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Wednesday, October
25, 2006
Panel Discussion -
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Eliminating Poverty in the Commonwealth
Matthew Brouillette, president, Commonwealth Foundation
Donna Cooper, secretary, Governor's Office of Policy & Planning
Steve Herzenberg, executive director, Keystone Research Center
Margy Waller, director, Center for Community Change
In the mid-1960's, our nation took focused action to reduce
poverty with the development of a series of social policies
and programs. The poverty rate saw some dramatic reductions
due to this action, but since that time has continued to hover
around the 13 percent mark. Ten years ago, the nation once
again took dramatic steps and implemented Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) to reshape federal and state welfare
policies. Where are we now? What progress has been made to
move more people into mainstream society and above the poverty
line? Poverty effects economic development, local businesses,
housing, crime, homelessness, education and healthcare. Are
resources of local and state government, charitable organizations
and Community Action Agencies at their limits? It is crucial
that anti-poverty public policy be developed with an understanding
of the root causes of poverty, not just the symptoms. To be
effective, this must occur with input and involvement of the
broadest stakeholders.
Our panelist will discuss these issues from their varying
perspectives and answer questions such as: What is the responsibility
of local and state government? How do social service agencies,
charitable organizations and Community Action Agencies work
together to advance services and public policy to eliminate
poverty? How can groups with differing approaches collectively
come to support this common goal and succeed?
The panel will examine the relationship of our current welfare
policies to the goal of reducing and eliminating poverty in
Pennsylvania and share their views on how efforts can be coordinated
to reduce poverty.
Matthew Brouilette is president
and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, an independent,
non-profit public policy research and educational organization
located in Harrisburg. The Commonwealth Foundation is
dedicated to advancing state-level public policies based
on the principles of limited government, economic freedom,
and personal responsibility. Matt is a board member of
the REACH Alliance, a Pennsylvania school choice advocacy
organization, and the Joshua Group, a Harrisburg nonprofit
serving at risk youth. He also serves on an advisory council
of the E. G. West Centre for Market Solutions in Education
at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in England, and
is on an advisory committee for the New York City-based
Atlantic Legal Foundation. Matt is also an advisory board
member for the American Academy for Liberal Education
in Washington, D.C., a national organization dedicated
to strengthening and promoting liberal education through
accreditation and research. Matt received his undergraduate
degree in both U.S. History and Education from Cornell
College and earned two post-graduate degrees from Azusa
Pacific University and the University of San Diego. He
is currently working on his Ph.D. in Public Policy and
Administration at Walden University.
Donna Cooper serves as Secretary
of the Governor’s Office of Policy and Planning.
The Office of Policy and Planning coordinates program
planning and policy development among the executive branch
agencies and works closely with the Governor's Budget,
Legislative and Washington offices to ensure that federal
and state policy options are thoroughly examined for their
fiscal, legislative and programmatic consequences.
Donna Cooper most recently served as the Executive Director
of Good Schools Pennsylvania, a public education advocacy
organization. Cooper served as Deputy Mayor for Policy
and Planning in the Rendell administration, advising the
then-Mayor on all aspects of city policy and had been
the Executive Director for the Mator's Office of Community
Services, the Community Action Agency for the city of
Philadelphia.
Stephen Herzenberg is the
Executive Director of the Keystone Research Center and
holds a Ph.D. in economics from Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. He has published widely on economic and
labor market issues, including works on the auto industry,
international labor standards, the organization of work,
workforce and economic development, the rise of the postindustrial,
service economy and suburban sprawl. Herzenberg’s
work on Pennsylvania issues include a report on workforce
development commissioned by former Governor Schweiker
and now helping to shape the workforce policies of the
Rendell Administration; and a background report for the
Brookings Institution Back to Prosperity report, Economic
Development Subsidies in Pennsylvania: Do They Fuel Sprawl?
Before joining the Keystone Research Center, Herzenberg
taught briefly at Rutgers University and worked at the U.
S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and the
U. S. Department of Labor. While at Labor, he served as
assistant to the chief negotiator of the labor side agreement
to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Margy Waller
is director of The Mobility Agenda, a project
of the Center for Community Change in Washington
DC. Previously she was Visiting Fellow at
the Brookings Institution, with a joint appointment
in the Economic Studies and Metropolitan Policy
programs. Prior to going to Brookings, she
was Senior Advisor for Welfare and Working
Families at the White House Domestic Policy
Council in the Clinton Administration.
Waller was a Senior Fellow for Social Policy and
Director of the Working Families Project at the
Progressive Policy Institute. She also served as
Director of Public Policy at United Way of America,
and Director of Policy Development at Public/Private
Ventures in Philadelphia. In addition, she was a
congressional fellow on welfare policy in the 103rd
Congress.
Waller has written extensively
on low-wage work and transportation issues, with a
particular focus on access to private vehicle transportation
options.
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