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Act on Poverty was one of the largest-ever, simultaneous conversations devoted to reducing Virginia’s poverty rate and increasing economic opportunity for all. Click here to view the community colleges that participated in this effort.
Click here to view the Facilitator Survey Results
Click here to view the Facilitator Survey Results
Exploring Economic Opportunity For All Virginians
Virginia's Summit on Poverty and Economic Opportunity
Our goal is to bring together an unprecedented group of Virginia's thought leaders, who will help shape new strategies to reduce poverty and enhance economic opportunity for all citizens of the Commonwealth.
Our focus will be to develop strategies to reduce poverty in Virginia by addressing the key areas of: Asset Development, Enhancing Individual and Community Resilience, as well as Workforce Training and Education.
Our result will be a formal list of recommendations for reducing poverty in Virginia, with suggested action steps for local and state implementation. The plan will be presented to this Administration and the next, with advance consideration by Virginia's gubernatorial candidates.
Re-Thinking Poverty - Presentations
- Ron Haskins, Brookings
Presentation: Fighting Poverty and Promoting Economic Stability in Virginia (pdf, 222kb) - Michael Cassidy, Commonwealth Institute
Presentation: Virginia’s Poverty Overview (PowerPoint, 1.62Mb) - News & Research (Word, 235kb)
The Poverty Reduction Taskforce is comprised of thought leaders who bring a network of ideas and resources to the initiative. They are:
Asset Development
- Jeff Anderson, Virginia Economic Development Partnership
- Kimberly Edmonds, Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Richard Grattan, Wachovia Bank
- Celia Hayhoe, Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Delegate Jennifer L. McClellan
- Dr. Robert Schneider, AARP
- Marsha Shuler, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
- T.K. Somanath, Better Housing Coalition
- Julie Stanley, Community Integration for People with Disabilities
Individual & Community Resilience
- Dr. Erik Beecroft, Virginia Department of Social Services
- Anthony Conyers Jr., Virginia Department of Social Services
- Trisha Ferrell, United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg
- Jill Hanken, Virginia Poverty Law Center
- Kelly Harris-Braxton, Virginia First Cities
- Michelle Larkin, State Board of Social Services
- Dr. Jason Levy, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Jim Schuyler, Virginia Community Action Partnership
- Senator John Watkins
Workforce Training & Education
- Peter Blake, Virginia Community College System
- Katherine Busser, Capital One
- Brian Davis, Workforce Systems, Office of the Governor
- Delegate David L. Englin
- Lyn Hammond, Secretary of Commerce & Trade
- Scott Hippert, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
- John Morgan, Voices for Virginia’s Children
- Jim Rothrock, Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
- Roberta Schlicher, Virginia Department of Education
Co-Chairs: Robert J. Grey and Marilyn B. Tavenner