Keynote Speaker

Maria Echaveste

Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for President Clinton; Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; Co-founder of the Nueva Vista Group, Washington, DC

Maria Echaveste is a lecturer in residence at Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, where she also serves as a senior fellow of the law school’s Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity. From 1998 to 2001, Ms. Echaveste served as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. In this capacity, Echaveste managed domestic policy initiatives that focused on education, civil rights, immigration and bankruptcy reform. She also coordinated relief efforts within the White House for foreign and domestic disasters, and specialized in international issues related to Latin America. Prior to this, she served as wage and hour administrator at the U.S. Department of Labor from 1993 to 1997, responsible for enforcing the nation’s basic labor laws such as minimum wage, overtime, and the family medical leave act.

Ms. Echaveste is a member of the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee, is a nonresident fellow at the Center for American Progress, and is a member of the board of directors for People for the American Way, and the American Prospect magazine. Ms. Echaveste is also the founder of the Nueva Vista Group, a consulting firm that works with nonprofit organizations, associations, and corporations on a wide range of policy issues. The daughter of migrant farm workers, Ms. Echaveste is a former resident of Oxnard and graduate of Channel Islands High School.  

Master of Ceremonies

Dr. Manuel Pastor

Nationally renowned economist, Dr. Manuel Pastor is the Director of the University of Southern California Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, and is the founding director of Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A leading researcher in the fast emerging field of regional equity, Dr. Pastor 's research places a strong emphasis on providing data and analysis for the purpose of informing economic and environmental justice community organizing and advocacy. With funding from The California Endowment, he is currently working in collaboration with CAUSE on a Central Coast environmental justice study, including the community impact of the Halaco hazardous waste site in South Oxnard.

Dr. Pastor speaks frequently on such issues as demographic change, economic inequality, environmental justice and community empowerment. His book Regions That Work: How Cities and Suburbs Can Grow Together is a required text in university urban planning and public policy courses around the country. Dr. Pastor's most recent books include This Could be the Start of Something Big: How Social Movements for Regional Equity are Reshaping Metropolitan America, co-authored by Chris Benner and Martha Matsuoka, and Staircases or Treadmills: Labor Market Intermediaries and Economic Opportunity in a Changing Economy, which he co-authored with Chris Benner, and Laura Leete, and Searching for the Uncommon Common Ground: New Dimensions on Race in America, which he co-authored with Angela Glover Blackwell and Stewart Kwoh.

Regenerate Films 

The luncheon will open with a five minute film by Regenerate Films, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to amplify voices” using film and video. Through the mediums of film and video, they seek out and explore stories and issues of interest, consequence and social heft -- engaging creative youth implicitly, intricately and intimately in the process of documentary and narrative filmmaking. The young filmmakers of Regenerate Films learn from, and add fresh insight to, the storytelling process. Young people involved with Regenerate Films amplify the message of our stories and Regenerate Films amplifies their voices in turn. With support from the Lawrence Janss Company, Regenerate Film’s most recent film, “My Suicide” won the prestigious Crystal Bear Award for Best Feature Film at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.

The CAUSE Community Building Luncheon will take place on Friday, September 18, 2009 at the Residence Inn Marriott, 2101 W. Vineyard Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93030. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. for networking, with the luncheon starting promptly at 11:30 a.m. and ending at 1:00 p.m.

RSVPs must be made by Monday, August 31, 2009. For more information, including luncheon sponsorships, contact: CAUSE Executive Administrative Assistant, Eduardo “Lalo” Castro at 805.658.0810 x200 or e-mail eduardo@coastalalliance.com.