2015 Legislative Seminar

Join us on April 14 at Greenwood Forest Baptist Church in Cary for the Council’s 2015 Legislative Seminar. Held every two years, the Seminar equips people of faith with the information they need to be advocates on issues before the NC General Assembly.

Register online here. The cost is $15 for students, $25 for all others, and that includes arrival snacks and a boxed lunch by the Interfaith Food Shuttle’s Catering with a Cause.  Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m; the Rev. Dr. David Forbes, Dean of the Shaw Divinity School, will lead worship at 9:15 a.m.; and three workshop sessions will follow. Closing worship will be led by Greenwood Forest pastor the Rev. Ben Boswell.

Workshop topics and speakers for the day include:
Revenue Shortages, Spending Cuts – Tazra Mitchell, Policy Analyst, and Cedric Johnson, Policy Analyst, NC Budget and Tax Center
Immigration: Neighbors Among Us – Ivan Parra, Executive Director, NC Latino Coalition, and Jennie Wilburn, Program Associate, NC Council of Churches
Public Higher Education: A Time of Challenges – Kevin FitzGerald, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, University of North Carolina System, and David Rice, Executive Director, Higher Education Works
The Environmental Protection Struggle – Marilynn Marsh-Robinson, Partnerships and Alliances Manager, Environmental Defense Fund
Labor and the Workplace: Standing up for Workers – Adam Orlovich, Campaign Manager, NC AFL-CIO
Guidelines for Grassroots Advocates – George Reed, Executive Director, NC Council of Churches
Public Education and the Privatizers – Chris Fitzsimon , Director, NC Policy Watch
The GLBTQ Dimension: Policies at Stake – Chris Sgro, Executive Director, Equality NC
Crossroads for Voting Rights – Isela Gutiérrez, Associate Research Director, Democracy NC
Medicaid: The Expansion Debate – Jon Oberlander, Professor of Social Medicine and Health Policy & Management, UNC School of Medicine and Gillings School of Global Public Health
Legislative Decisions Affecting NC’s Judiciary – Ran Coble, retired from the NC Center for Public Policy Research
Helping Progressives Keep the Faith – the Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler, Associate Professor of Bible, Union Presbyterian Seminary
Gerrymandering: Consequences and Cures – Jane Pinsky, Director, NC Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform
Our Teachers: Seeking Better Pay, More Respect – Rodney Ellis, President, NC Association of Educators
The Governor’s Role – Chris Fitzsimon, Director, NC Policy Watch