The Forum


Thank you to our sponsors for making the day possible.

The 2016 Community Forum is presented by

 

TofCH-ED

 

 Supporting Sponsors include

 

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Downtown Partnership Logo

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kidzu logo

maria finnegan

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THE PURPOSE OF THE FORUM is to:

  1. Create community wide awareness of issues that affect Orange County.
  1. Increase knowledge and understanding of these issues.
  1. Promote and facilitate dialogue about the issues and potential solutions.

FORMAT

WCHL preempts regular daytime programming for the discussion of ten topics in ten hours.  The moderator of each session presents facts about the issue, and then invite the panelists (5-6 for each topic) to share their views.  The public will be invited to submit questions and comments by email and Twitter.

 


TOPIC FOR EACH HOUR

8:00 AM   Town and Gown

 

Local officials from the towns and the university will open our 2016 Community Forum with a discussion of the connection between the entities and how they work together while working on their own.

 

Listen to the Town & Gown panel below:

 

 

Carol-Folt

Carol Folt

Chancellor of UNC

Earl McKee

Earl McKee

Orange County Commissioner

Lydia-Lavelle

Lydia Lavelle

Mayor of Carrboro

 

Pam Hemminger

Pam Hemminger

Mayor of Chapel Hill

Tom-Stevens

Tom Stevens

Mayor of Hillsborough

 

 

 


 

9:00 AM   Higher Education

Addressing the current direction and value of higher education.

 

Listen to the discussion below:

 

 

Dr. Bruce Cairns (Courtesy of UNC News Services)

Dr. Bruce Cairns

UNC Faculty Chair

Bill_Ingram (2)

Bill Ingram

Durham Tech President

 

Mitch Kokai

Mitch Kokai

John Locke Foundation Representative

hayley-fowler

Hayley Fowler

Daily Tar Heel Writer

10:00 AM   Transit

 

Listen to the discussion below:

 

Ed Harrison

Ed Harrison

Chapel Hill Town Council member

Patrick McDonough of GoTriangle

Patrick McDonough

GoTriangle Manager of Planning and Transit Oriented Development

 

Photo courtesy of Litchfield's alma mater, Wayne State College in Wayne, NE

Brian Litchfield

Chapel Hill Transit Director

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Alex Cabanes

Community Member

 


 

11:00 PM   Inclusion

What’s happening to bridge the gaps across race, religion, and House Bill 2.

 

Listen to the discussion below:

 

Seils

Damon Seils

Carrboro Board of Alderman

Terri Phoenix (Courtesy of UNC)

Dr. Terri Phoenix

UNC LGBTQ Center director

Chris Blue

Chris Blue

Chapel Hill Police Chief

braxton

Braxton Foushee

Community Activist

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Dr. Mohamed M. Elgamal

Islamic Association of Raleigh chair

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Mark Kleinschmidt

Former Mayor of Chapel Hill

 


 

12:00 PM   K-12 Education

How do our schools measure up in terms of quality and teacher pay?

 

Listen to the discussion below:

 

 

Burroughs

Mia Burroughs

Orange County Commissioner

rani

Rani Dasi

Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools Board member

Tom Forcella

Tom Forcella

Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools Superintendent

Donna Coffey

Donna Coffey

Orange County Board chair

drew

Drew Ware

Estes Hills Principal

 Mark-Jewell

Mark Jewell

North Carolina Association of Educators vice president

 

1:00 PM   Sports

In the midst of recent success, what is the future of athletics at UNC?

 

Listen to the discussion below:

 

Stroman

Dr. Deb Stroman

UNC Faculty Chair Committee member

Jacobs

Barry Jacobs

Sports Columnist

Art Chansky

Art Chansky

Chapelboro

 

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Mike Ingersoll

Former UNC Football Player

 

 

bethel

Bradley Bethel

Filmmaker

 


 

2:00 PM   Young Professionals

How can we encourage graduates to invest their skills locally?

 

Listen to the discussion below:

 

Kristen Smith

Kristen Smith

Chapel Hill – Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Representative

 Tom Jensen

Tom-Jensen

Public Policy Polling director

Jessica Anderson

Jess Anderson

Chapel Hill Town Council member

Matt Bailey

Matt Bailey

Community Member

travis-crayton

Travis Crayton

UNC Graduate student

brad-bednar

Brad Bednar

Community Member

 

 


 

3:00 PM   Business Climate

How are we addressing the needs of new and local business owners?

 

Listen to the discussion below:

Nelson

Aaron Nelson

Chapel Hill – Carrboro Chamber of Commerce President

Bassett

Dwight Bassett

Chapel Hill Economic Development officer

OC Economic Development Director Steve Brantley.

Steve Brantley

Orange County Economic Development director

Meg McGurk

Meg McGurk

Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership executive director

dina

Dina Rousset

Launch Chapel Hill program manager

 

4:00 PM   Development

Major changes in our landscape and how they affect our area.

 

Listen to the discussion below:

Aaron Nelson

Aaron Nelson

Chapel Hill – Carrboro Chamber of Commerce President

Bassett

Dwight Bassett

Chapel Hill Economic Development officer

nancy-oates

Nancy Oates

Chapel Hill Town Council member

Schwartz

David Schwartz

Community Member

Perry

Ben Perry

East West Partners finance director

 

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Jacquelyn Gist

Carrboro Board of Alderman

 


 

5:00 PM   Community Voices

Discussing issues faced by local grassroots community leaders.

 

Listen to the discussion below:

 

michael

Michael Reinke

IFC executive director

Hauser

Bonnie Hauser

Community Member

Delores Bailey

Delores Bailey

EmPOWERment executive director

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Maggie West

Community Empowerment Fund program coordinator