Human Rights Commemoration Day

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

 9:00-10:00 AM

Set Up, Registration & Check-In

The Stewart E. Mott House

122 Maryland Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20002

10:00-11:00 AM

Opening Plenary -with-

  • Marcel Reid, ACORN 8 / Pacifica Whistleblower Liaison
  • Michael McCray, ACORN 8 / FEW-LEF
  • Arlene Englehardt, Project Censored
  • Tanya Ward Jordan, Coalition for Change (C4C)
  • Andrew Kreig, Justice Integrity Project
  • Matthew Fogg, FEW-LEF
  • Tom Devine, Government Accountability Project
  • Stephen Kohn, National Whistleblower Center

11:00-12:00 PM

Anti-Gag Orders: The New Threat To Whistleblower Protections  -with-

  • Stephen Kohn, Executive Director, National Whistleblower Center

  • David Colapinto, Attorney, National Whistleblower Center

  • Tom Devine, Legal Director, Government Accountability Project

12:00-1:00 PM

Media Blackout: Genetically Modified Agriculture and the Media’s Failure to Address the Growing Problems Associated with it  -with-
  • Michael Smith, Journalist and Member of the National Press Club.

  • Michael Snow, Journalist

  • Steven Druker, public interest attorney and author of “Altered Genes, Twisted Truth”

  • Doug Gurian Sherman, Senior Scientist and Director of Sustainable Agriculture and the Center for Food Safety.

1:00-2:00 PM

Lunch Break (On Your Own)

2:00-3:00 PM

Money for Nothing: Why Are American Taxpayers Paying for Surveillance that Doesn’t Work?
 -with- 

  • J. Bradley Jansen, Director, Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights

  • William Binney, NSA whistleblower

  • Norman Singleton, Vice President of Policy, Campaign for Liberty

  • Michael Ostrolenk, National Director, the Liberty Coalition

3:00-4:00 PM

Whistleblower Retaliation:  Practical Advice and Needed Skills for Whistleblowers   -with-  

  • Shea Wilkes, LCSW a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Overton Brooks VA Hospital in Shreveport, LA.

  • Germaine Clarno, LCSW a Licensed ClinicalSocial Worker and President of Local 781 American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital.

  • Katherine Mitchell, M.D. the VA whistleblower and current VA employee at the Phoenix VA. 

  • Lisa Nee, M.D., BSN an Interventional Cardiologist and VA whistleblower at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital.

4:00-5:00 PM

Exposing U.S. Political Prosecutions & Human Rights Abuses  -with-  

  • Andrew Kreig, Justice Integrity Project Director, attorney, and author of “Presidential Puppetry”

  • Abraham Bolden, author of “The Echo from Dealey Plaza” and selected by President Kennedy to be the first African American Secret Service officer guarding a president
  • Joseph Nacchio, former Qwest Communications chair/CEO and Pillar Human Rights Corporate Courage awardee for opposing secret warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans

  • Richard Scrushy, founder and former CEO of HealthSouth, Inc. and co-defendant of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman

 5:00-6:30 PM

 

Welcome Reception / Pillar Awards

Sponsored by Government Accountability Project (GAP) and Project On Government Oversight (POGO)

 


 Whistleblower Appreciation Day

Thursday, July 30, 2015

 

Hart Senate Office Building

Room 902

Washington, DC 20510

 9:00-10:00 AM Whistleblowers & Journalists: The State of The First Amendment  -with-
  • Arlene Englehardt, Project Censored
  • Marcel Reid, Pacifica Whistleblower Liaison
  • Shanna Devine, Legislative Director/Investigator, Government Accountability Project
  • Dennis Bernstein, host, Flashpoints on KPFA
  • Kristina Borjesson, Independent Media Professional
  • Paul Jay, CEO/Senior Editor, The Real News Network
  • Michael Volpe, Freelance Journalist
 10:00-11:00 AM

Whistleblower Rights Legislative Campaigns in the 114th Congress  -with-

  • Tom Devine, Legal Director, Government Accountability Project

  • Tanya Ward Jordan, President, Coalition For Change (C4C)

  • Mandy Smithberger, Director, CDI Straus Military Reform Project, Project on Government Oversight
  • Thomas Drake, Whistleblower, Former National Security Agency Senior Executive
  • Larry Criscione, Reliability and Risk Engineer, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • DeLisa Lay, Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee

11:00-12:00 AM

Follow-up to Ferguson: How a Former Homicide Detective's Federal Lawsuit Attempts to Apply a Civil War-Era Law to Today's Civil Rights Violations -with-

  • Michael McCray, General Counsel, FEW-LEF
  • Ken Williams, former Boston area homicide detective and qui tam whistleblower.

  • Tom Poulin, Partner at Simmer Law Group PLLC.

  • Matthew Fogg, U.S. Chief Deputy Marshal (Retired), who won a landmark Title VII verdict against the U.S. Justice Department.

 

12:00-2:00 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Whistleblower Day Celebration Luncheon

--Luncheon Registration Closed--

Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Hosted by the National Whistleblower Center (NWC)

Keynote Speakers

  • Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA)
  • Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)

2:00-3:00 PM

The Stewart E. Mott House

122 Maryland Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20002

 

9/11 Financial Whistleblower Panel  -with-

  • Tom Devine, Legal Director, Government Accountability Project
  • William “Bill” Bergman, 9/11 Whistleblower, Truth In Accounting
  • Wayne Madsen, Freelance Journalist

 3:00-4:00 PM  

Good Cop vs Bad Cop: Have violent gangs or racists hate groups infiltrated the U.S. military and local law enforcement -with-

  • Katherine Swilley, former HPD officer, who served the City of Houston for over 20+ years.

  • Michael Quinn, former Police Officer and author of “Walking With The Devil--The Police Code of Silence.” (Invited)

  • Cheryl. Dorsey,  former Police Sergeant with twenty year (LAPD) career.

  • Jerroll Sanders, President/CEO, ONUS, Inc. "Change Is On Us"
 5:00-9:00 PM

Whistleblower Book Signing / Film Screening

Busboys & Poets (14th & V. Street)

2021 14th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20009

Sponsored By Sharyl Attkisson Investigative Journalist and host of the upcoming Sunday morning news program "Full Measure" with Sharyl Attkisson, donated from a portion of the proceeds form her NYT bestseller "Stonewalled."

Invited Authors:

  • Sharyl Attkisson—Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington.
  • Steven DrukerAltered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public.
  • Michael McCrayACORN 8: Race, Power & Politics--Memoirs of an ACORN Whistleblower.
  • Andrew KreigPresidential Puppetry
  • Tom DevineCorporate Whistleblowers Survival Guide.
  • Stephen KohnThe Whistleblower’s Handbook.
  • Michael QuinnWalking With The Devil-The Police Code of Silence
  • Cheryl Dorsey—Black & Blue
  • Mike Volpe—The Definitive Dossier on PTSD in Whistleblowers
  • Dianne Andrews—Gumbo For The Heart

 

Whistleblower Film Screening

Screening of one or more Pillar Award Nominated Film(s)

  • A2-B-C (Censored Fukushima Film)
  • Kill The Messenger
  • Silenced
  • The Hidden Enemy
  • TWA Flight 800


  Civil Rights Celebration Day

Friday, July 31, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Rayburn House Office Building

Room 2168

Washington, DC 20515

 

9:00-10:00 AM

Police Whistleblowers: Crossing the Thin Blue Line Is Not a Crime -with-

  • Matthew Fogg, retired U.S. Chief Deputy Marshal who won a landmark Title VII verdict against the U.S. Justice Department.

  • Ken Williams, former Boston area homicide detective and qui tam whistleblower.
  • Keith Adkins, Special Agent, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (Retired)

  • Leigh Maddox, Captain, Maryland State Police Department (Retired)

 10:00-11:00 AM

STREET ORGANIZING: #Black Lives Matter-This Is The Movement! -with-

  • Marcel Reid, former DC ACORN / National Board of Directors.

  • Michael McCray, former GA ACORN / National Board of Directors.

  • Belinda Ferrell, Head Organizer, DC ACORN

  • Lawrence Grandpre, Director of Research / Leader of a Beautiful Struggle
  • Rev Graylan Hagler, Co-founder of NACA and Director of Faith Strategies
  • Senator Charles Steele, President, Southern Christian Leadership Council (Invited)
  • Clifton Kinnie, Ferguson Protestor (Invited)

11:00-12:00 Noon        

 

 

 

 

Civil Rights Whistleblowers and Stakeholders at the U.S. Department of Agriculture  -with-

  • Michael McCray, General Counsel, FEW/LEF
  • Tom Devine, Legal Director, Government Accountability Project
  • Claudette Joyner, President AFGE Local 3147 (Invited)
  • Ron Cotton, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees (Invited)

12:00-1:00 PM

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Stakeholder Panel: Advance Rulemaking -with-

  • Patricia St. Clair, Assistant Director; Training and Outreach Division, EEOC, Office of Federal Sector
  • Michael McCray, General Counsel, FEW/LEF
  • Tanya Ward Jordan, President of Coalition for Change (C4C)
  • Ron Cotton, President of USDA Coalition of Minority Employees


 1:00-2:00 PM

Lunch (On Your Own)

2:00-3:00 PM

Unraveling The Uneven Web of Whistleblower Protections: New Legal Strategies for fighting EEO claims under the WPA  -with-

  • Richard Renner, Attorney at Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch.

 

3:00-4:00 PM

Discrimination’s Adverse Affect On The Health And Wealth Of Black Federal Employees. -with-

  • Tanya Ward Jordan, President of Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C).
  • Paulette Taylor, President, Black Females for Justice II at the Social Security Administration. 
  • Attorney Michael McCray federal whistleblower, public interest advocate and author of “ACORN 8—Race, Power & Politics” the inside story of ACORN.

5:00-7:00 PM

 

Solidarity Dinner/ Awards Reception

(TBD)