AT&T Hunger Summit

HUNGER: The Unnatural State 

A summit on hunger presented by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and AT&T 

DATE:  September 17, 2020 

LOCATION:  Centre at University Park 

6401 West 12th Street 

Little Rock, AR 72204 

TIME:  9:30 a.m. registration, 10 – 3 pm conference 

COST:  $10 includes lunch and book by Jeremy Everett  

*Organizations may register multiple participants. 

I Was Hungry: Cultivating Common Ground to End an American Crisis 

Hear about the impact of hunger, programs to provide relief, and paths toward progress from guest speakers Jeremy Everett, Darrin Williams, and Rosanne Haggarty, and enjoy panels on “Problems & Programs” and “Actions & Advocacy.” 

ABOUT JEREMY EVERETT 

Founder & Executive Director, Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty 

Author of I Was Hungry: Cultivating Common Ground to End an American Crisis 

Jeremy Everett is the founder and executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. The Collaborative integrates research and practice through projects such as: the Texas Hunger Initiative, the Research Fellows program, the Global Hunger and Migration project, and the Hunger Data Lab among others. 

Prior to launching the Collaborative, in 2009 Everett founded and served as the executive director of the Texas Hunger Initiative (THI), a capacity-building, anti-hunger project within Baylor University. THI partners with federal and state agencies, and numerous faith- and community-based organizations to develop and implement strategies to alleviate hunger through research, policy analysis, education, and community organizing. 

Jeremy earned a bachelor’s degree from Samford University and a Master of Divinity from Baylor University. Jeremy is a Next Generation Fellow of the University of Texas LBJ School’s Strauss Center for International Security and Law, a Senior Fellow with World Hunger Relief, Inc., and was appointed by U.S. Congress to serve on the National Commission on Hunger.  

Jeremy is the author of I Was Hungry: Cultivating Common Ground to End an American Crisis, a contributing author in Food and Poverty: Food Insecurity and Food Sovereignty Among America’s Poor (Vanderbilt University Press) and The End of Hunger: How Science, Religion, and Politics Can Work Together to Make Possible (InterVarsity Press). 

Jeremy is married to Amy Miley Everett. They have three sons: Lucas, Sam, and Wyatt. 

ABOUT DARRIN WILLIAMS 

CEO, Southern Bancorp, Inc. 

Darrin Williams’ career is a unique combination of law, business, and politics. Currently serving as the CEO of Southern Bancorp, Inc., Williams oversees the strategic direction and operations of each of Southern’s three Community Development Financial Institutions: Southern Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company; Southern Bancorp Bank, one of America’s largest rural development banks; and Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) development finance and lending organization – collectively known as “Southern.” 

Southern was founded nearly thirty years ago when some of the nation’s most notable political, business and philanthropic leaders, including Bill Clinton, Rob Walton, Muhammad Yunus and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation to name a few, came together around a central idea – that the economic challenges facing many underserved communities could in part be addressed through the creation of a values-based financial organization focused on providing these services to those who most need them. With an initial investment of approximately $10 million and a mission to create economic opportunity, Southern has grown to become one of the most effective and largest community development organizations in the United States, as well as a model for an entire industry of mission-focused financial institutions known as Community Development Financial Institutions. Southern Bancorp today is a $1.2 billion asset organization with over 80,000 customers and 43 branches located primarily in underserved markets in the Mid-South. 

Prior to leading Southern, Williams served as managing partner at the law firm of Carney, Williams, Bates, Pulliam & Bowman, PLLC, where he focused on representing institutional investors and consumers in class action litigation against some of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies. Williams also served three terms of elected office in the Arkansas House of Representatives (2008-2013), serving as Speaker Pro Tempore of the 89th Arkansas General Assembly. As a lawmaker, he was recognized nationally for his legislative accomplishments, including being named a Champion of Small Business by the National Capital Coalition, an Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership by the Aspen Institute, and listed as one of 12 state legislators from around the country to watch by Governing Magazine. Williams received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College, his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and his Master of Laws degree in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. 

ABOUT ROSANNE HAGGERTY 

President & CEO, Community Solutions 

Rosanne Haggerty is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Solutions. She is an internationally recognized leader in developing innovative strategies to end homelessness and strengthen communities. Community Solutions assists communities throughout the US and internationally in solving the complex housing problems facing their most vulnerable residents. Their large scale change initiatives include the 100,000 Homes and Built for Zero Campaigns to end chronic and veteran homelessness, and neighborhood partnerships that bring together local residents and institutions to change the conditions that produce homelessness. Earlier, she founded Common Ground Community, a pioneer in the design and development of supportive housing and research-based practices that end homelessness. 

Ms. Haggerty was a Japan Society Public Policy Fellow, and is a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, Ashoka Senior Fellow, Hunt Alternative Fund Prime Mover and the recipient of honors including the Jane Jacobs Medal for New Ideas and Activism from the Rockefeller Foundation, Social Entrepreneur of the year from the Schwab Foundation, Cooper Hewitt/Smithsonian Design Museum’s National Design Award and Independent Sector’s John W. Gardner Leadership Award. She is a graduate of Amherst College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.