Empowering women for leadership is the theme of a two-day roundtable and community forum on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 – 26, in Los Angeles. Representatives from the offices of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the White House and U.S. Department of Education will be among the participants. The Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, director of the Department’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, will moderate the sister-to-sister roundtable—“Why Our Voices Matter: Empowering Women as Leaders”—from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Praises of Zion Baptist Church. Tyra Mariani, deputy chief of staff in the Department’s Office of the Secretary, will also participate. The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the Western Baptist State Convention of California are sponsoring the roundtable.
On Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Second A.M.E. Church, Girton-Mitchell will moderate a community empowerment forum on such issues as educational equity, childhood obesity, and the economy and job recovery. She will highlight the Administration’s efforts to reform education and ensure a quality education for all children. Girton-Mitchell will also focus on the First Lady’s initiative “Let’s Move!” to combat obesity in children, especially among minority students. Heather Foster, associate director of the White House’s Office of Public Engagement, and Mariani will join the discussion. The forum is sponsored by the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the National Congress of Black Women.