffrey Canada is nationally recognized for his pioneering work with children and families in Harlem and as a passionate advocate for education reform. Since 1990, he has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Harlem Children's Zone, which The Times called "one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time." In 2005, Mr. Canada was named one of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News and World Report. Mr. Canada is the author of Fist Stick Knife Gun and Reaching Up for Manhood. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including the Heinz Award and, most recently, the 2009 John Gardner Leadership Award from the Independent Sector. |
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Kenneth I. Chenault is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company. Mr. Chenault joined the company in 1981 and became President and Chief Operating Officer in 1997. He became CEO and Chairman in 2001. Mr. Chenault serves on the boards of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, the National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institution's Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History & Culture and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. He has received the Phoenix House Public Service Award, the Corporate Responsibility Award from the International Rescue Committee and the Wall Street Rising Leadership Award. |
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Marian Wright Edelman is the Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and has been an advocate for disadvantaged children for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation's strongest voice for children and families. In l968, Ms. Edelman served as counsel for the Poor People's Campaign that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began organizing before his death. She founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of the Children's Defense. |
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Keynote Speakers
Arne Duncan
Secretary of Education
U.S. Dept. of Education
Melody Barnes
Director
White House
Domestic Policy Council Angela Glover Blackwell
Founder & CEO
PolicyLink
Geoffrey Canada
President & CEO
Harlem Children's Zone
Kenneth Chenault
Chairman & CEO
American Express
Marian Wright Edelman
Founder & President
Children's Defense Fund
For More Information
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(914)761-7111
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