Speakers
Michael L. Lomax
As president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Dr. Michael L. Lomax heads the nation's largest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization. Through its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, and 24 field offices across the country, UNCF annually provides operating and program funds to its 39 member private historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and their 55,000 students. Dr. Lomax joined UNCF after serving in a series of high-level academic and political positions. He served seven years as president of Dillard University in New Orleans. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Atlanta's Morehouse College (the alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King) and, after receiving his M.A. degree from Columbia University and his Ph.D. in American and African American literature from Emory University, taught literature at Morehouse and Spelman Colleges and the University of Georgia. Dr. Lomax began his public service as an assistant to Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first African American mayor, and later served as the first head of Atlanta's Bureau of Cultural Affairs. In 1980, he became the Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, the first African American ever to hold that position. He served in that position for twelve years.
Michael Sherraden
George Warren Brown School of Social Work & Center for Social Development
Michael Sherraden is Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and founding director of the University’s Center for Social Development (CSD). Dr. Sherraden articulated the concept of asset-based development. He is particularly interested in ways in which social policy does not detract from, but rather contributes to, economic growth of households and communities. His book, Assets and the poor: A new American welfare policy, proposes universal and progressive saving beginning at birth. Most recently, Dr. Sherraden co-edited Asset building and low-income families, a collaborative effort of CSD, Urban Institute, and New America Foundation that is the most up-to-date source available on assets in low-income families. The research Dr. Sherraden has led on IDAs has influenced policy discussions and community projects in several countries. Dr. Sherraden holds a B.A. from Harvard, and an M.S.W. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has been a Visiting Professor at universities in Mexico, Singapore, Israel, and the US. He is a recipient of a Fulbright Research Fellowship (1992-93) and many other awards.
Gary J. Stangler
Gary J. Stangler is the executive director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a major national effort launched in May 2001 by The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs to help youth in foster care make successful transitions to adulthood. The Initiative is a private foundation that brings together the people and resources needed to help youth make the connections they need for permanency, education, employment opportunities, and health care. Prior to this position, Mr. Stangler was the director of the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) for nearly twelve years, appointed by Governor John Ashcroft (R) in May 1989, and re-appointed by Governor Mel Carnahan (D) in February 1993. Mr. Stangler received, among many awards, the Lewis Hine Award for service to children and youth from the National Child Labor Committee. He is a graduate of the program Leadership for the 21st Century at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Mr. Stangler is the author of a number of articles in professional journals and publications in the United States and Europe, and co-author of On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System.
Luis Antonio Ubiñas
Luis A. Ubiñas became the ninth president of the Ford Foundation in January 2008, following a national and international search by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Ubiñas was previously a Director at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, where he worked for 18 years. Based in San Francisco, he led McKinsey’s Media Practice on the West Coast of the United States, advising Fortune 100 media, telecommunications and technology companies on major strategic and operating challenges. Much of his work was long-range in nature, requiring years to conceive and implement. He led projects around the world, including many of the locations where Ford has field offices, including China, Mexico, Russia, Brazil and Chile. Mr. Ubiñas has a distinguished record of leadership in the nonprofit sector, devoting much of his personal time and energy to working with nonprofits to accomplish their missions. His many pro bono efforts at McKinsey included work with the After-School for All Partnership in Boston and Family Services of Greater Boston. Mr. Ubiñas earned an AB (magna cum laude in Government) at Harvard College. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar.
Ifetayo Youth Ensemble
The Ifetayo Youth Ensemble was created in 1989 to provide an opportunity for youth in the Brooklyn area to receive the highest level of artistic training and support from the community to develop a voice for social change. The IYE utilizes the arts to heighten youth’s self esteem, cultural pride and community awareness. Youth also participate in financial literacy training and are provided with Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) in which their savings for post-secondary education are matched 2:1.
IYE members (aged 12-21) engage in rigorous artistic training that will lead to cutting edge performances incorporating African Dance, Acting, African Drum, Modern Dance and Brazilian Percussion. IYE members are dedicated to utilizing their passion as activists and skills as artists to provide opportunities for open dialogue and create awareness of social issues.