ACORN 8

 9:00-10:00 AM

Set Up, Registration & Check-In

The Stewart E. Mott House

122 Maryland Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20002

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

• 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)

Hart Senate Office Building

Room 902

Washington, DC 20510

• 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

Whistleblower Rights Legislative Campaigns in the 114^th 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

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"

Whistleblower Book Signing / Film Screening

Busboys & Poets (14^th & V. Street)

2021 14^th 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 Druker—Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public.

• Michael McCray—ACORN 8: Race, Power & Politics--Memoirs of an ACORN Whistleblower.
  
• Andrew Kreig—Presidential Puppetry

• Tom Devine—Corporate Whistleblowers Survival Guide.
• Stephen Kohn—The Whistleblower’s Handbook.

• Michael Quinn—Walking 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

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)