Council on Foundations and National League of Cities will convene the last of three conversations across the United States on racial equity. With support from the Lumina Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation, philanthropic and government leaders will come together to raise awareness about the social impact of structural racism while highlighting current efforts to dissolve and resolve racial conflict and disparity. Elected and appointed city, county, and state officials will join philanthropists in a panel discussion to identify how philanthropy and government can take actions that confront and dismantle structural racism.
Schedule
- 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. — Networking Breakfast
- 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. — Racial Equity Forum
- 11:30 - 12:00 p.m. — Q&A
Speakers
Greg Fischer
Mayor, Louisville, KY
Committed to growing jobs and creating a culture of lifelong learning, innovation and entrepreneurship in his hometown of Louisville, Ky., Greg Fischer was elected the city’s 50th mayor in 2010 -- and was sworn in for a second four-year term on January 5, 2015. Mayor Fischer, who majored in Economics at Vanderbilt University, is a successful businessman and innovator. In 2011, Fischer brought his business expertise to the Mayor’s office, and during his tenure, Louisville has added 72,000 jobs and 2,500 new businesses. Nearly $13 billion dollars in capital construction is planned or underway, and from 2014-16, 11,000 Louisvillians worked themselves out of poverty, while another 8,300 families joined the middle class. The city’s strong financial management has been recognized with positive ratings by the nation’s “Big Three” credit agencies.
From the start of his administration, Mayor Fischer has focused on three core principles: To make Louisville a city of lifelong learning, a healthier city and a more compassionate city. To that end, he has championed education, public health, and public safety initiatives during his tenure. Governing Magazine named Mayor Fischer Public Official of the Year in 2013. A 2016 Politico survey named him as the most innovative mayor in America, and in June 2017, Politico named him among its list of the nation’s most interesting mayors. In June 2018, Mayor Fischer was elected second vice president for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, paving the way for him to assume the organization’s presidency in 2020.
Walter Woods
CEO, Humana Foundation
Walter D. Woods is CEO of the Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc., where he is focused on helping eight targeted communities in the southeast - and through their example, communities nationwide - become exemplars of health equity where leadership, culture, and systems work to improve and sustain positive health outcomes for their residents. Walter has a MBA from Northwestern University – J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Evanston, IL, 1989; BBA, cum laude, from Howard University, Washington, DC, 1987; and completed the Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, Palo Alto, California, 2013, Leadership Greater Washington, 2003 and Leadership South Dakota, 2016.
Kellie R. Watson, Esq.
Chief Equity Officer, Office of the Mayor Greg Fischer, Louisville Metro Government
Kellie R. Watson is the first Chief Equity Officer for Louisville Metro Government, providing strategic, visionary planning and oversight to advance racial equity in Louisville Metro Government and she oversees the Department of Human Resources and the Human Relations Commission. Prior to this, she was the General Counsel/Legislative Liaison to Mayor Fischer. She was also the Director of the Human Resources Department/Labor Relations within the Fischer administration. Kellie has served as the Director for Office of Human Resource Management/Acting Director of the Office of Civil Rights and Small Business for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Kellie’s early years in City of Louisville, were as the Director of the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission for several years, as the Director of the Office of Affirmative Action.
Kellie is a member of the Kentucky and Louisville Bar Associations; and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., where she has served as the Executive Board Chair of Beta Alpha Xi Zeta Chapter; and Parliamentarian and Legislative Liaison for Derby City Chapter of Jack and Jill Inc. Kellie received a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science/Policy Analysis from the University of Louisville, graduating sum cum laude and a Juris Doctorate degree from Vanderbilt University.
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Alan Curtis
President and CEO, Eisenhower Foundation
Alan Curtis is President and CEO of the Eisenhower Foundation in Washington DC, the private section continuation of the Kerner Commission and the Violence Commission. He served as Executive Director of President Jimmy Carter’s interagency Urban Policy Group and as Urban Policy Advisor to HUD Secretary Patricia Roberts Harris, the first African American woman to be appointed a Cabinet Secretary. Earlier, he was a Task Force Co-Director on President Lyndon Johnson’s National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, formed after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Senator Robert F, known as the Violence Commission.
Dr. Curtis is Co-Editor of the Choice award winning book: Healing Our Divided Society: Investing in America 50 Years after the Kerner Report , the Eisenhower Foundation’s Fifty Year Update of the 1968 National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission. The update concludes that the nation has made relatively little progress in reducing poverty, inequality and racial injustice since 1968 when the Kerner Commission released its report and explores the scientifically evaluated solutions that we know work. Curtis holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard, an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of London and a Ph.D. in Criminology and Urban Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
This event is made possible thanks to our co-host, National League of Cities, and our sponsors, Annie E. Casey Foundation and Lumina Foundation.
