Former U.S. Senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards will deliver the keynote address at The National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women's annual legislative conference breakfast.
The breakfast is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, June 29, at the Lloyd Center DoubleTree Hotel, 1000 N.E. Multnomah St. There is no charge to listen to Edwards speak. The conference, the first held in the Pacific Northwest, runs from June 29 through July 2 at the same location.
Edwards, who ran for vice president in 2004, is now director of the Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The three-day event is open to the public and features speakers and workshops surrounding the topics of emergency preparedness, health, education, transportation, energy and economic development.
Other speakers on the conference agenda include: Andriette Ward, M.D., a pediatric obesity specialist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Titus D. Duncan, M.D., director of Minimally Invasive & Bariatric Surgery at the Atlanta Medical Center and Morehouse School of Medicine; and Barbara Earl Thomas, educator, artist, writer and author of Never Late for Heaven.
With only six Black female state legislators on the West Coast, Oregon boasts three: Oregon Senate President Pro Tempore Margaret Carter, D-Portland; Sen. Avel Gordly, D-Portland; and Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem. California, Washington and Alaska have one each.
Carter is the first Black female state legislator and Senate president pro tempore in Oregon history.
"We are so proud to host this annual conference in Portland, the first ever in the Pacific Northwest," she said. "It gives our community an opportunity to showcase our region for the rest of the country. We expect to have a vibrant dialogue on issues of national concern during our three days together."
Peggy C. Ross, affirmative action director for the office of the governor, and Erin Hubert, vice president/general manager of Entercom Portland, lead the Portland host committee of civic, corporate and community leaders from across the state.
Registration to attend the full conference is $250. A downloadable registration form is available at www.nobelpdx.org. Additional event information is by phone at 503-986-1655.
Established in 1985, NOBEL/Women is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization primarily composed of current and former Black female legislators and serves as a global voice for issues affecting the lives of all women.
A full schedule of the conference's activities is as follows:
• Thursday, June 29
Noon: Conference office opens, Portland Room
1 p.m.: Registration opens,
2 p.m.: Conference convenes
Welcome and Introductions: Diana E. Bajoie, Senate president pro tempore (La.) and NOBEL/Women national president; Margaret Carter, Senate president pro tempore (Ore.) and NOBEL/Women 2006 Conference chair
2:20 p.m.: Education forum opens with "Agents of Change: Creativity and Imagination." Speaker: Barbara Earl Thomas, Northwest African American Museum curator of programs
3 p.m.: Panel Conversation: "Accessibility and Opportunity," with moderator, Dr. Mildred Ollée, Seattle Central Community College president, and panelists Dr. Daniel O. Bernstine, Portland State University president; Dr. R. Wayne Branch, Clark College president; Dr. M. Lee Pelton, Willamette University president; Dr. Preston Pulliams, Portland Community College District president
The Hon. Diana E. Bajoie
4:30-5 p.m.: Legislative response and re-cap: state Rep. Barbara Ballard, of Kansas
• Friday, June 30
7:30 a.m.: Registration Opens
8 a.m.: Opening plenary session and breakfast
9 a.m.: Keynote speech, Lloyd Center Ballroom
Keynote Speaker: John Edwards, former U.S. Senator from North Carolina and 2004 vice presidential candidate: "Restoring the American Dream: Fighting Poverty and Strengthening the Middle Class"
10:15-11:45 a.m.: Workshop: "Securing the Right to Health Care" with panelists Dr. Rickie Keys, National Institute to Combat Health Disparities executive director; Corliss McKeever, African American Health Coalition Inc. president and chief executive officer; Marie F. Smith, AARP former president; Dr. Carolyn M. West, University of Washington associate professor of psychology.
Noon: Luncheon, Lloyd Center Ballroom
Keynote Speaker: Bernard J. Tyson, Kaiser Foundation Plan Inc. senior national vice president.
1:30-2:45 p.m.: Workshop: "Epidemic of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease," with panelists Gustavus A. Aranda Jr., University of Southern California clinical fellow; Dr. Andriette Ward, Los Angeles Children's Hospital pediatric obesity specialist; Dr. Karol E. Watson, University of California at Los Angeles cardiologist.
1:30-2:45 p.m.: Workshop: "Women's Cancers," with panelists Dr. Nathalie McDowell Johnson, Legacy Breast Health Centers medical director; Dr. Laura Koutsky, University of Washington professor of epidemiology.
3-4:15 p.m.: Workshop: "Standing in the Need of Care" with speaker Dr. Carolyn M. West, University of Washington associate professor of psychology.
3-4:15 p.m.: Workshop: "Time to Talk: Women and Children," with panelists Dr. Andriette Ward, Los Angeles Children's Hospital pediatric obesity specialist; Dr. Marsha Henderson, U.S. Food and Drug Administration deputy director of women's health.
6:30-9 p.m.: Gala begins, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, 1945 S.E. Water Ave. Buffet dinner, music and presentation of Shining Star Awards: to state recipients Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (Zeta Sigma Omega Chapter); Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. (Portland alumnae chapter); and The Portland Chapter of The Links Inc. National Recipients: Carlotta Walls LaNier, civil rights activist and member of the "Little Rock Nine"; Margaret Carter, Senate president pro tempore (Ore.) and NOBEL/Women 2006 Conference chair. ; and the Oregon National Guard, Operation Southern Relief, Joint Task Force Pontchartrain.
• Saturday, July 1
8 a.m.: Registration Opens
8 a.m.: Breakfast, Multnomah Room
9 a.m.: Emergency Preparedness Forum opens, with moderator state Sen. Avel Gordly, of Oregon, and panelists Shawn Baird, Oregon State Ambulance Association past president; Dr. Jonathan Jui, Oregon Health and Science University professor of emergency medicine; Dr. Norwood Knight-Richardson, Oregon Health and Science University vice chair of psychiatry; and Latricia Tillman, Multnomah County Health Department community projects manager
10:30-11:45 a.m.: Model legislation from around the states
Noon: Luncheon, with keynote speaker Dr. Titus D. Duncan, director of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery, Morehouse School of Medicine and Atlanta Medical Center.
2-3:30 p.m.: "Lessons Learned: A Piece of the Public Contracting Pie," moderator: state Sen. Martha G. Scott, of Michigan, with panelists state Sen. Ada L. Smith, of New York, state Rep. Catherine L. Barrett, Ohio; state Sen. Rita Heard Days, Missouri; state Rep. Rosemary Marshall, Colorado.
• Sunday, July 2
8 a.m.: Board of Directors meeting and breakfast.
8:30 a.m.: NOBEL/Women members and staff breakfast
10:30 a.m.: Conference adjourns.
The Hon. Lois DeBerry
