Strong Communities Judges

The panel of judges will review all semi-finalist entries and select eight finalists to join us at CommunityMatters '10. At the conference, the finalists will have a chance to showcase their work, connect with other innovators in their field, and learn skills to further their project efforts. The judges are a group of practicing innovators with diverse experience in building community.

Majora Carter

From 2001 to 2008, Majora was Executive Director of the non-profit she founded: Sustainable South Bronx – where she pioneered green-collar job training and placement systems in one of the most environmentally and economically challenged parts of the US. This MacArthur “genius” is now president of her own economic consulting firm, a co-host on Sundance Channel’s The Green, and host of a new special public radio series called, The Promised Land.

Read the Changemakers interview with Majora: Greener of Ghettos, Prophet of Local and Changemakers Judge.

Jared Duval

Jared is the author of Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change, due out from Bloomsbury in November of 2010. He is currently a Fellow with the New York based think tank Demos, where he is helping to build a first-of-its-kind fellowship program for young authors. Jared will also be a part of the Gov. 2.0 panel session at CommunityMatters '10.

Rich Harwood

Rich is the founder and president of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a nonprofit, catalytic organization dedicated to helping people imaging and act for the public good. Harwood has devoted his energies to spreading a vision for what American society should be and putting innovative practices to use on the ground to turn that vision into a reality. He is the author of Hope Unraveled: The people’s retreat and our way back, as well as Make Hope Real: How we can accelerate change for the public good.

Bonnie Shaw

Bonnie is an expert at making meaningful connection between people, place and technology. As a Director of BYO Consulting, she approaches the social web from a fresh perspective with a background in urban design and local community building, and online organizing and strategic technology engagement. Bonnie will also be a part of the Gov. 2.0 panel session at CommunityMatters '10.