23rd Annual Creating Opportunity Conference 

23rd Annual Creating Opportunity Conference 

Greetings by CK Hoffler

Chair of the Board, Rainbow PUSH Coalition​​

Welcome from Mayor Andre Dickens

October 19, 2022 | 9:00 am - 9:05 am EST

Welcome Remarks

Panelist

• Mayor Andre Dickens

  • ​Mayor of Atlanta

Digital Marketing Session

October 19, 2022 | 9:05 am - 10:00 am EST

"MEDIA-WISE for the MIDTERMS" (Digital Media Training sponsored in partnership with Media Wise, Inc. in collaboration with RPC PUSHTECH Team).

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To empower individuals with the skills to identify misinformation, especially considering the upcoming midterm elections, through engaging digital media literacy education and training. The goal is to support the mantra that when truth prevails, democracy wins. This presentation will inform, educate, innovate and equip, as well as encourage a more confident participation in the election process.

Panelists

• Pastor Joseph Bryant, Jr. (Moderator)

  • ​Executive Director, Rainbow PUSH Coalition – Silicon Valley/Bay Area

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• Alex Mahadevan

  • Director,  MediaWise, Poynter Institute

Political Roundtable

October 19, 2022 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am EST

Redistricting: Mechanism to Hold Candidates Accountable.

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Voters are supposed to choose candidates. But when lawmakers draw district lines to entrench one party’s political power, some votes count more than others. This session brings together law makers, activists, and community leaders to discuss strategies needed to create solutions needed to guarantee free and independent redistricting commissions in every state and legal protections against extreme gerrymandering.

Panelists

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• Shelley Davis (Moderator)

  • Political Director, Rainbow PUSH Coalition

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• Cheri Beasley

  • Candidate for US Senate, North Carolina

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• Helen Butler

  • ​Executive Director, The People’s Agenda

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• Jaime Harrison

  • Chair, Democratic National Convention ​

Women’s Roundtable

October 19, 2022 | 11:45 am - 1:00 pm EST

Protecting Women’s Reproductive Rights.

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The Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs vs. Johnson case will inflict enormous harm on millions of people’s lives in every corner of the country. Moreover, people of color and low-income people will disproportionately feel the impact, as we have already seen in Texas where the Supreme Court has banned abortions since September. As a result of the Supreme Court decision, abortions could be immediately banned in over two dozen states and will be severely restricted in others. Those states that protect abortion rights and have providers that perform abortions will be inundated with pregnant women traveling from states with bans in place. This session will bring together stakeholders to discuss strategies and tactics to fight back against these attacks on women's rights

Panelists

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• Attorney Robert Patillo (Moderator)

  • Executive Director, Peachtree Street Project​

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• Marcela Howell

  • ​President/CEO, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda

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• Senator Nikki Merritt

  • ​Georgia 7th Senate District

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• Representative Kim Schofield

  • House District 60, Atlanta, Georgia

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Business and Corporate Roundtable

October 19, 2022 | 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm EST

Supporting Economic Recovery and Small Businesses

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The Small Business Roundtable (SBR) is a coalition of leading small business and entrepreneurship organizations. The SBR is dedicated to advancing the policy, securing access, and promoting inclusion to benefit the businesses at the heart of the American economy. In this session we will discuss how small businesses can weather the current economic storm and grow to new heights.

Panelists

• Jamie Pleasant, Ph.D. (Moderator)

  • Dean Graduate Education, Clark Atlanta University

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• Terri Dennison

  • Georgia District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration

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• Anna Henderson

  • President/CEO, HA Office 515, Inc.

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• Jervis B. Hough

  • Chief Operating Officer, Blaylock Van, LLC

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Day Two | October 20, 2022

Focus of the day: Black Farmers Town Hall, Housing Roundtable, and Criminal Justice Reform Roundtable

Greetings by John Graves

Chairman, Citizenship Education Fund

Black Farmers Town Hall

October 20, 2022 | 11:00 am - 12:15 pm EST

Historically Underserved Farmers of Color.

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How do we improve the quality of life for farmers of color?

Panelists

• Bobby Wilson (Moderator)

  • Metro Urban Atlanta Farm​

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• DeWayne Goldmon

  • Ph.D., Senior Advisor for Racial Equity, USDA

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• Olivia Richardson

  • Culinary Arts Department, Tri-Cities High School, East Point, GA

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• Phyllis E. Turner

  • Fulbright Scholar (Dakar, Senegal), Retired Veteran Educator & Pecan Farmer ​

Housing Roundtable

October 20, 2022 | 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm EST

Nationwide Mortgage Increase/Affordable Housing.

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A growing housing supply shortage is a key contributor to the housing affordability crisis. Following the Great Recession, the share of homes being built fell significantly, causing buyer demand to exceed housing production.

Panelists

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• Johnette Brown (Moderator)

  • Senior Director, Urban League Greater Atlanta​

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• Reverend William J. Boss, Ph.D.

  • Greater Faith Christian Center Church, Inc., Lakeland, FL.​

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• Bambie Hayes-Brown, PhD, Th.D.

  • ​President/CEO, Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc.

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• Maurice Coleman

  • LIHTC Syndicator Relationship Management Executive, BOA ​

Criminal Justice Reform Roundtable

October 20, 2022 | 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm EST

Nationwide Case Review for Unfair Sentencing

Sentencing disparity is defined as "a form of unequal treatment in criminal punishment that is often of unexplained cause and is at least incongruous, unfair and disadvantageous in consequence. In this session, we will cover the crisis of unfair and disproportionate sentences against minority communities and what strategies can be put in place to bring fairness and justice.

Panelists

• Attorney Gerald Griggs (Moderator)

  • President, Georgia State NAACP

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• Attorney Tricia “CK” Hoffler

  • CEO, The CK Hoffler Firm, Atlanta, GA.

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• Judge Cassandra Kirk

  • ​Chief Magistrate Judge, Fulton County.

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• Attorney Keith Lamar, Jr.

  • Managing Attorney, The Law Office of Keith Lamar, Jr., Keith Gammage, Solicitor General - Atlanta Judicial Circuit

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• Attorney Robert Patillo

  • Executive Director, Peachtree Street Project​

Day Three | October 21, 2022

Focus of the day: HBCU Roundtable

and International Roundtable

Greetings by Tavis Grant

Interim National Executive Director, Rainbow PUSH Coalition

HBCU Roundtable

October 21, 2022 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am EST

Entrepreneurship Preparation: From Side Hustle to CEO

If you started a side hustle which you plan to continue for the long haul, you need to transition from the bootstraps to business owner. This session will help you to professionalize and systematize your side hustle.

Panelists

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• Dr. Julianne Malveaux (Moderator)

  • President, PUSH Excel​

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• Dr. Larry Robinson

  • President, Florida A&M University 

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• Dr. Quinton Ross, Jr.,

  • President, Alabama State University

International Roundtable

October 21, 2022 | 11:45 am - 1:15 pm EST

The African Diaspora Forum

Transforming social engagement and economic impact in the digital age

Panelists

• Matilda Arhin (Moderator)

  • President, Ghana International Chamber of Commerce

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• Sam Cherribi

  • Professor, Emory University

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• Trice Kabundi

  • Congo, Managing Director, World 50​​

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• Derrick Kayongo Uganda

  • Former CEO, Center for Human and Civil Rights Professor 

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• Oliver Barker-Vormanwor

  • Ph.D. Research Student, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge-UK

Next Generation Leadership

October 21, 2022 | 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm EST

Conversation on Entrepreneurship

"The racial inequities that exist for many Black Americans and people of color are real and deeply rooted. These longstanding systemic challenges have too often prevented access to the benefits of economic growth and mobility for too many, and a broad and diverse group of Americans is demanding change.” This panel will discuss what systemic changes must be instituted to bring about long-standing change.

Panelists

• Mary-Pat Hector (Moderator)

  • Program Strategist, Rise, Inc.

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• Robel Ayele

  • CEO, Whatchooneed

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• Kamari Hill

  • CEO, GOAT Speaks 

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• Paris Johnson

  • CEO, Passionate Aroma Relaxed Individual Scrubs