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The Equity and Opportunity Panel
2008 Leadership
 
Chair Vice Chair
Hannah McKinney Greg Lemke
Vice Mayor, Kalamazoo, MI Council Member, Moorhead, MN
Background
Established in 2004, the Equity and Opportunity Panel institutionalized NLC's 2004 President Charles Lyons' agenda, Divided We Fall: Inequality and the Future of America's Cities and Towns, which claimed, "The more we separate by race, class and geography, the more difficult it becomes for all of us to achieve the American dream." Since, the panel has also supported NLC's 2006 President James Hunt's agenda on Inclusive Communities. The Equity and Opportunity Panel focuses on issues related to political, economic, social and racial inequities in America's cities, explores effective municipal strategies to address diversity and increase equity, and seeks to engender in city officials and within NLC the need to address these issues.
Past Accomplishments
- Supported the 2006 NLC Presidential Agenda on “Creating Inclusive Communities,” by identifying tools and processes that would assist local officials to address divisions of race and class in their communities.
- Identified community building as a strategy for creating equity and opportunity as well as inclusive communities.
- Examined language issues related to framing issues of poverty, equality and fairness locally.
- Provided guidance to NLC's Municipal Action to Reduce Poverty Project.
- Reviewed and contributed to new NLC publications - "Tapping the Power of City Hall to Build Equitable Communities: 10 City Profiles," and it's companion piece,"Tapping the Power of City Hall to Build Equitable Communities:17 Promising Practices."
- Participated in Burlington, Vermont’s conference on sustainable communities and identified ways to incorporate equity and opportunity into sustainability strategies.
- Articulated the Panel's message to NLC members through a panel publication,“Creating Equity and Opportunity in America's Cities and Towns."
- Conducted the first town hall meeting on equity and opportunity in Burlington, Vermont City Hall to launch the American Dream Campaign: Cities and Towns Promoting Fairness and Opportunity.
- Developed a report,"Trends, Policies,and Economic Conditions Affecting Poverty in Americas Cities and Towns" that was shared with NLC membership.
Reports and Publications
Tapping the Power of City Hall to Build Equitable Communities: 10 City Profiles
Tapping the Power of City Hall to Build Equitable Communities: 17 Promising Practices.aspx
Creating Equity and Opportunity in America’s Cities and Towns
Trends, Policies, and Economic Conditions affecting Poverty in America’s Cities and Towns
Upcoming Meetings
Congress of Cities & Exposition
November 11-15, 2008
Orlando, FL
2008 Panel Members
Marie Lopez Rogers, Mayor, Avondale, AZ
Helen Kawagoe, City Clerk, Carson, CA
Ronald Loveridge, Mayor, Riverside, CA
Charles A. Blango, Alderman, New Haven, CT
Julius H. Hunter, Council Member, Columbus, GA
Joanne M. Sanders, Councillor-At-Large, Indianapolis, IN
Hannah McKinney, Mayor, Kalamazoo, MI
Greg Lemke, Council Member, Moorehead, MN
Les Heitke, Mayor, Willmar, MN
Margaret Barrett-Simon, Council Member, Jackson, MS
Stanley C. Koci, Council Member, Bedford, OH
Valerie McCall, Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs, Cleveland, OH
Dean Lovelace, City Commissioner, Dayton, OH
Marian B. Tasco, Council Member, Philadelphia, PA
Erica Gilmore, Council Member, Nashville, TN
Sally Nelson, Council Member, Burien, WA
Melissa Turley, Council Member, Jackson, WY
Ex-officio: James C. (Jim) Hunt, Council Member, Clarksburg, WV
Contact:
We welcome your comments and interest in our panel and invite you to contact us for more information regarding equity and opportunity.
Phyllis Furdell, National League of Cities
Phone: (202)626-3034
Fax: (202)626-3043
Email: furdell@nlc.org
Related Links:
Poverty Reduction Strategy Page
Home Mortgage Finance and Foreclosure Page
The panel's activities are funded in part by the Kellogg Foundation. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." Its programming activities center around the common vision of a world in which each person has a sense of worth; accepts responsibility for self, family, community, and societal well-being; and has the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions, and healthy communities.
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