Thank you to our sponsors for making the day possible.
The 2016 Community Forum is presented by
Supporting Sponsors include
THE PURPOSE OF THE FORUM is to:
- Create community wide awareness of issues that affect Orange County.
- Increase knowledge and understanding of these issues.
- 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
Chancellor of UNC
Earl McKee
Orange County Commissioner
Lydia Lavelle
Mayor of Carrboro
Pam Hemminger
Mayor of Chapel Hill
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
UNC Faculty Chair
Bill Ingram
Durham Tech President
Mitch Kokai
John Locke Foundation Representative
Hayley Fowler
Daily Tar Heel Writer
10:00 AM Transit
Listen to the discussion below:
Ed Harrison
Chapel Hill Town Council member
Patrick McDonough
GoTriangle Manager of Planning and Transit Oriented Development
Brian Litchfield
Chapel Hill Transit Director
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:
Damon Seils
Carrboro Board of Alderman
Dr. Terri Phoenix
UNC LGBTQ Center director
Chris Blue
Chapel Hill Police Chief
Braxton Foushee
Community Activist
Dr. Mohamed M. Elgamal
Islamic Association of Raleigh chair
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:
Mia Burroughs
Orange County Commissioner
Rani Dasi
Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools Board member
Tom Forcella
Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools Superintendent
Donna Coffey
Orange County Board chair
Drew Ware
Estes Hills Principal
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:
Dr. Deb Stroman
UNC Faculty Chair Committee member
Barry Jacobs
Sports Columnist
Art Chansky
Chapelboro
Mike Ingersoll
Former UNC Football Player
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
Chapel Hill – Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Representative
Tom Jensen
Public Policy Polling director
Jess Anderson
Chapel Hill Town Council member
Matt Bailey
Community Member
Travis Crayton
UNC Graduate student
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:
Aaron Nelson
Chapel Hill – Carrboro Chamber of Commerce President
Dwight Bassett
Chapel Hill Economic Development officer
Steve Brantley
Orange County Economic Development director
Meg McGurk
Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership executive director
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
Chapel Hill – Carrboro Chamber of Commerce President
Dwight Bassett
Chapel Hill Economic Development officer
Nancy Oates
Chapel Hill Town Council member
David Schwartz
Community Member
Ben Perry
East West Partners finance director
Jacquelyn Gist
Carrboro Board of Alderman
5:00 PM Community Voices
Discussing issues faced by local grassroots community leaders.
Listen to the discussion below: