Summer series focuses on civil society and nonprofits

The University of Wisconsin Center for Nonprofits will present “Building Civil Society Through the Nonprofit Sector,” a four-week “Communiversity — Summer Forum” of eight sessions between Tuesday, June 15 through Thursday, July 8.

Featured speakers include the following leaders from the nonprofit field:

• Former Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum, president and CEO of Aidmatrix Foundation in Houston, Texas;
• Barry Gaberman, senior vice president emeritus, Ford Foundation and a faculty member at American University in Cairo, Egypt;
• Barbara Snell, CEO of University Community Health Centers, Nashville, Tenn.;
• Kathleen Woit, president, Madison Community Foundation;
• Carole MacNeil; MacNeil Associates, Denver, Colo.

They will focus on building a civil society nationally and internationally, health care access, youth activism, and related topics. A complete listing of speakers and topics is available here.

“Our Communiversity forums have been exceedingly popular with both community and campus colleagues,” says Jeanan Yasiri, Center for Nonprofits executive director. “We encourage volunteers and professionals within the sector to participate. We all have a role in increasing our level of engagement within our community.”

Each session will begin at 6 p.m. at the Pyle Center, 716 Langdon St., Madison. The series is free and open to the public. Registration information is available here.

This series is presented by the Center for Nonprofits with support from the UW–Madison Division of Continuing Studies, the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation, the Alliant Energy Foundation, the Morgridge Center for Public Service Challenge Grant, and the Brittingham Fund, Inc.

The Center for Nonprofits has hosted 10 Communiversity sessions since November 2008. Attendance has included faculty, staff and students, as well as nonprofit executives, volunteers, and foundation leaders. Past sessions are available online from the center’s website.

For registration questions, please contact Allison Murray at armurray@wisc.edu