Children's Advocacy Days 2010

JOHN MORGAN, DEPUTY TO THE GOVERNOR CONFIRMED TO SPEAK 

Governor Phil Bredesen named John Morgan as Deputy to the Governor.  

Morgan is a 31-year veteran employee of the state of Tennessee. In 1999, he was elected Comptroller of the Treasury to replace retiring comptroller William R. Snodgrass and served five consecutive two-year terms as one of the state’s three constitutional officers.

Morgan, 57, is an outspoken advocate for improvements in public education. Financial accountability, professionalism and integrity have been hallmarks of his career in public service. He is a member of the Association of Government Accountants and the American Society of Public Administration. 

A Nashville native, Morgan is a graduate of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. and did graduate work at Louisiana State University. He began his state service as a research assistant for the Legislative Fiscal ReviewCommittee and was a research assistant in the Department of Finance and Administration. He was an administrative assistant to the State Treasurer before joining the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury, first as an assistant director and then director of Bond Finance. Morgan was also vice president and director of Public Finance of Third National Bank before returning to state service as executive assistant to Comptroller of the Treasury in 1989 and his election as comptroller 10 years later.

LOWELL W. PERRY JR, CEO, BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE TO DELIVER CHALLENGE TO THE PARTICIPANTS

Lowell Perry Jr. is the Chief Executive Officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee (BBBSMT). The agency set records of 2541 children served and revenue in the amount of $2.6 million in 2009.  BBBSMT was selected as a Top 5 benchmark MCP (Mentoring Children of Prisoners) agency out of over 400 nationwide in overall performance.  Perry, a BBBS of America CEO of the Year winner in 2007 and Marvin Runyon Award winner in Nashville, was also chosen as a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Nationwide Leadership Council and co-chairs a national African-American Community Engagement Roundtable for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.  The agency was named a BBBSA Gold Standard award winner.

Perry is an experienced business development and marketing executive with an extensive broad-based background including joint ventures, strategic alliances, start-ups, automotive, turnarounds, professional sports management, training & facilitation, and performance management, with special expertise in minority business development as a viable growth strategy. 

Some career highlights include leading a start-up automotive manufacturer from concept to $30 million in three years, developing and implementing marketing strategies for a worldwide consumer products company, introducing a new paradigm in minority business development focusing on the “end-game”, that saves jobs and leads to sustainable growth of disadvantaged businesses, and the creation and implementation of a successful statewide drug education prevention program targeting kids K-6. 

A Yale graduate and polished communicator with extensive professional on-camera, radio, and live presenting experience, Perry has been featured in numerous sales and marketing training films and many commercials.  He has also appeared in a number of feature films, including Déjà vu, starring Denzel Washington and Nothing But the Truth, featuring Kate Beckinsale. 

His public speaking career began in earnest during his tenure as a front office executive with the Seattle Seahawks pro football team, where he negotiated free agent contracts, handled team travel, and served as the team’s primary community liaison.  Popular keynote topics have included: “Time To Take Action”, “Success to Significance”, “Time, Talent, Treasure,” “Prevention versus Incarceration,” and “No Excuses?” 

Perry’s hero and mentor is his father Lowell Sr., who served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, and as a player and coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, before embarking on a career that led to stints as the first African-American plant manager of a major US manufacturing company, Chairman of the United States EEOC under President Gerald Ford, and two State of Michigan cabinet level positions, Director of Labor and Director of Urban Programs under Governor John Engler.  

Lowell Perry Jr. is an avid golfer and registered yoga instructor who enjoys acting, gourmet cooking, and spending time with his lovely wife Kathleen and their three beautiful children Trey, Tucker Nichol (Miss Tennessee USA 2010), and Trenton.  He also is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., was appointed by the Governor to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp, and is a member of the Leadership Nashville Class of 2009.

BILL BENTLEY CEO & PRESIDENT OF VOICES FOR AMERICA'S CHILDREN CONFIRMED AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Bill Bentley has devoted his life to building a world where every child has the opportunity to thrive. An exceptional and dynamic leader with skills honed in a distinguished career that includes non-profit, government and private sector experience, he leads Voices for America’s Children, a nationwide advocacy network that speaks out for children on Capitol Hill, in State Legislatures, and in City Halls.

Bill began his career in public service as a Juvenile Probation Officer with the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Rising through the ranks he earned a frontline view of the special needs of youth in crisis, the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

Eventually, Bill took those experiences and skills and used them to direct the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, a highly successful statewide coalition of private nonprofit organizations serving children, youth, and families. He led the organization’s legislative lobbying efforts that resulted in an agency budget increase of over $10 million within seven years.

In 1991, Bill was appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary for Operations & Planning at the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. At the agency where he began his career, he was responsible for the policy formation, operations, program planning and development, training and development, and strategic planning for all of the agency’s programs. Facilitating the reorganization of what was, at the time, the largest state government agency in the nation, Bill helped to conceive, write, and lobby the legislation to decentralize and streamline the agency.

As the President & CEO of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, Inc., he led the development and implementation of local innovative demonstration programs addressing maternal and child health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and family support programs.

In 1995, Bill was appointed Executive Director of the Florida Governor’s Commission on Community Service. He oversaw the state entity responsible for promoting volunteerism and citizen service as a means of solving community problems. Working closely with statewide public and private organizations, federal agencies, and local communities, he developed and implemented community service programs focusing on educational success (K-12), mentoring, public safety, environmental issues, and human needs.

Former United States Senator Harris Wofford tapped him in 1997 to serve on the senior management team at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Directing the Department of Evaluation and Effective Practices, Bill was responsible for the organization’s national program evaluation, leadership development, training, and technical assistance efforts. He also assisted in the development of public policy affecting national and community service.

In 2000, Bill’s unique experiences and talents were recognized by the Points of Light Foundation, a premier national organization that promotes volunteer service and coordinates a network of 335 volunteer centers throughout the country. As Executive Vice President & COO, he collaborated with the CEO in the management and oversight of the organization.

Bill received his undergraduate degree in education from Florida State University and his master’s degree from Florida State University’s School of Social Work. Bentley and his wife reside in Silver Spring, Md., and have two adult daughters.

JOHN SEIGENTHALER CONFIRMED TO MODERATE GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES FORUM ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010.

John Seigenthaler founded the First Amendment Center in 1991 with the mission of creating national discussion, dialogue and debate about First Amendment rights and values.

A former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Seigenthaler served for 43 years as an award-winning journalist for The Tennessean, Nashville's morning newspaper. At his retirement he was editor, publisher and CEO. He retains the title chairman emeritus. In 1982, Seigenthaler became founding editorial director of USA TODAY and served in that position for a decade, retiring from both the Nashville and national newspapers in 1991.

Seigenthaler left journalism briefly in the early 1960s to serve in the U.S. Justice Department as administrative assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. His work in the field of civil rights led to his service as chief negotiator with the governor of Alabama during the Freedom Rides. During that crisis, while attempting to aid Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., he was attacked by a mob of Klansmen and hospitalized.

Seigenthaler hosts a weekly book-review program, "A Word On Words." He is a senior advisory trustee of the Freedom Forum. Since the death of Arthur Schlesinger Jr. he has chaired the Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and he is chairman emeritus of the annual Profile in Courage Award selection committee of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Seigenthaler served on the 18-member National Commission on Federal Election Reform organized in 2001 by former Presidents Carter and Ford. He is a member of the Constitution Project on Liberty and Security, created after the Sept. 11 tragedies in New York and Washington.

In 2002, the trustees of Vanderbilt University created the John Seigenthaler Center, naming the building at 18th Avenue South and Edgehill Avenue that houses the offices of the Freedom Forum, the First Amendment Center and the Diversity Institute. The John Seigenthaler Center encompasses 57,000 square feet and includes a three-story expansion that was funded by the Freedom Forum and donated to Vanderbilt.

A chair in First Amendment Studies was endowed for $1.5 million in Seigenthaler's name at Middle Tennessee State University. Scholarship projects are endowed at both Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State in Seigenthaler’s name.

Seigenthaler is the author of a biography, James K. Polk, published by Times Books and released in January 2004.

The First Amendment Center works nationwide to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education. The center, with offices at Vanderbilt and Arlington, Va., serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, the right to assemble and petition the government.

The Freedom Forum, based in Arlington, Va., is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit. The foundation focuses on three priorities: the Newseum, the First Amendment and newsroom diversity. The Freedom Forum funds the Newseum, an interactive museum of news under development in Washington, D.C.; the First Amendment Center; and the Diversity Institute. The Freedom Forum was established in 1991 under the direction of Founder Allen H. Neuharth as successor to a foundation started in 1935 by newspaper publisher Frank E. Gannett. The Freedom Forum is not affiliated with Gannett Co. Its work is supported by income from an endowment of diversified assets.