• Lisa Hamilton, Vice President, External Affairs, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

• Lisa Hamilton, Vice President, External Affairs, The Annie E. Casey Foundation (Moderator)
• Celinda Lake, President, Lake Research Partners
• Justine Sarver, Executive Director, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center

• Mary McClymont, President, Public Welfare Foundation (Moderator)
• Jocelyn Frye, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
• Lauren Hogan, Senior Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Christine Owens, Executive Director, National Employment Law Project
• Nick Rathod, Executive Director, State Innovation Exchange

Several concurrent breakout sessions will be offered to dig deeper on policy opportunities and challenges and discuss implications for the role of philanthropy. Click on the links below for detailed session descriptions.

Early Childhood (sponsored by the Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative)
As we look at the priority policy issues that face us a nation—with the future of jobs and the economy at the top of the list—we can see children and families at their heart. By bringing early childhood issues to the top of the domestic policy agenda, our country can prepare well for the future and fulfill the promise that every young child brings into the world. We can fulfill our promise as a nation. Under the outgoing Administration there has been a number of exciting policy gains that have improved equitable access and opportunities for low-income children and families in recent years. Furthermore, there has been bipartisan agreement about the importance and value of early childhood education and care. Despite this progress, much more remains to be done to ensure that young children and their families have the opportunities they need to thrive. Sponsored by the Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative, a network of national, state, and local funders focused on systemic, equity-focused approaches to early childhood policy and practice, this breakout will explore the current policy climate and how philanthropy can play a role in advancing a policy agenda that will help young children and their families thrive.

• Shannon Rudisill, Executive Director, Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative (Moderator)
• Phyllis Glink, Executive Director, Irving Harris Foundation
• Lauren Hogan, Senior Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, National Association for the Education of Young Children

Economic Justice and Workers’ Rights (sponsored by Funders for a Just Economy) The Funders for a Just Economy (formerly known as the Working Group on Labor and Community Partnerships) is a national network of funders committed to advancing the philanthropic conversation about economic and social justice, and the centrality of unions in those efforts. In the aftermath of historic elections, we will discuss not why but, instead, what next. What are the threats to workers’ rights we anticipate from the GOP Congress and Trump administration, and where are the points of leverage (in the Senate or elsewhere) that can stop them? Are there any positive opportunities, such as on trade or infrastructure? What next for immigration reform? What does the political map look like in the states, and where are the opportunities for economic justice particularly ripe? Join us as we discuss the new post-election political landscape and drill down to the ways funders can enable the field to take advantage of new opportunities and face new challenges.

• Robert Shull, Program Director, Workers’ Rights, Public Welfare Foundation (Moderator)
• Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center
• Christine Owens, Executive Director, National Employment Law Project
• Nick Rathod, Executive Director, State Innovation Exchange
• Randy Rabinowitz, Executive Director, Occupational Safety and Health Law Project
• Rob Weissman, President, Public Citizen

Poverty and Opportunity (sponsored by GIST) The Economic Opportunity Funders (EOF) is a national network of grantmakers interested in improving the economic well-being of low-income families in the United States. This breakout discussion will explore post-election opportunities and challenges at the federal and state level for reducing poverty and increasing opportunity, with a special emphasis on the implications for grantmakers. We’ll begin with a facilitated dialogue on how the new Administration and Congress might approach key poverty and opportunity policies and expected changes at the state level. We’ll then explore short- and long-term strategies for advancing our policy and advocacy work and identify opportunities to work collaboratively towards shared priorities.

• Cassandra McKee, Program Officer, Wellspring Advisors (Moderator)
• Michael Laracy, Director, Policy Reform and Advocacy, The Annie E. Casey Foundation (Moderator)
• John Carr, Director, Georgetown University Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life
• Alan Jenkins, Executive Director, The Opportunity Agenda
• Julie Kohler, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Planning, Democracy Alliance

Workforce Development (sponsored by Workforce Matters) Workforce Matters is a peer network that leverages the collective knowledge, relationships, and experience of grantmakers to advance the field of workforce development. During this breakout session, Workforce Matters invites you to join us for a rich conversation about post-election opportunities and challenges with leading workforce development policy thinkers with expertise at the state and federal level. We’ll begin with a facilitated dialogue about what our expert guests anticipate will be the key policy issues, potential opportunities to address those issues, likely challenges under the new administration and Congress, and expected changes at the state level. Next, we’ll dive into a full-group discussion around shared priorities and opportunities for coordination and collaboration. Finally, we’ll conclude with a funders-only debrief and dialogue around what philanthropy can do to help advance family-sustaining, industry-responsive workforce development policies.

• Mary Clagett, Director, National Workforce Policy, Jobs for the Future
• Gerri Fiala, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
• Andy Van Kleunen, CEO, National Skills Coalition
• Mary Alice McCarthy, Director, Center on Education and Skills, New America
• Martin Simon, Director, Workforce Development Programs, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices

• Shelley Waters Boots, Senior Consultant, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Wellspring Advisors, Ford Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Moderator)
• Michael Laracy, Director, Policy Reform and Advocacy, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Joan Lombardi, Senior Advisor, Bernard van Leer Foundation and the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and Director, Early Opportunities LLC
• Diana Williams, The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities

• Michael Laracy, Director, Policy Reform and Advocacy, The Annie E. Casey Foundation (Moderator)
• David Ellwood, Director, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Nisha Patel, Executive Director, US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, Urban Institute
• Ryan Rippel, Strategy Advisor and Lead for U.S. Poverty and Mobility Initiatives, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• Sandra McAlister Ambrozy, Senior Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation
• Robert Shull, Program Director, Workers’ Rights, Public Welfare Foundation

• Kathleen Bonk, Executive Director, Communications Consortium Media Center (Moderator)
• Eric Deggans, Author, Journalist, and TV Critic, National Public Radio
• Donovan Slack, Reporter, USA TODAY, Washington Bureau

Tapping Into American Aspirations and Values to Drive Social Change

Building on our conversations about the role of communications and framing of issues in our work, this session will share groundbreaking research on how communicating effectively about American values and aspirations can change the national narrative to support broadly shared prosperity and opportunity for all.

• Christina Karas, Communications Officer, The Kresge Foundation
• Doug Hattaway, President, Hattaway Communications