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Carrion, Chu to Speak at Congressional City Conference
by Cyndy Liedtke Hogan
 Two more members of the Obama Administration have been added to the lineup of general session speakers at NLC’s upcoming Congressional City Conference.
Adolfo Carrion, director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu will both speak at general sessions during the conference.
Carrion will discuss the role of the Office in coordinating the development of President Obama's urban policy agenda, which rests on three pillars: ensuring economic competitiveness by building strong regional economies; ensuring environmental responsibility; and ensuring an environment of opportunity for all.
Carrion will speak during the general session on Tuesday morning, March 16. He will also be the keynote speaker for the annual Celebrate Diversity Breakfast, held on March 15 and hosted by NLC’s constituency groups.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a distinguished scientist and Nobel Prize winner, will speak at a general session on Monday, March 15.
Chu is expected to speak about the Obama Administration’s energy and environmental policies, as well as prospects for funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, one of NLC's top legislative priorities.
Carrion served two terms as Bronx Borough President and one term as the president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). As Bronx Borough President, he oversaw the creation of 40,000 new units of housing in seven years, 50 new schools, $7 billion in capital and infrastructure expenditures, and over $400 million in new parks and parkland renovation.
Prior to his service as Bronx Borough President, Carrion represented the 14th City Council District on the New York City Council and also served as an urban planner at the New York City Department of City Planning and a teacher in the New York City Public Schools.
Chu has devoted his recent scientific career to the search for new solutions to the nation’s energy challenges and stopping global climate change. He is charged with helping implement President Obama’s agenda to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end the country’s addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs.
Prior to his appointment, Chu was director of the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and professor of physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California. He successfully applied the techniques he developed in atomic physics to molecular biology, and since 2004, motivated by his deep interest in climate change, he has recently led the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in pursuit of new alternative and renewable energies. Previously, he held positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories.
For more information on the Congressional City Conference, tune into a pre-conference webcast on NLC TV on Friday, March 5, at 2 p.m. at www.nlctv.org.
The Congressional City Conference gets underway on Saturday, March 13, with Leadership Training Institute seminars and other NLC meetings. General sessions and a full slate of workshops on issues important to cities will take place March 15 and 16. Conference participants will have the opportunity to lobby their Congressional delegation on Wednesday, March 17.
Register now at www.nlc.org to save up to $55 off the onsite rate.
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