THE AGENDA

Event Welcome : Karl Racine (Former DC Attorney General and Board Member, Roots of Development)(Roots) and Dina Simon Chief Human Resources Officer, the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) of New York City and Board Member, HAFFD

Panel 1 | 1:30 - 3:00 pm 

Reexamining the Impacts of Haitian Migration

How do current US policies and the collapse in Haiti impact Haitian and Haitian American communities? How can newly arrived Haitians contribute to political discourse in a cataclysmic year for Haiti and an election year for the US? 

Special remarks: 

•  Ira J. Kurzban, civil rights and immigration lawyer, Miami

•  Guerline Jozef, executive director, Haitian Bridge Alliance, San Diego

Panelists include:

• Frandley Julien, immigration lawyer, Miami (moderator) 

• Ernesto Castañeda, director of American University’s Center for Latin  American & Latino Studies

• Leonie Hermantin, director of special projects, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, Miami

Panel 2 | 3:30 - 5:00 pm

Local Power and International Aid

In Haiti, locally led initiatives have sustained communities through the current crisis. Considering powerful examples of localization of aid in Haiti, what are the best practices for achieving sustainable change in Haiti and globally?

Panelists include:

• Scott Freeman, anthropologist and professor, American University (moderator) 

• Milostène Castin, activist, northeastern Haiti

• Jessica Hsu, independent anthropologist, Port-au-Prince 

• Jake Johnston, senior research associate, Center for Economic Policy and Research, and author of Aid State 

• Louino Robillard, program director, Rasin Devlopman, Port-au-Prince

• Sarah Rose, senior advisor for localization, USAID 

• Gunjan Veda, executive director, Movement for Community-Led Development

Special remarks:

• Hon. Michèle Pierre-Louis, former prime minister of Haiti and President of FOKAL, Port-au-Prince

Panel 3 | 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Past Lessons for Future International Engagement in Haiti

In this moment of collapse and rebuilding, it is crucial to consider what international engagements have worked in Haiti in the past, what programs have failed, and why. How can these lessons be applied to a strategy that not only disarms and pacifies gangs—but also builds government institutions and functionality, and combats corruption and criminality long-term?

Special remarks:

• Patrick Gaspard, president and CEO, Center for American Progress/Board Member Haitian American Foundation for Democracy (HAFFD) 

• Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, U.S representative for Florida's 20th congressional district

Panelists include:

• Yamiche Alcindor, Washington correspondent, NBC News (moderator)

• Monique Clesca, journalist and former UN official, Port-au-Prince

• Roberson Edouard, sociologist, l’Université Laval, Quebec City

• Georges Fauriol, senior associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Jeffsky Poincy, governance and policy expert, Washington, DC

  Event Closing : Johnny McCalla (Senior Advisor, HAFFD)

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