New York City has dozens of nationally and internationally recognized public policy organizations along with many influential philanthropic organizations. Plus, it has hundreds of academic centers producing important new thinking. In fact, the New York City area probably has more individuals working to affect public policy than any other American city outside of Washington, DC. While the region is well-served by organizations that help to bring together commercial communications professionals there hasn't been an organization helping connect communicators who are focused on public policy in New York City.

Communications professionals working in the public policy field are coming together to network and learn from one another in this first informal brown-bag lunch.

Our debut networking event will be a fairly informal with plenty of time for introductions. At some point, we will settle in with our lunches and talk about: "Are you planning on reaching out to the new administration and new Congress in your work? If so, how do you update your contact lists? Do you use a Washington Office? How do you advance your issues without lobbying?"

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact:
Michael Hamill Remaley
Vice President and Director of Communications
mremaley@publicagenda.org or 212.686.6610 x13

The speaker at the October policy breakfast series event, co-sponsored by Public Agenda and Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship, will be Drew Altman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

The Urban Institute, Civic Ventures, and Public Agenda

Public Agenda president Ruth Wooden was among the panelists for "Rethinking Retirement: Opinions, Obstacles, Opportunities," a panel discussion on new ways to think about retirement and aging, in the light of both demographic trends and the realities of the federal budget.

In this pre-release press conference, the call leaders will briefly discuss the implications of the new research and then allow journalists to ask any questions about the data, analysis, and implications for larger foreign policy.

The CFPI is being officially released at 12:01 a.m. EST, Wednesday, April 30, 2008. This press conference is for select media only, to allow journalists who are building stories to pose questions. The call will last approximately one hour.