Andrea Batista Schlesinger - Andrea Batista Schlesinger has led the effort to turn the Drum Major Institute since 2002, originally founded by an advisor to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, into a progressive policy institute with national impact. Under Andrea's leadership as Executive Director, DMI has released several important policy papers to national audiences including: Middle Class 2004: How Congress Voted, People and Politics in America's Big Cities, and From Governance to Accountability: Building Relationships that Make Schools Work.
Andrea studied public policy at the University of Chicago. Andrea has worked in various capacities to promote educational equity and youth empowerment. She directed a national campaign to engage college students in the discussion on the future of Social Security for the Pew Charitable Trusts, and served as Director of Public Relations of Teach For America before working as the education advisor to Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.
Andrea has been profiled in the New York Times, New Yorker magazine, Latina Magazine and in 'Hear us Now,' an award-winning documentary about her tenure as the student member of the New York City Board of Education. She has been published in Alternet.org, New York Newsday, New York Sun, and City Limits magazine.
Daniel Cantor - Daniel Cantor is the executive director of the Working Families Party of New York.
Adrian M. Fenty - Adrian M. Fenty is the sixth and current mayor of the District of Columbia, having begun his term of office on January 2, 2007.
Fenty is the youngest person ever to hold the office, and, at 35, was the youngest elected mayor of a major American city.
Shirley Clarke Franklin - Shirley Clarke Franklin is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and, since January 7, 2002, the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. The 58th mayor of Atlanta, she was the first female to hold the post and became the first black woman to be elected mayor of any major Southern city. Franklin is the fourth black mayor of Atlanta, the latest in a line of African American mayors that stretches back to 1974.
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Franklin received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Howard University, and earned her master of arts degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is an Honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Ester Fuchs - Professor Fuchs's main research interests are in the areas of urban politics and policy, including fiscal policy, New York City politics, work force development and community building, youth development and social welfare policy, American government and policy, political parties and elections, and statistical analysis.
Professor Fuchs received a BA from Queens College, an MA from Brown University, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago. She has also taught at Barnard College and the University of Notre Dame. She was Younding Director of Columbia University Center for Urban Research and Policy and Chair of the Barnard Columbia College Urban Studies Program.
Nicole Gelinas - Nicole Gelinas is the Searle Freedom Trust Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. Gelinas writes on urban economics and finance, municipal and corporate finance, business issues, and crime. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a member of the New York Society of Securities Analysts.
Gelinas has published analysis and opinion pieces on the op-ed pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union Tribune, the New York Sun, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the Dallas Morning News, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and the Boston Herald. She has also written for Crain's New York Business and National Review Online.
Brian Lehrer - Brian Lehrer is a radio talk show host on New York City's public radio station WNYC. His daily two-hour program, The Brian Lehrer Show, features interviews with newsmakers and experts about current events and social issues. Lehrer was formerly an anchor and reporter for NBC Radio Networks, and has been in broadcast journalism for more than 20 years.
Lehrer obtained B.A.'s in Music and Mass Communications from the State University of New York at Albany. He holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a masters degree in Journalism from Ohio State University.
Thomas R. Suozzi - Thomas R. Suozzi is the county executive of Nassau County, New York. He was first elected to the post of county executive in 2001, the first Democratic county executive since Eugene Nickerson left office in 1971. He ran unsuccessfully against Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination for the race to be Governor of New York in 2006.
The grandson of Italian immigrants, Tom Suozzi was born and raised in Glen Cove, New York, one of five siblings, and graduated from all Roman Catholic schools: Chaminade High School, Boston College, and Fordham University School of Law.
Dennis M. Walcott - Dennis M. Walcott is the Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development. In that capacity, he oversees and coordinates the operations of the Department of Education and the Department of Youth and Community Development, as well as maintains liaison with and reviews the activities of the New York City School Construction Authority, City University of New York, City University Construction Fund and the New York City Housing Authority. Walcott is also responsible for maintaining liaison with community-based organizations citywide and coordinating policies concerning youth programs and adult education. He serves as Co-Chair of the Mayors Commission for Construction Opportunity. A product of the New York City public school system, Walcott received a Masters of Social Work from Fordham University and a Masters of Education from the University of Bridgeport.
Urban Conversations: Strengthening the Middle Class with Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington, DC; Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta; Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi; New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and others.