Press Release: Moderator Announcement

NPR's Juan Williams to Moderate Forum with Community Leaders, Congress and New Administration

"Realizing the Promise" forum to bring local leaders together with decision makers to set people's agendaAmericans and the next Congress and Administration."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, November 24, 2008           
Contact: Germonique R. Ulmer 202-339-9331, Carole Parks 773-373-3860

WASHINGTON - As the unprecedented "Realizing the Promise: A Forum on Community, Faith and Democracy" takes shape, organizers announced the participation of author and journalist Juan Williams as the event's moderator. The forum will bring grassroots leaders to Washington to set the agenda for Congress and the new Administration in the coming year. It will take place on December 4, 2008, one year after the Heartland Presidential Forum where then-Sen. Obama committed to involving community leaders in preparing the agenda for his administration.

"We are honored to have Juan Williams join us at such an important event," said Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change. "Mr. Williams' experience as one of America's premier journalists and political analysts will set the stage for an engaging discussion with everyday Americans and the next Congress and Administration."

Juan Williams is a news analyst at National Public Radio, a contributing political analyst for the Fox News Channel and a regular panelist on Fox News Sunday.  During Mr. Williams' 21-year career at The Washington Post, he served as a columnist, editorial writer and White House correspondent. He's written several books including: Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America - and What We Can Do about It.

"The power of communities and grassroots organizing was evident in the election. Everyday Americans have never been more fully invested in their country's future," said Ana Garcia-Ashley, Southern Territory director of the Gamaliel Foundation. "This forum is the next step in making government more open and accessible, and a way of continuing people's involvement in the decisions that affect them, their families and their communities."

"Realizing the Promise: A Forum on Community, Faith and Democracy," will feature two moderated roundtable discussions designed to provide a setting for real dialogue with community and faith leaders, members of Congress and representatives of the incoming administration. The forum will bring 2,000 community leaders from across the country to speak directly with policy makers about the issues facing everyday Americans, including the economy, jobs, health care, immigration and the environment. 

"Realizing the Promise: A Forum on Community, Faith and Democracy" is presented by the Gamaliel Foundation and the Center for Community Change's Campaign for Community Values. For updates on "Realizing the Promise," please visit www.realizingthepromise.org.