Monday, January 20, 2020
9:30 – 10:30 PUBLIC POLICY
Senator Champion:
Minnesota’s #1 Advocate for Restore the Vote
Speaker: Bobby Joe Champion, Minnesota Senator
and Lawyer
Minnesotans convicted of a felony lose the right to vote,
which is only restored after they have completed their
probation or parole. About 47,000 Minnesotans are
disenfranchised as a result. One of Champion’s hallmark
pieces of legislation has been the bill to Restore the Vote
which would allow Minnesotans the right to vote at the end
of their incarceration.

10:45 – 11:45 EDUCATION
The Life and Work of Nellie Francis
Speaker: Dr. William Green, Professor of History,
Augsburg University, former Minneapolis
Superintendent of Schools
Green’s scholarly interests and expertise are in the history
of race, law, politics, and civil rights in Minnesota during
the 19th and early 20th centuries. Green will talk about the
life and work of Nellie Francis, Minnesota’s African
American suffragist and author/lobbyist of the state’s
anti-lynching law. His recent publication, The Children of
Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limitations of Black
Opportunity, was a finalist in the best non-fiction category
of the Minnesota Book Award, 2019. He also won the
biennial Hognander Minnesota History Award,
recognizing scholarly work with his book, Degrees of
Freedom: The Origins of Civil Rights in Minnesota.
Green’s biography of Nellie Griswold Francis will come
out in the spring of 2020. His books will be for sale.

11:45 – Noon ANNOUNCEMENTS
12:00 – 1:15 LUNCHEON

Headlines Fellowships Room
House Management Committee Association Room
Marketing Committee Minneapolis Room
Scholarship Committee (2:15) Minneapolis Room

1:15 – 2:15 ENVIRONMENT
Carbon Sequestration:
Part of the Clean Energy Equation in Minnesota
Speaker: Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, Director of
Beneficial Electrification, Fresh Energy
To mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate
change, we must decarbonize our energy systems. While
switching our energy sources to renewables like wind and
solar power is critical, carbon sequestration is also an
important part of the puzzle. Minnesotans are working to
improve vegetation and soil’s natural ability to sequester
carbon through land management and conservation in order
to promote ecological benefits and boost our climate’s
resiliency.