COLLABORATION IS KEY TO TACKLING TODAY’S BIGGEST ISSUES.

To create a Greater Philadelphia region where access to opportunity is abundant and equitable, we must work together.

Despite efforts and interest, poverty rates in Philadelphia remain stubborn to budge. To build a better, stronger future for all people, families, and communities it takes new ideas. It takes new approaches. And it takes us all.

The 2023 OpportUNITY Summit took place on Thursday, May 11th.

Engaged attendees learned how leaders across sectors are working in partnership to create positive, lasting change.

The day included inspirational speakers and spotlight work happening locally and right now in American cities where racial equity, social justice, economic opportunity, and upward mobility can be achieved through transformational public-private collaborations.

PROGRAM

8–9am
Breakfast and Registration
9–9:15am
Welcome Remarks

Featuring: Bill Golderer, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey; Emcee: Sara Lomax, WURD Radio

9:15–10am
Session One: Demystifying Systems Change: Prioritizing Real Collaboration

To make more than incremental progress on an issue as complex as poverty, we need new ways of working together that focus on empathy and connection. Grounded in research, this session will explore how we can prioritize people, relationships, and authenticity to achieve greater impact. Discover how deeper collaboration and connections can help us uncover new approaches to the most intractable challenges.

Featuring: John Kania, Collective Change Lab, and Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, Hamilton Family Charitable Trust

10–10:15am
Group Activity

10:15–10:30am
Partnership Spotlight: Glenmede

Featuring: Gordon B. Fowler Jr., The Glenmede Trust Company, N.A. and Bill Golderer, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

10:45-11:30am
Session Two: Collaboration in Charlotte

In 2021, leaders in Charlotte, NC came together to launch the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative, a public-private partnership to help address the region’s largest-in-the-nation opportunity gap. At the Summit, learn how they worked across sectors, built trust, and aligned stakeholder efforts to launch the $250M initiative. Hear about the clear and compelling vision Charlotte’s leaders have embraced and consider the potential path for other cities—including Philadelphia–to pursue greater collaboration.

Featuring: Clay Armbrister, Johnson C. Smith University, Malcomb Coley, EY Charlotte, and Blair Stanford, Charlotte Executive Leadership Council

11:45am–12:30pm
How to Play Like a Team

Featuring: John Middleton, The Philadelphia Phillies

12:30-1:30pm
Networking and Lunch

When: Thursday, May 11, 2023
8am-1:30pm
Where: Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (101 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia, PA 19106)