ABOUT THE PRESENTERS…. Center for Community Change The Center for Community Change (CCC) was founded in 1968 to fight poverty by building the capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to improve their communities and the policies and institutions that affect their lives. Over the decades our efforts have taken many forms, including our ongoing campaign to achieve immigration reform. In 2014, CCC is launching a long-term initiative to confront poverty in America. The work builds on CCC’s strengths: serving as a bridge that connects local grassroots organizing with national policy change; as an organization that can effectively deploy both “inside the Beltway” and outside strategies to achieve change; and as a trusted convener with a long history of building diverse coalitions. Deepak Bhargava has been CCC’s executive director since 2002. Anat Shenker-Osorio Anat Shenker-Osorio applies tools from cognition and linguistics to political discourse, challenging the way dozens of organizations and political figures talk about the most pressing issues of our time. She’s the author of the acclaimed book “Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense About the Economy.” As a strategic communications consultant, she has conducted multiple studies on how people reason about clean energy, economic justice, immigrants and women’s rights. Past and present clients that have relied on her research to diagnose what’s not working in their messaging and to provide fresh new language include: the Ford Foundation, America’s Voice, Opportunity Agenda, Ms Foundation, We Belong Together, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Caring Across Generations and Open Society Foundation, to name a few. Anat has written for The Atlantic, Huffington Post, Salon, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Boston Globe among other publications. Celinda Lake Celinda Lake is a prominent pollster and political strategist for Democrats and progressives. She currently serves as President of Lake Research Partners. Lake’s polling and strategic advice helped candidates such as Jon Tester, Donna Edwards, and Gov. Bob Wise defeat incumbents and her expertise guided Senator Mark Begich to victory, making him the first Senate candidate in Alaska to oust the incumbent in 50 years. She has focused on women candidates and women's concerns, having worked for Speaker Pelosi, Governor Janet Napolitano, and Senator Debbie Stabenow. Celinda worked for the largest independent expenditure to take back the House and has been a key player in campaigns launched by progressive groups such as the AFL- CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, Voter Participation Center, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, HRC, EMILY'S List and more. Additionally, she recently helped elect Annise Parker as the first openly gay mayor of a major US city. Lake co-authored the book What Women Really Want with Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway which examines the way women are changing the political landscape in America, and she also served as pollster for Senator Joe Biden's presidential bid. .