Please join our distinguished panel for a discussion of the election results and what this means for a new administration, the U.S. Congress, and progressive policy changes in 2009 and beyond.

Steve Cobble, Senior Scholar, IPS
John Cavanagh, Director, IPS
Bill Fletcher, labor and international activist
Representative Donna Edwards (D-MD) Invited

Moderator: Karen Dolan, Fellow, IPS

Please RSVP to Adwoa Masozi at adwoa@ips-dc.org.
 

This event is part of the Institute for Policy Studies series of provocative brown-bag luncheon discussions of the various issues in the platforms of the Democratic, Republican, Green, and Independent presidential candidates. IPS and Chester Hartman have a new book coming out at the culmination of this brown-bag series, Mandate for Change, which will put forth what we feel are the best and most creative policy solutions for these and other pressing local, national and international issues.

About the panelists:

Steve Cobble grew up in New Mexico politics. He was elected a national convention delegate for McGovern at age 20, and since then has worked on campaigns at every level, from State Representative on up. In particular, Steve has worked on campaigns for African-American candidates for President, U.S. Senate, and Congress; and he has worked on campaigns for Latino candidates, including races for Governor, Congress, and Mayor. Steve served as the Political Director for the National Rainbow Coalition, and in 1991 had the honor of conducting GOTV trainings for African National Congress (ANC) organizers in South Africa. He was also a Fellow at the Institute for Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School, a founder of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.

John Cavanagh has been the director of IPS since 1998. In this capacity, he oversees programs, outreach, and organizational development. John has a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA from Princeton University. He worked as an international economist for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (1978-1981) and the World Health Organization (1981-1982). He directed IPS's Global Economy Project from 1983-1997. He is the co-author of 10 books and numerous articles on the global economy. He and his partner Robin Broad recently published a book, Development Redefined: How the Market Met its Match.

Bill Fletcher, Jr., is the Director of Field Services & Education for the American Federation of Government Employees. He also serves as the executive editor of BlackCommentator.com. Prior to joining AFGE, Bill was the Belle Zeller Visiting Professor at Brooklyn College-City University of New York. From January 2002 through April 2006 he served as the President and chief executive officer of TransAfrica Forum, a national non-profit organization organizing, educating and advocating for policies in favor of the peoples of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Donna Edwards is a U.S. Representative from Maryland; B.A. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C.; J.D., Franklin Pierce Law Center, Concord, N. H.; lawyer; clerk, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge; Executive Director, National Network to End Domestic Violence; Executive Director, Center for a New Democracy; Executive Director, The Arca Foundation; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Tenth Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Representative Albert Russell Wynn (June 17, 2008-present).

Moderator Karen Dolan is a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and Director of the Cities for Progress and Cities for Peace projects based there. She holds an M.A. With Highest Distinction in Philosophy and Social Policy from the American University in Washington D.C. She has been a researcher, organizer, writer and activist in the peace and social justice communities for many years prior to joining IPS in 1996; she continues with public scholarship linked to movement-based activism. Karen collaborates with organizers and elected officials at the local level as well as with members of Congress and their staff. She participates in building economic and social justice coalitions at the local and national levels focused around a common, broad-based progressive agenda.