a e lth I w n o ns m m t o
The C
te itu
2015 Policy Summit
1
Agenda
2
Speakers
6
Breakout Sessions
8
Thank you
Agenda
8:00 AM 9:00 AM
Registration and Breakfast Welcome and Opening Remarks
Celia Tetlow, Development Coordinator, The Commonwealth Institute Joan Huffer, Board Chair, The Commonwealth Institute
9:25 AM
Morning Keynote Speaker
The Reconnection Agenda: Reuniting Growth and Prosperity Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
10:35 AM Breakout Session #1 (Some will be repeated in the afternoon.)
Virginia’s Budget: A Bigger Slice or A Bigger Pie? Building Winning Coalitions and Campaigns The Changing Face of Virginia and Opportunities for Our State’s Economy Health Care Access
11:35 AM Networking 12:30 PM Lunch Plenary Criminal Justice Reform: Opportunities to save money and help communities Panelists: Chris Braunlich, The Thomas Jefferson Institute Laura Goren, The Commonwealth Institute Gina Lyles, Art 180 Michael Mitchell, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Moderator: Michael Cassidy, The Commonwealth Institute
1:10 PM
Breakout session #2
Virginia’s Budget: A Bigger Slice or A Bigger Pie? Building Winning Coalitions and Campaigns Getting Virginia Back on Track when it Comes to Public Education Making Work Pay: Strengthening the EITC in Virginia
2:20 PM
Closing Remarks
Putting Policy Analysis Into Action Michael Cassidy, President, The Commonwealth Institute
Speakers
Jared Bernstein Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Jared joined the Center in May 2011 as a Senior Fellow. From 2009 to 2011, he was the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, and a member of President Obama’s economic team. His areas of expertise include federal and state economic and fiscal policies, income inequality and mobility, trends in employment and earnings, international comparisons, and the analysis of financial and housing markets.
Beth Bortz President and CEO of the Virginia Center for Health Innovation Beth has led VCHI since 2012. Prior to joining VCHI, she served as the Executive Director of the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) Foundation, Senior Program Officer and Deputy Director of the Virginia Health Care Foundation, and as a Senior Associate Legislative Analyst for the Virginia General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Demas Boudreaux Director of Government Relations for the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (VAHCC); Legislative Coordinator for the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO). Demas is a government relations professional based in Richmond, where he represents diverse clients before the Virginia General Assembly and other government entities and agencies.
Christian Braunlich Vice President, The Thomas Jefferson Institute A former member of the Fairfax County School Board, Chris is vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute where his works focuses on education and juvenile justice issues. He was a member of Governor Bob McDonnell’s Transition Working Group on Education, and also has served as vice president of the Center for Education Reform.
Kathy Burcher Engaged parent and advocate A former teacher, Kathy became involved with the PTA when her son entered kindergarten. She served for four years as the Legislation Chair of the Virginia PTA where she acted as their chief lobbyist and wrote policy statements, opinions, and talking points for the 300,000 PTA members in Virginia. Most recently she served as an Organizer at the Virginia Education Association for the Put Kids First Campaign.
Gina Lyles Program Leader at Art 180 Atlas Center In addition to her work at Art 180, Gina is a volunteer mentor and youth justice advocate as well as a poet, singer and Hip Hop artist. Currently a part of the RISE for Youth Campaign through Performing Statistics. She is a school to prison pipeline survivor.
Deepak Madala Manager, Enroll Virginia Deepak manages Enroll Virginia, a nonpartisan, community-based effort to educate all Virginians about the health insurance marketplace and provide free, unbiased assistance with the application and enrollment process. Prior to that, he was a policy analyst with Enroll America supporting the Get Covered America campaign, and also represented hospitals, nursing facilities, and licensed health care practitioners before state agencies in Virginia.
Michael Mitchell Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Michael is a policy analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. where he is part of the State Fiscal Policy Division. Before joining the Center, Mitchell was a State Policy Fellow for the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, where he conducted research on state taxes and borrowing, the effects of budget cuts on communities of color, and the impacts of the recession on young adults.
Tram Nguyen Co-Executive Director, Virginia New Majority Since 2008, Tram has led several civic engagement campaigns that have reached out to over 750,000 voters in Virginia, educating and mobilizing them on social and economic justice issues such as immigrants’ rights, health care, and voting rights. Legislatively, she has worked to defeat some of the most restrictive voting laws proposed in Virginia, to increase access to the ballot for convicted felons, to expand opportunities for immigrants, and to increase access to health care for all Virginians.
Brent Rawlings Vice President and General Counsel, Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association At VHHS, Brent focuses on legal and governmental affairs, specifically around issues related to the Certificate of Public Need process. Previously, he was a private practice attorney representing hospitals, physicians, and other health care clients in a variety of regulatory and transactional matters.
Courtney Sabine Manager of Public Information Campaigns, Piton Foundation Courtney implements Piton’s strategies to educate low-income Colorado families about resources that help build financial security, including the Tax Credits for Working Families Public Information Campaign, one of the largest and longestrunning Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) outreach campaigns in the country. She also coordinates grants and marketing for Tax Help Colorado, a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program that connects eligible families to the EITC by offering free tax preparation services at 26 free tax sites across the state.
Jon Shure Director of State Fiscal Strategies, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Jon Shure is a communications veteran and has been with the Center on Budget since 2009. Previously he was president of New Jersey Policy Perspectives, and a reporter for The Record newspaper of Bergen County, NJ, where he covered the paper’s State House and Washington bureaus.
Paris Walker State Strategies Manager, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Paris Walker joined the Center on Budget in 2014 where she helps partnership organizations in their outreach and engagement work. Before joining the Center she spent four years at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ (AFSCME) political department, where she helped build the organization’s influence at the state and local levels.
Breakout Sessions
Virginia’s Budget: A Bigger Slice or A Bigger Pie? After years of budget shortfalls, state revenues are on the rebound. But that doesn’t mean lawmakers will meet all of the state’s needs when they craft the next budget. In this session, advocates will learn how to make the most of increasing revenues and technical surpluses to grow the pie instead of just begging for a bigger slice. Moderator: Patrick Getlein, The Commonwealth Institute Speaker: Jon Shure, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Building Winning Coalitions and Campaigns Achieving progress often requires bringing together groups with differing missions, expertise, and capacity and driving toward a single goal. While creating a coalition may seem straightforward, effective coalition-building and maintenance is a challenging yet sometimes overlooked responsibility. This session will connect you with national experts and equip you with the tools necessary to create appropriate coalitions for their corresponding goals, and manage them successfully to create change in the commonwealth. Moderator: Joe Stanley, The Commonwealth Institute Speaker: Paris Walker, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Changing Face of Virginia and Opportunities for Our State’s Economy Virginia is becoming more diverse every year. Providing better opportunities for immigrant Virginians to fully participate in our economy will help to strengthen the commonwealth and its communities. Join this interactive discussion to get the facts about foreign-born Virginians and learn about potential policy issues in the upcoming legislative session that will help or hurt our immigrant neighbors. You will leave this session with concrete steps you can take in the coming months to ensure all Virginians can equally share in the state’s economy and wealth. Moderator: Jeff Connor-Naylor, The Commonwealth Institute
Speakers: L aura Goren, The Commonwealth Institute; Demas Boudreaux, The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations; Tram Nguyen, Virginia New Majority
Getting Virginia Back on Track when it Comes to Public Education Only a handful of states have cut education more than Virginia in recent years. And we’ve done it in a way that hurts poor kids the most. You’ll learn how this has happened, how advocates across the state are moving to turn the tide, and how you can get involved. Moderator: Chris Duncombe, The Commonwealth Institute Speakers: Kathy Burcher, past legislative chair, Virginia PTA
Healthcare Access Virginia often lauds itself as a state that’s doing well in comparison to others. But recent trends show that Virginia is falling behind other states in its ability to meet basic health care needs for the state’s uninsured, low-income residents. In this session, we’ll talk about how this issue can be addressed and what can be done to improve access to health care in Virginia. Moderator: Massey Whorley, The Commonwealth Institute Speakers: B eth Bortz, Medical Society of Virginia; Deepak Madala, Enroll Virginia; Brent Rawlings, Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association
Making Work Pay: Strengthening the EITC in Virginia The Earned Income Tax Credit – a proven poverty fighting tool – helps working families keep more of their wages and makes the tax system more fair. But not everyone who is eligible in Virginia is getting it. Join us to learn what you can do to strengthen Virginia’s EITC and hear what other communities are doing to make sure struggling families are not left in the dark about this critically important tool. Moderator: Jeff Connor-Naylor, The Commonwealth Institute Speakers: Courtney Sabine, The Piton Foundation of Colorado
We are dedicated to advancing the well-being of Virginia communities and improving the economic security and social opportunities of all Virginians, and we rely on the generous support of numerous individuals like you to ensure that the voices of middle class and low-income Virginians are front and center in the public policy debates. To learn more about all of your giving options and ways your can support our work for a better Virginia, visit thecommonwealthinstitute.org or call (804) 396-2051. Alliance Group Annie E. Casey Foundation Bernard & Audre Rapoport Foundation Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Collis Warner Foundation Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Consumer Health Foundation Eastern Virginia Labor Foundation Fairfax County Federation of Teachers Mason Hirst Foundation Meyer Foundation Moriah Fund Stoneman Family Foundation The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation The Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation Virginia AFL-CIO Virginia Education Association Virginia Professional Fire Fighters
Special thanks to our title sponsor
The Commonwealth Institute 1329 E. Cary St., #202 Richmond, VA 23219 www.thecommonwealthinstitute.org