The 2016 National Opportunity Summit, hosted by Opportunity Nation, convened a bipartisan, cross-sector group of business leaders, nonprofits, elected officials and young people to restore the American Dream.
September 10
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
655 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001
In the context of an open election at a time when economic opportunity is the number one domestic issue facing the nation, we hosted the 4th National Opportunity Summit to rally the country and move from conversation to collaborative action. Speakers and attendees consisted of a select bipartisan cross-sector group of business leaders, community organizations, policymakers and young adults who know it will take all of us working across sectors to expand opportunity and shape the nation we make.
Continue the conversation with the hashtags #TheNationWeMake and #OppSummit. View 2016 Summit photos on our Flickr, and watch 2016 Summit videos on our YouTube channel.
2016 Summit Co-Chairs
Deval Patrick
Managing Director, Bain Capital and Former Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Jonathan Lavine
Co-Managing Partner, Bain Capital & Chief Investment Officer, Bain Capital Credit
Monica Lozano
Chairman, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program
Gen. (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal
Founder, McChrystal Group and Chairman, Service Year Alliance
A Bipartisan Policy Agenda for the Country
In partnership with the Marian B. and Jacob K. Javits Foundation, we awarded the first ever Jacob K. Javits Prize for Bipartisan Leadership, which recognized policymakers who have worked across the aisle on the nation’s most pressing issues.
We released an aligned policy agenda, which has been developed with the support and collaboration of our Coalition.
Invitation to the Presidential Candidates
Opportunity Nation extended invitations to all presidential candidates. We asked the candidates to attend the Summit to share their plans to expand opportunity and respond to our policy agenda.
Partner in Service on 9/11
As the Summit immediately preceded the 15th anniversary of 9/11, we invited all attendees to join our partner, My Good Deed, in a day of service on Sunday September 11.
General session speakers included:
- John Bridgeland, President and CEO of Civic Enterprises
- Gerald Chertavian, Founder, Year Up
- Congressman Chris Gibson (NY-19)
- Robert Doar, Resident Fellow and Morgridge Fellow in Poverty Studies at AEI
- David Fischer, Executive Director, New York Center for Youth Employment
- Elizabeth Grant, Senior Vice President, Jobs for the Future
- Rob Gordon III, President, Be the Change, Inc.
- Ron Haskins, Co-Director, Brookings Center on Children and Families
- Tracy Hoover, Chief Executive Officer, Points of Light
- Carla Javits, President and CEO, REDF
- Timothy Jones, Director of Healthy Connections, Martha’s Table
- Alan Khazei, Founder and CEO, Be the Change, Inc.
- Anne M. Kress, Ph.D., President, Monroe Community College
- Judith McKenna, COO, Walmart
- Monique Rizer, Executive Director, Opportunity Nation
- Rodney D. Robbins, Jr., Manager of Community Engagement, VILLA
- Elyse Rosenblum, Principal of Grads of Life
- U.S. Senator Tim Scott (SC)
- Bobbi Silten, Executive Vice President, Global Talent and Sustainability, Gap Inc.
- Ed Skyler, Executive Vice President for Global Public Affairs at Citi
- Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service
- Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund
- Blair Taylor, CEO, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance
- Tanzina Vega, Digital Correspondent, CNN Money
Breakout sessions speakers included:
- Tom Allison, Deputy Policy & Research Director at Young Invincibles
- Sandra Ambrozy, Senior Program Officer for Human Services, The Kresge Foundation
- Justine Cabulong, Audience Supervisor, The Daily Show
- Elizabeth Clay Roy, Co-Director, South Bronx Rising Together
- Hernan Carvente, Program Analyst, Vera Institute
- Rob Denson, President of Des Moines Area Community College, Co-Chair of the Opportunity Nation Leadership Council
- Ssire Ivy, Office Systems Management Student, St. Louis Community College
- Emily Tow Jackson, Executive Director and Board President, The Tow Foundation
- Megan Joseph, Executive Director, Rise Together Bay Area
- Laura Lai, Sr. Program Manager, Philanthropy, AT&T
- Mike Long, Founder and Executive Director, SailFuture
- Joshua Mbanusi, Program Associate, Made in Durham
- Lydia Prado, Co-Chair, North East Park Hill Collective Impact Initiative
- Bill Rausch, Executive Director, Got Your 6
- Christy Reeves, Chief Executive Officer, Single Stop USA
- Andrei Santalo, Partnerships & Strategic Projects, LinkedIn for Good
- David Shapiro, CEO, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership
- Eshauna Smith, CEO, Urban Alliance
- Nick Turner, President, Vera
- Joe Quinn, Team RWB Leadership Development Dir.
- Jennifer Wang, Director at the Institute for College Access & Success
- Roy Waterman, Director of Engagement, Drive Change
- Eli Williamson, Co-Founder of Leave No Veteran Behind
Thank You To Our Funders:
Premier Funder
Signature Supporters
Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation
Summit Leaders
AT&T
The Marian B. and Jacob K. Javits Foundation
Walmart
Summit Partners
LinkedIn
The MCJ Amelior Foundation
The Tow Foundation
* Opportunity Nation is non-partisan and we do not support or endorse any political candidate or political party. Presidential candidates are invited to speak at the 2016 National Opportunity Summit based on receiving at least 25 percent of support in recent national polling. Campaigning and political fundraising is prohibited.
