The League of Women Voters of Glen Ellyn; Wheaton and Oak Park/River Forest along with the College of DuPage Civic Engagement Initiative invite the community to a discussion about the Impact of Economic Injustice on Democracy. The event will be held October 7th starting at 7pm at the College of DuPage Culinary & Hospitality Center, 425 Falwell Blvd. Park in Falwell Lot A (near the MAC). Our moderator for the evening will be Dr. Robert Bruno, Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois; and our panelists will be Frank Manzo IV, Economist at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute; Maureen Heffern Ponicki, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at College of DuPage; and Andre Guerra, Professor of Economics, College of DuPage. Come join the discussion and bring a friend!
Dr. Robert Bruno, Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois
Robert Bruno is Director of the Labor Education Program and a Professor of Labor and Employment Relations, as well as the director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Bruno has given expert testimony to the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, as well as the Illinois House and Senate Committees on Labor and Commerce. He frequently comments on labor relations for both regional and national media and has served as a commentator for numerous newspapers.
Frank Manzo IV, Economist, Illinois Economic Policy Institute
Mr. Manzo is an Economist at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. He has worked for the, University of Illinois Labor Education Program and in the Federal Reserve system and earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and an Advanced Certificate of Labor Studies from the University of Illinois Labor Education Program. His research interests include labor market analysis, economic development, infrastructure investment, the low-wage labor force, and public finance.
Maureen Heffern Ponicki, Ph.D, Professor and Chair, Political Science, College of DuPage
Dr. Heffern earned her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago and taught there as well as at Dominican University, and Wright College (City Colleges of Chicago). She has worked in the nonprofit sector in the fields of international and community development both domestically and internationally and has extensive experience at the grassroots and policy levels. Her research interests are primarily focused on urban resiliency and understanding how cities bounce back from economic shock, social capital, international development, globalization, and methods of social change. She currently serves as Chair of the Political Science department at College of DuPage.
Andre Guerra, Professor of Economics, College of DuPage
Professor Guerra earned his undergraduate degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Masters at the University of Illinois at Chicago.