Hurst Lecture Series – Taking Stock: America at An Inflection Point
In collaboration with the Forum for Community Solutions
Featuring Melody Barnes, chair of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and Opportunity Youth Forum and former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic and former director of the United States Domestic Policy Council, in conversation with Stephen Patrick, vice president and executive director of the Forum for Community Solutions at the Aspen Institute. The panel will discuss the nation’s COVID-19 response and how it has exposed deep systemic inequities in our nation. Can COVID-19 serve as a catalyst for social change? As we think about domestic policy and recovery in the years ahead, how do we build a more equitable future for all Americans?
Virtual Event
Melody Barnes is co-director for policy and public affairs of the Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia, where she also serves as the Dorothy Danforth Compton Professor of Practice at the Miller Center of Public Affairs and a distinguished fellow at the School of Law. Barnes also serves as the chair of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and Opportunity Youth Forum. Ms. Barnes was Assistant to the President and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Administration of President Barack Obama. She was also executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress and chief counsel to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her experience includes an appointment as director of legislative affairs for the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and serving as assistant counsel to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights.
John Bridgeland is Founder & CEO of Civic; Vice Chairman of Malaria No More, a non-profit working to end malaria deaths in Africa; Vice Chairman of the Service Year Alliance to make a year of national service a common expectation and opportunity for all 18-28 year olds; Co-Convener of Grad Nation to reach a 90 percent high school graduation rate by 2020; Vice Chairman of UNITE; Commissioner and Co-Chair of the Policy Committee of the National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development at the Aspen Institute; Co-Founder of the High Seas Initiative to protect 30 percent of the ocean as marine reserves by 2030; and Executive Producer of the 2017 National Geographic film, Sea of Hope. Previously, Bridgeland was appointed by President Obama to serve on the White House Council for Community Solutions, and by President George W. Bush to serve as Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Assistant to the President of the United States.
Stephen Patrick is Vice President and Executive Director of The Forum for Community Solutions at the Aspen Institute. He oversees work at Aspen that includes a focus on building the collective impact field, as well as launching and implementing the Opportunity Youth Fund in partnership with over 30 different foundations. Previously Steve served as a Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Steve previously served as a Vice President at the Daniels Fund and as Director of Youth and Emerging Initiatives at the New Mexico Community Foundation. He is the Co-Founder of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps – the largest AmeriCorps program in New Mexico. He spent several years leading youth programs for the San Juan Pueblo Tribe. Steve has served on a number of Boards including Grantmakers for Education, and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). He was selected as a Next Generation Leadership Fellow by the Rockefeller Foundation and was appointed by Governor Richardson to serve as the Co-Chair of the New Mexico Commission for Community Volunteerism (AmeriCorps).
