Meet our Plenary Speakers!
Meet our Plenary Speakers! Friday, March 2, 2018 Mark Ridley Thomas Since he was overwhelmingly elected in 2008, and reelected in 2012 and 2016 to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Mark Ridley-Thomas has distinguished himself as an effective leader for more than two million Second District residents. He is a board member of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and LA Care, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan. Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas served the 26th District in the California State Senate, where he chaired the Senate’s Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development. While in the Senate, he served as Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus in 2008 and led the Caucus in unprecedented levels of cooperation and collaboration with counterparts in the Latino and Asian-Pacific Islander Legislative Caucuses. Mark Ridley-Thomas was first elected to public office in 1991 and served with distinction on the Los Angeles City Council for nearly a dozen years, departing as Council President pro Tempore. He later served two terms in the California State Assembly, where he chaired the Jobs, Economic Development, and Economy Committee and served the Assembly Democratic Caucus. His legislative work addressed a broad range of issues with implications for economic and workforce development, health care, public safety, education, budget accountability, consumer protection and civic participation. The Supervisor graduated from Manual Arts High School (Class of 1972) and then earned BA and MA degrees along with secondary and adult education credentials from Immaculate Heart College. Supervisor Ridley-Thomas went on to receive his Ph.D. in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California focusing on Social Criticism and Social Change.
Richard Rothstein Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and a fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and of the Haas Institute at the University of California (Berkeley). He is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America, available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. The book recovers a forgotten history of how federal, state, and local policy explicitly segregated metropolitan areas nationwide, creating racially homogenous neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation. He is also the author of Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right (2008); Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap (2004); and The Way We Were? Myths and Realities of America’s Student Achievement (1998). Other recent books include The Charter School Dust-Up: Examining the Evidence on Enrollment and Achievement (co-authored in 2005); and All Else Equal: Are Public and Private Schools Different? (co-authored in 2003). Amanda Andere Amanda Andere has spent over fifteen years working in the nonprofit and public sector as a leader committed to addressing social justice, economic opportunity, and security through advocacy for systemic change. Prior to joining Funders Together to End Homelessness as their CEO, she served as the CEO of Wider Opportunities for Women, a national advocacy organization. Currently, she serves as a board member of the United Philanthropy Forum and the James Madison Political Science Alumni Board, as well as on the steering committing for The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding. Previously she served as an adjunct professor at George Mason University teaching Nonprofit Management, Executive Director of FACETS and Vice President of Cornerstones; who have similar missions of preventing and ending homelessness as well as breaking the cycle of poverty. In the past Amanda has served the community in the following capacities; board member of the National Council of Women's Organizations, Reston Association, Nonprofit Roundtable, Take Heart Kenya, and Fairfax County Alliance for Human Services. As well as program committee member/coach for Leadership Fairfax. She is a graduate of the 2008 Leadership Fairfax Class and 2009 Nonprofit Roundtable Future Executive Director Fellowship. Amanda is an ordained Deacon at Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church. In 2012, Amanda was honored by Northern Virginia Magazine as Northern Virginian of the Year and by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce as Emerging Influential of the Year. In 2013, she was honored as Best of Reston, Lady Fairfax, and the Smart CEO Brava Award.
Matthew Doherty Matthew has 25 years of leadership in both the private and public sectors, focused on the creation and integration of housing, services programs, and economic opportunities for communities and households. Prior to becoming USICH’s Executive Director, Matthew served as Director of National Initiatives, guiding the agency’s work with state and local partners for the implementation of Opening Doors. Matthew has held leadership positions at the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the San Diego Housing Commission, and the King County Housing Authority in Washington State, and has also served as a consultant to local agencies across the country. He ensures that such community-based perspectives inform federal actions to support and drive progress across the country. Matthew has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Washington.
Richard Rothstein Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and a fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and of the Haas Institute at the University of California (Berkeley). He is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America, available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. The book recovers a forgotten history of how federal, state, and local policy explicitly segregated metropolitan areas nationwide, creating racially homogenous neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation. He is also the author of Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right (2008); Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap (2004); and The Way We Were? Myths and Realities of America’s Student Achievement (1998). Other recent books include The Charter School Dust-Up: Examining the Evidence on Enrollment and Achievement (co-authored in 2005); and All Else Equal: Are Public and Private Schools Different? (co-authored in 2003). Amanda Andere Amanda Andere has spent over fifteen years working in the nonprofit and public sector as a leader committed to addressing social justice, economic opportunity, and security through advocacy for systemic change. Prior to joining Funders Together to End Homelessness as their CEO, she served as the CEO of Wider Opportunities for Women, a national advocacy organization. Currently, she serves as a board member of the United Philanthropy Forum and the James Madison Political Science Alumni Board, as well as on the steering committing for The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding. Previously she served as an adjunct professor at George Mason University teaching Nonprofit Management, Executive Director of FACETS and Vice President of Cornerstones; who have similar missions of preventing and ending homelessness as well as breaking the cycle of poverty. In the past Amanda has served the community in the following capacities; board member of the National Council of Women's Organizations, Reston Association, Nonprofit Roundtable, Take Heart Kenya, and Fairfax County Alliance for Human Services. As well as program committee member/coach for Leadership Fairfax. She is a graduate of the 2008 Leadership Fairfax Class and 2009 Nonprofit Roundtable Future Executive Director Fellowship. Amanda is an ordained Deacon at Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church. In 2012, Amanda was honored by Northern Virginia Magazine as Northern Virginian of the Year and by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce as Emerging Influential of the Year. In 2013, she was honored as Best of Reston, Lady Fairfax, and the Smart CEO Brava Award.
Matthew Doherty Matthew has 25 years of leadership in both the private and public sectors, focused on the creation and integration of housing, services programs, and economic opportunities for communities and households. Prior to becoming USICH’s Executive Director, Matthew served as Director of National Initiatives, guiding the agency’s work with state and local partners for the implementation of Opening Doors. Matthew has held leadership positions at the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the San Diego Housing Commission, and the King County Housing Authority in Washington State, and has also served as a consultant to local agencies across the country. He ensures that such community-based perspectives inform federal actions to support and drive progress across the country. Matthew has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Washington.
