Media Advisory

Members of the media are invited to cover a panel discussion on how savings and assets can help move families out of poverty and into the middle class. The program is sponsored by the new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity and will be moderated by the center’s director, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards. The discussion will feature a distinguished group of experts from inside and outside academia:

Martin Eakes is the founder and chief executive officer of Self-Help, the Durham-based community development lender that reaches people who are underserved by conventional lenders, particularly minorities, women, rural residents and low-wealth families. In its 25 years of existence, Self-Help has provided more than $3.8 billion in financing to 40,000 homebuyers, small businesses and nonprofits.
 
Loretta Smallwood-Johnson is the owner and operator of Loretta’s Pizzeria in Aurora, N.C. After working for the minimum wage for 14 years, Smallwood-Johnson was able to build a successful small business with the help of innovative community development programs.
 
Dr. Melvin Oliver is professor and dean of social sciences at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is the former vice president for community development and asset building at the Ford Foundation, and he spent more than two decades on the faculty at UCLA. Oliver is a nationally recognized expert on poverty and inequality and co-author of the highly acclaimed book "Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality."
 
David Shipler is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former New York Times reporter. His most recent book, "The Working Poor: Invisible in America," explores the plight of those Americans who live in poverty despite working full time. The New York Times Book Review called it "one of those seminal books that every American should read and read now."
 
Dr. Michael Stegman is the MacRae professor of public policy, planning and business at UNC, chairman of the department of public policy, and director of the Center for Community Capitalism in the Kenan-Flagler Business School, Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. He has written extensively on housing and community development policy and financial services for the poor. His most recent book is "Savings and the Poor: The Hidden Benefits of Electronic Banking."

Seating is limited; a small number of seats will be reserved for media representatives.

Media parking: There is limited parking available in the parking lot adjacent to the School of Government. The parking lot will be monitored, but media representatives can gain access by stating their intention to attend the "Center on Poverty" event. Additional parking is also available in the UNC visitor parking lot on N.C. 54/Raleigh Road, just east of the intersection of Raleigh Road and Ridge roads/Country Club Drive and a short walk from the School of Government.

Satellite truck parking: Media outlets wishing to park satellite trucks are encouraged to contact Karen Moon (contact information below) in advance to make arrangements.

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Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity background: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb05/edwards020405.html

News Services contacts: For print, Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093 (w), (919) 638-0474 (cell) or lisa_katz@unc.edu; For broadcast, Karen Moon, (919) 962-8595 (w), 218-2467 (cell) or karen_moon@unc.edu

School of Law contact: Audrey Ward, (919) 962-4125 or warda@email.unc.edu