Speakers
Marc H. Morial
Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League since 2003, has helped catapult the nation’s oldest, direct-service, civil rights organization into the forefront of this country’s economic-empowerment agenda. Leading the charge on major public policy issues, research and effective community-based solutions, the National Urban League and its 100 affiliates continue to fight for equal opportunity for all Americans.
Upon his appointment to the League, Mr. Morial established an ambitious five-point empowerment agenda encompassing Education & Youth, Economic Empowerment, Health & Quality of Life, Civic Engagement and Civil Rights & Racial Justice that informs the League's programs, research and advocacy efforts. He created the quantitative "Equality Index" designed to effectively measure the disparities in urban communities across these five areas.
In 2004, Mr. Morial launched the League's first Annual Legislative Policy Conference (LPC) in Washington, D.C. He also established the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership (UEP), combining public and private sector resources to support business development growth among minority entrepreneurs. Also under his direction, the League established the Opportunity Compact – an economic blueprint for policy makers, politicians, community leaders and others to follow as they work to provide African Americans with an equal opportunity to Thrive, Earn, Own and Prosper.
Prior to joining National Urban League, Mr. Morial served two distinguished four-year terms as Mayor of New Orleans (1994-2002), prior to which he served as a Louisiana State Senator for two years. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Reverend Jennifer Kottler
Reverend Jennifer Kottler currently serves as the Campaign Director of Illinois Works for the Future, a campaign of the Chicago Jobs Council, the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. The purpose of the campaign is to integrate community development and workforce development to increase the effectiveness of both in fighting poverty in under-resourced communities. She has served as the Executive Director of the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, a campaign that has worked since 2004 to raise the minimum wage to the level of a living wage. Additionally, Jennifer is the former Deputy Director of Protestants for the Common Good in Chicago, and has worked at the city, state and federal level for strong public policies that will move our society toward racial, social, gender and economic justice. An experienced organizer and lobbyist, Rev. Kottler received her M.Div. from the Divinity School of The University of Chicago in June 2003 and is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
As a widely sought after speaker and consultant, Rev. Kottler has served as a trainer for Wellstone Action, Sojourners, and the Willow Creek Association. She also serves as the Senior Advisor for Domestic Poverty for the Disciples Center for Public Witness in Washington, DC. She has spoken and preached at numerous conferences, in congregational settings, and at other events across the U.S. and throughout the world.
Prior to this work, Rev. Kottler held chaplain and pastoral internships in Illinois and North Carolina during her theological studies. Rev. Kottler served as teacher, vocational rehabilitation counselor and case manager for persons with disabilities in Fairfax County, Virginia for 10 years, having earned an M.A. in Special Education from the George Washington University in 1995. She has a B.A. from Bethany College (WV) with a major in psychology. Her passion is working on issues that impact low-income women and children.
Moderators
Jeanine P. Donaldson
Jeanine P. Donaldson (OC ’75?) Executive Director of the YWCA in Elyria, recently received the National Sojourner Truth Award for her outstanding work in the area of social justice. She presently serves also as a trustee of Lorain County Health Partners. Donaldson was elected to the Lorain Board of Education over a twelve year period and served as President for three terms. She is past chairperson of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the first female chairperson in the history of that agency. She has served on many boards and commissions such as the Lorain County Urban League, Lorain County Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Board, and the City of Lorain Fair Housing Board. She is married to Larry Donaldson and has two adult children, Mallory and Ethan.
G. Michael Payton
G. Michael Payton has been Executive Director of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) since July 2001. He is presently overseeing redesign of the OCRC’s investigative techniques and procedure through an historic labor-management grant. Mr. Payton previously served as Chief Legal Counsel and Director of Regional Operations for the Commission from 1997 to 2000 and before that as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio for 11 years from 1984 to 1995. In addition, he served as Assistant Chief of the Attorney General’s Transportation Section where he conducted litigation as a defense counsel in a variety of areas including employment law for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
The OCRC is a state agency that investigates and enforces Ohio Civil Rights Act prohibitions against discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing, and other areas. The OCRC also provides education and outreach throughout Ohio.