White House Lauds Institute's 'Chorus for Change'
By Patrick Barry
Published: April 24, 2010
The White House Office of Urban Affairs offered a warm welcome to the Institute for Comprehensive Community Development in an April 23 post on the White House Blogs titled "Community Development Voices Form a Chorus for Change."
The post by Alaina Beverly, Associate Director for the White House Office of Urban Affairs, referenced the Institute's formal debut on April 20, when 150 practitioners and urban policy leaders gathered at the Capital Hilton in Washington to discuss the role of the Institute and how it can work with the Federal government, foundations, neighborhoods and researchers.
"The timing for this collaborative effort could not be better," the post said. "As the White House Office of Urban Affairs works alongside the Domestic Policy Council to create comprehensive federal programming that will support sustainable planning and integrated initiatives at the local and regional level, who better to learn from than the community drivers who have a proven track record of creating resilient, vibrant and inclusive communities?"
The Institute's inaugural featured five speakers from the Obama administration:
- Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement;
- Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Director, White House Office of Urban Affairs;
- Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President, White House Domestic Policy Council;
- Xavier Briggs, Associate Director for General Government Programs, Office of Management and Budget; and
- Erika Poethig, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Jarrett gave a warm welcome to the Institute in a keynote address, saying that the Obama administration "couldn't be more committed to this effort" because it will provide "a laboratory where we can highlight best practices and actually teach and focus on the skills of community development.”
She traced her own history in Chicago where she worked on comprehensive efforts as chief of staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley and then as a member of the boards of advisors for LISC/Chicago and national LISC.
View a shorter version here.
More on the inaugural will be posted soon.
Posted in Notes from the Field