Alpha Kappa Alpha To Convene Town Hall That Will Raise Issues Aimed At Improving Quality Of Life

Sept. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- Chicago, Illinois – September 16, 2011 - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority will convene a Town Hall aimed at educating, raising awareness and empowering citizens about issues that impact the quality of life of all citizens. The event takes place on Tuesday, September 20 from 6:30 to 8 PM in Blackburn Center on the campus of Howard University, 2400 Sixth Street, NW, Washington, DC.  It is free and open to the public.

In making the announcement, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s International President, Attorney Carolyn House Stewart, said the issues to be covered at the Town Hall embrace the Sorority’s social, civic and legislative agenda.  These include lack of jobs, economic instability, access to higher education, poverty, healthcare and treatment options, voter empowerment and the environment.  

Seasoned political consultant Donna Brazile will moderate the Town Hall.  She will preside over a panel of experts from various fields who are bound by a resolve to raise awareness about issues that will empower citizens to become more effectively involved in challenges that affect their communities.

President Stewart declared that the Town Hall’s mission is to trigger ideas and energize members to move from advocacy to action. This overarching goal parallels the Sorority’s theme: Global Leadership Through Timeless Service.”

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s International Connection Committee, whose chairman is Leyser Q. Hayes, Esq., is leading the Summit.

Moderator Donna Brazile is eminently qualified to preside as she has an impressive background, as well as the heft and passion to lead the panel.

DONNA BRAZILE is the founder and managing director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy, and training firm based in Washington, DC. She is the Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation at the Democratic National Committee. She is currently an adjunct professor of Women and Gender Studies at Georgetown University.  Ms. Brazile is a syndicated newspaper columnist for United Media, a columnist for Ms. Magazine and O Magazine, and an on-air contributor to CNN, NPR, and ABC, where she regularly appears on This Week.

The following panel of participants includes a broad cross section of leaders committed to raising awareness of critical issues, while arousing citizens to action.

RUSSLYN H. ALI is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.  In this role, she is Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's primary adviser on civil rights and is responsible for enforcing U.S. civil rights laws as they pertain to education. Her responsibilities involve ensuring the nation's schools, colleges and universities receiving federal funding do not engage in discriminatory conduct related to race, sex, disability or age.

ROSLYN M. BROCK is Chairman of the National Board of Directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  She made history in February 2010 when she was unanimously elected as its 14th Chairman.  She is the youngest person and fourth woman to hold this position. Ms. Brock is employed as Vice President, Advocacy and Government Relations for Bon Secours Health System Inc., in Marriotsville, Maryland. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.    

CONGRESSWOMAN DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, MD, the Assistant Minority Whip in the Democratic Caucus, is serving her eighth term as a member of the 112th Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the U.S. Virgin Islands.  She is the first female delegate from the US Virgin Islands and the first female physician in the history of the U.S. Congress  

MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), is a life-long advocate for disadvantaged Americans.   Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation's strongest voice for children and families.

FATIMA GRAVES is Vice President for Education and Employment at the National Women's Law Center where she works to promote the rights of women and girls at school and in the workplace.

CHANELLE HARDY is the senior Vice President for Policy for the National Urban League and Executive Director of the National Urban League Policy Institute, with primary responsibility for developing the League’s policy, research and advocacy agenda and expanding its impact and influence inside the beltway.  She serves as editor-in-chief of the NULPI signature publication, “The State of Black America,” and coordinates the NUL Legislative Policy Conference.

TANYA CLAY HOUSE is Director of the Public Policy Department at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law where she serves as the principal representative of the Lawyers’ Committee on Capitol Hill and in state and local legislative bodies.

LONNIE L. JOHNSON is Senior Director, Federal Relations at Exxon Mobil Corporation. He has served in leadership positions in numerous community organizations including with the National Urban League.  


DR. MICHAEL L. LOMAX is President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Negro College Fund, the nation's largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to minority and low-income students.  He oversees UNCF's 400 scholarship programs.  Dr. Lomax launched the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building, which helps UNCF's 38 member historically black colleges and universities become stronger, more effective and more self- sustaining.  He is co-chair of the Education Equity Project, as well as the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind.

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In assessing the impact of the Town Hall, AKA’s International President declared:  “The goal of the Town Hall is to share our legislative, civic and social agenda and to move from advocacy to action. Fired up by the charge that these experts will ignite, Alpha Kappa Alpha will wage an aggressive advocacy-to-action campaign that will penetrate communities Alpha Kappa Alpha serves.”

The Town Hall is one of the activities of Sorority’s 9th Annual Public Policy Conference, which will be held from September 19-21 in the nation’s capital. The theme of the three-day Conference is “The Time is Now: Connection + Advocacy = Effective Results.”
The Conference represents AKA's commitment to shaping policy and influencing legislation that will impact the communities its members serve.  To this end, the three-day Conference will also feature seminars and legislative briefings.  Other highlights include a workshop on voter empowerment and a Bi-Partisan Briefing on Capitol Hill.  The Sorority will also roll out Alpha Kappa Alpha C.A.R.E.S., a yearlong voter registration and education offensive to reach, mobilize and impact hundreds of thousands of citizens throughout the communities nationwide that AKA serves. The campaign will be driven by the theme: Alpha Kappa Alpha C.A.R.E.S., an acronym for Collaborate, Advocate, Register, Educate, and Stimulate.  

About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.                     
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is America's first Greek-letter organization founded in 1908 by, and for, African-American college women. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, it is one of the world's leading service organizations. The Sorority's members have made a commitment “to serve all mankind” through a nucleus of more than 250,000 women in over 958 chapters in the United States, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Japan and on the continent of Africa. Attorney Carolyn House Stewart of Tampa, Florida, is the 28th International President. Stewart’s administration is marked by the theme:  “Global Leadership Through Timeless Service.”

For more information, log on to www.aka1908.com.

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