Diane Baillargeon - Diane Baillargeon succeeded founder William J. Grinker as President and CEO of Seedco (the Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation) in September 2003. As President and CEO, Baillargeon oversees day-to-day operations, directs a staff of 200 based in four states and manages a $26 million annual operating budget. Formerly Executive Vice President, she is also Chief Operating Officer and Chair (respectively) of Seedco subsidiaries the Non-Profit Assistance Corporation (N-PAC) and the EarnFairSM, LLC and an ex-officio Member of Seedco's Board of Directors.
Jonathan Capehart - Jonathan Capehart is an editorial writer for The Post, specializing in national politics and environmental issues.
Capehart joined the editorial board in 2007. Prior to joining The Post, he was a member of the New York Daily News editorial board from 1993 to 2000. He then became National Affairs Columnist for Bloomberg News from 2000 to 2001, and left to work as a policy adviser to Michael Bloomberg in his successful campaign for Mayor of New York City. He returned to the Daily News as deputy editor of the editorial page from 2002 to 2005.
Capehart and the Daily News editorial board won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for their editorial series on the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
David R. Jones - David R. Jones has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Service Society of New York since 1986. Prior to joining CSS, Mr. Jones served as Executive Director of the New York City Youth Bureau, and from 1979 to 1983, as Special Advisor to Mayor Koch. Mr. Jones was a member of the transition committee of New York's mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg and was recently appointed by the mayor to the Commission for Economic Opportunity, a task force to confront poverty and unemployment. He was also a member of the Construction Opportunity Commission that addressed inequities in employment opportunities for people of color.
Rick McGahey - Program Officer, Economic Development for the Ford Foundation
Edward Rendell - Edward G. Rendell is serving his second term as Pennsylvania's 45th Governor, overseeing a $28.3 billion budget in the nation's sixth-most-populous state. His strategic investments have energized Pennsylvania's economy, created jobs, revitalized communities, improved education, protected the environment, and expanded access to health care for children and affordable prescription drugs for older adults.
Governor Rendell is also working to create jobs in the emerging alternative energy economy and develop strategies to reduce dependence on foreign oil and save families money. Rendell was the 121st Mayor of the City of Philadelphia (1992–99), eliminating a $250 million deficit; balancing the city's budget and generating five consecutive budget surpluses; reducing business and wage taxes for four consecutive years; implementing new revenue-generating initiatives, and improving services to neighborhoods.
The New York Times called the Philadelphia renaissance under Rendell "the most stunning turnaround in recent urban history." Before serving as Mayor, Rendell was elected district attorney of the City of Philadelphia (1978–85).
Kathleen Sebelius - Kathleen Sebelius is currently serving as the forty-fourth Governor of Kansas. She is the second female governor of the state of Kansas, and is currently chairwoman of the Democratic Governors Association.
Urban Conversations: Strengthening the Middle ClassSession II: Creating Jobs & Raising Incomes
Two conversations moderated by Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post. The first conversation about Workforce Development and NYC's Labor Market features Diane Baillargeon, David Jones, and Rick McGahey. The second, Creating Jobs and Raising Incomes in American Cities, includes governors Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.
As income disparity between wealthy and working-class families becomes more pronounced, middle-class neighborhoods are disappearing from many American cities. How are today's urban leaders trying to ensure their cities remain or become livable for middle-income families and affordable for the millions of working people aspiring to gain a foothold in the middle class?- The New School