Day One of the 2019 Annual Convention

Day One: August 28

Live Stream Day Two of the 2019 Annual Convention!

Our friends at LensCAAP will be live streaming all General Sessions of the 2019 Annual Convention! Click here to tune in for day two. Day three will be available to watch here.

Opening Session

Day one of the 2019 Annual Convention began at 8 a.m. with a presentation of colors ceremony followed by a national anthem performance and welcome remarks from Erin Guthrie, Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and Mike Bonertz, President of the Mid-America Community Action Association.

Next, attendees were provided with an update from our federal partners including Anna Maria Garcia, Director of the Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, and Dr. Deborah Bergeron, Director of the Office of Head Start.

Building Belonging in a Time of Othering

After a short break, folks reconvened in the Grand Ballroom to hear from john a. powell, Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, who delivered a powerful keynote address about inclusion and the practice of belonging.

“We’re not here to tolerate each other," powell said, "we’re here to care for each other, and love one another. And that’s what belonging really means.”

Reducing Poverty: Policy and Practice

At 10:30 a.m., we were joined by speaker and author Gary MacDougal and Matt Weidinger of the American Enterprise Institute for a panel discussion on policy and systems solutions to reduce poverty. The session was moderated by Partnership CEO Denise Harlow.

A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty

The next general session covered a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, which reviews the research on linkages between child poverty and child well-being. Presenters included Christine James-Brown, President and CEO Child Welfare League of America, and Benard Dreyer, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at the NYU School of Medicine.

Poverty, Equity, and Migration

After lunch, we began our final General Session of the day. Border journalist Bob Moore and Dylan Corbett of the Hope Border Institute spoke about the recent mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, and affirmed the importance of confronting dangerous and degrading rhetoric against immigrants and people of color. We also heard from Dalitso Sulamoyo, who shared his personal story as an immigrant in the United States. The panel was moderated by Laura Ponce, Executive Director of Project Bravo, the Community Action Program of El Paso, Texas.

Concurrent Sessions

Workshops began at 3:30 p.m. In the Lincolnshire room, Myka Piatt challenged participants to consider their own subconscious biases and introduced a strategy for engaging families in a non-judgmental manner, using an approach of compassionate curiosity.

Over in Purdue/Wisconsin, folks gathered to hear the latest updates from the federal Department of Energy. Participants in this workshop had the chance to preview the new online learning module segments for Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) administrative staff.

Session Evaluations

Did you attend a session you really enjoyed? Tell us about it. We would love your feedback.

Registration

Registration opened Tuesday at 10 a.m. and is open tomorrow, August 29, from 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Chicago Ballroom (A-E) Registration Desk on the fifth floor.

Product Sales

Have some time to spare? Swing by the Exhibit Hall in the Chicago Ballroom on the fifth floor to check out some great offers from our exhibitors or get your hands on some Community Action apparel. We have Partnership t-shirts, fleece jackets, water bottles, and Certified Community Action Professional (CCAP) shirts. We also have free literature, buttons, stickers, and copies of the National Impact Reportover at our exhibitor table.