Sparer Symposium 2012
31st Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium
Friday, March 16, 2012
Coming of Age Against the Odds: Advocating for At-Risk Youth
Schedule of Events
9:00 a.m. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
- Michael A. Fitts, Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law, Penn Law School
9:15 a.m. Youth Speaker, Juvenile Law Center’s Youth Speakers Bureau
9:30 a.m. Overcoming the Odds: Strategies for Facilitating the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood
- Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose, Esq., Philadelphia Department of Human Services
- Barbara Best, Children’s Defense Fund
- Kisha Bird, Center for Law and Social Policy
- Dr. Michael Carrera, Children’s Aid Society
- Judith Sandalow, Esq., Children’s Law Center
11:00 a.m. Bringing Human Rights Home: A Transnational Conversation on Youth Empowerment
- Grace Akallo, United Africans for Women and Children Rights
- Kwame Fosu, Esq., Rebecca Project for Human Rights
- Janine Kossen, Esq., Advocates for Youth
- Elie Miller, Esq., Homeboy Industries, Inc.
- Noel Ramirez, Dorothy Mann Center at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
- Imani Walker, Rebecca Project for Human Rights
12:30 p.m. Lunch
12:45 p.m. KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Rachel Lloyd, GEMS: Girls Educational and Mentoring Services
1:30 p.m. Age Matters, But How Much? From Miranda Rights to Decertification, A Conversation About Juvenile Justice Protections
- Dr. Steven Berkowitz, Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery
- Honorable Benjamin Lerner, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
- Marsha Levick, Esq., C’71, Juvenile Law Center
- Yumari Martinez, Esq., Vera Institute Center on Youth Justice
- R. Daniel Okonkwo, Esq., DC Lawyers for Youth
3:00 p.m. A Place to Call Home: Using Murals and Media to Address Housing Challenges Facing Philadelphia Youth
- Professor Regina Austin, L’73, University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Maisha Elonai, Esq., L’10, Philadelphia VIP: Volunteers for the Indigent Program
- A Place Called Home Project Representative, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
3:30 p.m. Educate or Incarcerate? Policies and Programs that Keep Youth in the Classroom and Out of Prison
- David Lapp, Esq., Education Law Center (Philadelphia)
- Rachel Pereira, Esq., L’09, Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
- David Sciarra, Esq., Education Law Center (Newark)
- Leticia Smith-Evans, Esq., NAACP Legal Defense Fund
- Gregory Volz, Esq., Stoneleigh Foundation
5:00 p.m. Reception