The conference opens with a discussion of the 2008 election results and how charities and foundations can work with the next president and Congress to help move the nation forward. This thought provoking conversation brings together a diverse panel of journalists and nonprofit leaders, including Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent at The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Jim VandeHei, co-founder of Politico.com, Andrew Kohut, independent pollster and president of the Pew Research Center, and Henry Cisneros, executive chairman of CityView.

Luis Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation, will speak with conference attendees about his plans to build on the foundation’s record of supporting innovation, creativity, and social justice. Following this session, new Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman will discuss the agency’s current and future priorities as it relates to nonprofit organizations. In an exciting closing plenary, Randall Kennedy, professor of law at Harvard University, joins four additional panelists to explore the impact of the 2008 elections on the state of race and gender in America and the responsibility of the nonprofit community in building a truly inclusive society.

Workshops and forums throughout the 2008 Annual Conference will allow hundreds of CEOs, trustees, senior-level professionals, and scholars to address how nonprofit professionals can better communicate their impact, increase effectiveness, foster innovation, and strengthen democracy.

Full-time journalists are welcome to attend the conference. To obtain a media pass, email Matthew Briggs or call 202-467-6134.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of charities, foundations, and corporate philanthropy 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 community.