The Kansas Association of Community Action Agencies (KACAP) will be holding its annual
conference on July 15-17 in Topeka at the Downtown Ramada. Keynote presentations and
workshops will cover a range of issues related to poverty and its solutions. Here we highlight
three of the keynote presentations:
Two-generation approaches are at the cutting edge of today’s anti-poverty efforts.
Reverend Vivian Nixon, the Executive Director of College and Community Fellowship in
New York, will kick-off the conference talking about how her organization is developing
a two-generation model to provide formerly incarcerated mothers and their children
with educational opportunities, economic supports, and access to stronger social
capital, such as trusted networks and community organizations.
Whether the public understand the causes, consequences and solutions to poverty
depends in large part on how experts and advocates communicate about the issue. In
her presentation Lynn Davey will share research on the most effective strategies for
improving public understanding of social problems writ large and poverty specifically.
Dr. Davey is a psychologist and advocacy communications expert who helps policy
advocates implement evidence-based communication and advocacy strategies that will
improve support for public policy solutions.
Scott Miller is CEO and founder of Circles® USA, and the lead developer of Circles®
model, a community-building approach that builds relationships across income lines to
support families moving out of poverty and into economic stability. Scott began his
focus on poverty in the late 70’s as a volunteer serving people who were homeless in
Rochester, NY. Since then, he has initiated projects throughout North America that
directly help families out of poverty while educating the community about what changes
must be made to eventually eradicate conditions that cause poverty. Circles® is now in
75 plus communities in the US and parts of Canada, and has been featured on the CBS
Evening News, TedX, CNN, PBS, and the Huffington Post. Kansas has more Circles®
communities than any other state.
Details about workshops and keynote presentations, including bios of speaker, can be found at
www.tinyurl.com/2015kcop.
Reporters are welcomed to sit in on any of the sessions. If interested in interviewing one or
more speakers contact Gary Brunk.
