(WASHINGTON, October 30, 2009) -- Melody Barnes, domestic policy advisor to President Obama and the director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council, will keynote the opening session of the Independent Sector and Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) Annual Conference, to take place November 4-6, 2009, at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. She will open the conference, “Challenging Times, New Opportunities,” with an examination of how the government and nonprofits can work together in new ways to respond to the challenges facing communities across the country.
Barnes joins a diverse and dynamic list of plenary speakers that includes Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children's Zone; Margaret McKenna of the Wal-Mart Foundation; Janet Murguía of the National Council of La Raza; Sean Parker, founder of Facebook Causes; and Jeff Raikes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Prior to her position at the White House, Barnes served as the senior domestic policy advisor to President Obama’s campaign and was the executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress. From 1995 to 2003, she was chief counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In those capacities, and as 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 worked extensively on civil rights and voting rights, women’s health, religious liberties, and commercial law. Barnes received her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her law degree from the University of Michigan. She began her career as an attorney with Shearman & Sterling in New York City, and is a member of both the New York State Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association.
“Independent Sector is honored to have Melody open our annual conference,” said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector. “As we think about the future and how we might make even more significant contributions to improve lives in the communities we serve, we welcome Melody’s thoughts about how government too can make an even greater difference. We look forward to partnering with her going forward.”
“CMF is pleased to welcome Ms. Barnes to our state,” said Robert S. Collier, president and CEO of the Council of Michigan Foundations. “ Michigan foundations have a rich history of partnering with government to respond to critical needs in our local, state, national, and international communities. We are eager to consider new ideas presented by the administration to inspire future solutions to the new challenges we face.”
For more information, please see the conference program, which describes the five main plenaries in more detail and highlights the nearly 40 breakout sessions. Workshops and forums cover crucial issues such as shaping public policy, communicating nonprofits’ value, building a strong staff, and increasing effectiveness and innovation.
2009 Annual Conference information:
www.independentsector.org/2009_conference.
Full-time journalists are welcome to attend the conference. To obtain a media pass, contact Lorraine Snebold at lorraines@independentsector.org or 202-467-6132 or Bill Wright at billw@independentsector.org or 202-467-6131.
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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 550 charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit and philanthropic community.
The Council of Michigan Foundations is a 501(c)(3) membership association of more than 350 foundations and corporate giving programs working together to strengthen, promote and increase philanthropy in Michigan. Learn more at www.michiganfoundations.org.
