Author and Activist Tamara Lanier to Speak on Cape Cod

Author and activist Tamara Lanier will be the keynote speaker at an upcoming event titled “We the People: Civic Engagement in Action.” A panel discussion will feature speakers who share personal experiences of civic engagement and its outcome in their communities.

The public session, co-sponsored by Housing Assistance and the Jewel Cobb Action Coalition, will be held at the Marine Biological Laboratory’s Clapp Auditorium, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, 4-6 p.m. on September 9.

Other panelists will include moderator Patricia Mitrokostas, Principal Director of Strategic Funding Initiatives, Housing Assistance; Tara Vargas Wallace, Founder & CEO, Amplify POC; Paul Selker, President, Spark Street Digital and Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, Town of Arlington; Elizabeth Saito, journalist; and several Falmouth High School students.

Speakers will give examples of actions resulting from civic engagement: Lanier will describe her decades-long battle with Harvard University to relinquish family artifacts; Mitrokostas will provide an overview of the importance of civic engagement in affordable housing efforts on Cape Cod; Wallace will share her experiences advocating to close the racial wealth gap; Selker will share his experience in the Town of Arlington’s Civic Academy and how it enabled him to become more active in Arlington municipal government; Saito will discuss the role of local newspapers in effective civic engagement; and students from Falmouth High School will share how they are shaping the future of Cape Cod.

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Falmouth Cultural Council (FCC), a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Pre-registration for this free event is available at www.eventcreate.com/e/we-the-people.

About Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC)
Housing Assistance has provided a spectrum of services to help our homeless and vulnerable neighbors secure a safe, stable place to call home since 1974. These programs and services include homeless outreach, family shelters, rental vouchers, affordable housing development, energy efficiency programs, and first-time homebuyer support. Housing Assistance also works to address the root causes of housing instability – lack of inventory and lack of affordability – that affect almost all income levels in our region. To learn more, visit www.haconcapecod.org.