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JOSH BURCH
Neighbors United for DC Statehood
Josh Burch is a native Washingtonian who was raised in the Brookland neighborhood of NE DC where he presently lives with his wife and two children. After graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in public and urban affairs, Josh served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, West Africa for two years. Upon his return to the District, Josh worked for several small non-profits where he led job training, leadership development, and environmental stewardship activities for out-of-school young people in underserved communities. Josh presently works in the environmental protection field to restore waterways in the District. Josh co-founded a citizen group, Neighbors United for DC Statehood, which focuses on organizing citizens of the District and the country to create a sustained grassroots movement which will bring statehood to fruition.
MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 2:05 pm - 2:55 pm
Mobilizing for Action in The District of Columbia and the Nation—When, How and With What
Constitution Hall
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EDGAR CAHN
Professor of Law, University of District of Columbia
Professor Cahn teaches Law and Justice, and directs the Community Service Program. A co-founder with his late wife Jean Camper Cahn of the Antioch School of Law, UDC-DCSL’s predecessor; the first law school in the United States to educate law students primarily through clinical training in legal services to the poor.
In an effort to involve communities in promoting systems of self-help in the late 1980s, Professor Cahn began the Time Dollars project, a service credit program that now has more than 70 communities in the United States, Great Britain and Japan with registered programs (
http://www.timebanks.org). His use of “time dollars” as an economic strategy for addressing social problems is described in his books, Time Dollars (1992) and No More Throw-Away People: The Coproduction Imperative (2004), showing how to mobilize a non-market economy that recognizes and rewards reciprocal contributions of service and caring.
http://www.law.udc.edu/?ECahnMY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 10:00 am - 10:20 am
Building Community through Bartering Time Dollars
Constitution Hall
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BETSY CAVENDISH
DC General Counsel
Elizabeth (Betsy) Cavendish is the General Counsel to the Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser, where she has worked on both budget autonomy issues as well as Statehood. She has a background in field organizing, law, and policy. She was the president of the Appleseed Foundation from 2007 to the end of 2014. She served as interim president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, an American pro-choice advocacy group, during the 2004 electoral cycle, and previously, she served as NARAL’s legal director and on the staff of the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department under Attorney General Janet Reno, as well as in the Civil Frauds section of DOJ. Cavendish has worked in all three branches of government and in academia. She was an assistant professor of law at the University of Illinois College of Law. Cavendish was a law clerk for Judge Gerhard Gesell on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on United States v. Oliver North. She graduated summa cum laude from Yale University and also earned her law degree at Yale.
http://mayor.dc.gov/MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 3:45 pm - 4:15 pm
The Best DC Constitution, The US Constitution and DC Statehood
Constitution Hall
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LAURA CHRISTIAN
Auto Safety Advocate
Laura, a former government consumer advocate, became a voice for victims of automobile safety defects after her birth daughter Amber Marie Rose died in 2005 when the airbags in her Chevy Cobalt failed to deploy. Amber’s death was one the first of at least 174 deaths linked to series of accidents (and subsequent deaths) due to a faulty ignition switch in General Motors’ vehicles. General Motors failed to protect drivers and passengers, yet were let off with nothing more than a fine and some meaningless oversight penalties – setting a terrible safety precedent for the auto industry in this country.
Laura, through GM Recall Survivors, works to change how the auto industry operates to ensure safety problems are never swept under the rug again by creating greater consumer protections on a federal and state level. The group had its first legislative victory this past year in Maryland and will be working with advocates in other states to promote policy changes.
MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 11:00 am - 11:40 am
Plantiffs for Justice
Constitution Hall
JOAN CLAYBROOKPresident Emeritus, Public Citizen
Joan Claybrook is an American lawyer who served as President of Public Citizen from 1982 until December 9, 2008. Previously, she was head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the Carter administration from 1977 to 1981.
While working in Washington, she met Ralph Nader, and the two became close friends as they both worked on improving highway and auto safety. In 1966, she teamed up with Nader to successfully lobby for passage of the nation’s first auto safety laws – the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the Highway Safety Act. These acts empowered the government to establish safety standards for new vehicles and issue recalls for defective vehicles and parts.
Prior to her time with NHTSA, Claybrook ran Congress Watch, worked for the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), the National Traffic Safety Bureau, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973 and currently serves on its Board of Visitors. She also holds positions on the boards of Consumers Union, Citizens for Tax Justice, Trial lawyers for Public Justice, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Goucher College Board of Trustees, and the California Wellness Foundation Advisory Board.
http://www.shesource.org/experts/profile/joan-claybrookMY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 11:40 am - 12:00 pm
How Professions Can Advance the Public Interest
Constitution Hall
SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 10:10 am - 10:30 am
How Congress Really Works Carnegie Institution of Washington
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JEFFREY CLEMENTS
President of American Promise and co-founder of Free Speech for People
Jeff Clements is president of American Promise and co-founder of Free Speech for People. He works with Americans all over the country for a 28th Amendment to secure the American Promise: Constitutional rights for all human beings; voting rights and representation as equal citizens; and our responsibility for effective self-government. He is the author of Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy From Big Money And Global Corporations, and his articles and opinion pieces have appeared widely (US News & World Report, The Hill, The Boston Globe, Fox News, American Constitution Society, Salon, among others). Jeff also is president of Whaleback Partners, LLC, which invests in entrepreneurial businesses building a sustainable local food economy. Previously an Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Public Protection Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Jeff led more than 100 staff in the enforcement of environmental, healthcare, financial services, civil rights, antitrust and consumer protection laws. Jeff graduated with distinction in History and Government from Colby College, and magna cum laude from the Cornell Law School.
https://corporationsarenotpeople.com/jeff-clements/MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 11:10 am - 11:30 am
The Perils of Corporate Personhood
Carnegie Institution of Washington
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LLOYD CONSTANTINE
Attorney
Lloyd Constantine is the Counsel of Constantine Cannon LLP, a commercial litigation firm in New York , Washington, D.C. and London with an internationally acclaimed antitrust practice. Lloyd was Senior Advisor to the Governor of New York from January 2007 until April 2008. Lloyd was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the landmark Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation, which resulted in a $3.4 billion monetary settlement and an historic injunction, which the court valued as providing upwards of $87 billion in benefit for U.S. merchants and consumers. Lloyd is the author of two books: PRICELESS: The Case That Brought Down The Visa/MasterCard Bank Cartel, and JOURNAL OF THE PLAGUE YEAR: An Insider’s Chronicle Of Eliot Spitzer’s Short And Tragic Reign. Both books were published by Kaplan, 2009 and 2010 and by Skyhorse in revised paperbacks, 2012. He is a frequent contributor to numerous newspapers and periodicals and a regular contributor of legal, political and social commentary to Hearst’s Albany Times Union. Lloyd received his undergraduate degree from Williams College and his J.D. from Columbia Law.
MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
A New Approach to Mobilize Shareholders—the Penny Brigade
Carnegie Institution of Washington
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JOHN CONYERS, JR.
Congressman
Congressman John Conyers, Jr. represents Michigan’s 13th Congressional District which encompasses the Detroit metropolitan area. In 2014, Congressman Conyers was elected to his 26th consecutive term, making him the the first African-American to hold the distinction as Dean (most senior member) of Congress.
Congressman Conyers is the current Ranking Member and a former chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary . Previously, he served as Chair of the Committee on Government Operations (now the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform). Congressman Conyers is a Founding Member and Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus.
In Congressman Conyers’ 50 years of public service, he has been a major proponent of more than 100 pieces of critical legislation including the original Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the Motor Voter Bill of 1993, the Alcohol Warning Label Act of 1988, and the Jazz Preservation Act of 1987. Congressman Conyers was also the driving force behind the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
On April 8, 1968, four days after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. passed away, Congressman Conyers introduced the original Martin Luther King Holiday Act of 1983. After 15 years, the bill would eventually pass into law, making the third Monday of January as an official Federal holiday.
Congressman Conyers, born in Detroit, MI, attended Northwestern High School. Upon graduation, he matriculted to Wayne State University for his undergraduate and legal studies. Congressman Conyers served in the National Guard and the United States Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean War. Congressman Conyers is married to Monica, and they have two sons John III and Carl Edward.
MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 4:15 pm - 4:45 pm
Making Statehood a Presidential Priority—Mobilizing for Statehood Nationwide
Constitution Hall
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HARRY DEITZLER
Attorney
Harry Deitzler has been a practicing attorney since 1976. For the past 25 years he has been a partner in the Charleston, West Virginia law firm Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler, PLLC. Mr. Deitzler previously served as president of the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys’ Association, president of the West Virginia State Bar, and president of Public Justice. In 2001 he founded and funded the Deitzler Foundation, Inc, a 501(c)(3) charitable family foundation.
Mr. Deitzler and his co-counsel were recognized as “Trial Lawyers of the Year” by Public Justice for work in a precedent setting case involving recovery for victims of DuPont Corporation’s perfluorooctanoic acid (C8) groundwater pollution in areas surrounding Parkersburg, West Virginia. The class action settlement immediately resulted in cleanup of six community water systems and the creation of a comprehensive medically verified community health study which gathered medical histories and blood samples from nearly 70,000 affected residents. The data from that study revealed that DuPont and other corporate giants were effectively poisoning the world. Toxic C8 is now in the blood of virtually every human being on the planet.
MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 2:10 pm - 2:50 pm
Trial Lawyers for Justice
Constitution Hall
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ANDRE DELATTRE
Executive Director, U.S. PIRG
Andre Delattre is Executive Director of U.S. PIRG and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, and the National Campus Director for the Student PIRGs. He oversees all aspects of the PIRGs’ programs, including program implementation and administration.
Prior to becoming the U.S. PIRG Executive Director in 2007, Mr. Delattre was the National Campus Director for the Student PIRGs. During his tenure, the campus program grew in both scope and impact. Ninety staff currently work with more than 1200 student interns and 12,500 volunteers on more than 100 campuses. Since 1997, the PIRGs have added new chapters at nine new campuses, increased funding for the program through student membership dues, and attracted grant support from such foundations as The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Open Society Institute.
Mr. Delattre has also played an integral role in training and working with new staff for the organization. Among them: Dave Rosenfeld, who started with MASSPIRG in 1995 and now serves as executive director of OSPIRG; Allison Cairo, who started with Massachusetts Community Water Watch, worked as the executive director of NJPIRG, and now serves as deputy director of USPIRG; Sarah Bennett, who started with NJPIRG and is now the Recruitment and Training director for Corporate Accountability International; Kathleen Barr, who started with the Student PIRGs’ Hunger campaign, was the Campaigns Director for MoveOn.org, and is currently the Chief of Staff for UltraViolet; and Tiernan Sittenfeld, legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters.
Mr. Delattre is a 1989 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. While attending the school, he volunteered with CALPIRG and was elected chair of CALPIRG’s student board of directors in 1986.
MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 9:20 am - 9:40 am
Empowering Students
Constitution Hall
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JOANNE DOROSHOW
President and Executive Director of the Center for Justice & Democracy, New York Law School
Joanne Doroshow is President and Executive Director of the Center for Justice & Democracy at New York Law School, which she is an Adjunct Professor of Law. CJ&D is the only consumer organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to fighting attacks on the civil justice system. She is also co-founder of Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR), a coalition of 100 consumer groups from around the country working to strengthen oversight of liability insurance industry practices.
Joanne is an attorney who has worked on civil justice issues since 1986, when she first directed a project for Ralph Nader on liability and the insurance industry. In that capacity, she developed some of the first educational materials used to fight tort reform around the country. At CJ&D, Joanne has written or co-authored several major CJ&D studies, including Premium Deceit: The Failure of “Tort Reform” to Cut Insurance Prices, The CALA Files: The Secret Campaign by Big Tobacco and Other Major Industries to Take Away Your Rights, Repeat Offenders: How the Insurance Industry Manufactures Crises and Harms America, The Racial Implications of Tort Reform (25 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol’y 161, 2007), Tort Litigation and Juries: By the Numbers, and Medical Malpractice: By the Numbers. She also edited Lifesavers: CJ&D’s Guide to Protect Us All, and co-wrote numerous other CJ&D studies and White Papers. She has testified many times before Congress and state legislatures.
Joanne is the recipient of the AAJ Partnership Award, 2016; the Distinguished Service Award, Kansas Association for Justice, 2012; Consumer Advocate of the Year, Consumer Attorneys of California, 2009; Esther Weissman Award, Worker Injury Law and Advocacy Group, 2008; Consumer Education Award, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, 2005; Certificate of Recognition, California State Assembly, 2005; Consumer Advocacy Award, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, 2003; Consumer Advocate of the Year, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC, 2003; and the Hoosier Freedom Award, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, 2000.
Joanne was a member of the New York State Medical Liability Advisory Task Force in 2007. In 1991, Joanne was a member of the Steering Committee of the Brookings Institute/American Bar Association’s Advisory Committee on the Future of the Civil Jury, and was an invited participant in the American Judicature Society’s Conference on the Future of the American Jury System in 1999. She was also selected by the Stern Family Fund as the Public Interest Pioneer for 1999, and honor that was accompanied by two $100,000 grants.
Joanne has extensive film and television experience, as well. She was an Associate Producer of the highest grossing documentary in history, Fahrenheit 9/11, winner of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival Palme D’or. She was also Associate Producer of the 2007 Oscar-nominated documentary, Sicko. And she was a producer of The Panama Deception, which won the 1993 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. She has worked on the theatrical, broadcast and video distribution of this and other films. In 1994 and 1995, she was Coordinating Producer and a segment producer for TV Nation, the Emmy Award-winning humorous political magazine show with Michael Moore.
THE AGENDA FOR ADVANCING JUSTICE
SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 4:50 pm - 5:10 pm
The Agenda for Advancing Justice
Constitution Hall
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JULIAN DOTSON
President and CEO, D.C. Urban Debate league
Julian Dotson is the President and CEO of the D.C. Urban Debate league; he coaches several debate teams in the public and private schools in the DC area. He taught English and Debate for 14 years until he fully devoted his time to expanding the debate league in the Metropolitan region. He is a screenwriter, graphic designer, lyricist and poet, and avid fisherman who loves to tackle tough ideas and approach education with a world view. This Jack of All trades credits his father for forcing him to do what it takes to be self sufficient, his mother for teaching him how to honor his wife, and his wife of 12 years, Rana Dotson for seeing the good in the human spirit. He has three children, Isaiah, Caleb and Jaina, who all attend the Maya Angelou French Immersion School in Temple Hills, Maryland.
http://www.dcudl.org/MY SESSIONS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 2:40 pm - 3:20 pm
Teaching Civics—A View from the Classroom
Carnegie Institution of Washington
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