Public Radio WBHM 90.3 FM and its Junior Advisors will host an “Issues & Ales” event concentrating on leadership and civic engagement Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at WorkPlay at 500 23rd St. South.
The evening will focus on the question “How can we work together to build stronger communities?” and feature a panel discussion facilitated by WBHM’s news director Rachel Osier Lindley and Morning Edition host and reporter Andrew Yeager.
“Civic energy in the area is at a high point,” says Lindley. “WBHM is excited to host a public conversation on how we can best channel this enthusiasm and create lasting positive impact.”
The conversation will focus on the challenges with leadership and regional cooperation that North Central Alabama faces. Panelists will include Randall Woodfin of the Birmingham Board of Education, Weld publisher Mark Kelly, Jefferson County Commissioner Sandra Little Brown, REV Birmingham CEO David Fleming, Jefferson County CEO Tony Petelos, Victor Brown of the Birmingham Business Alliance, and Sarah Newell from United Way of Central Alabama.
“WBHM is a convener of ambitions and aspirations that are at the root of building a better Birmingham,” says WBHM’s general manager Scott Hanley. “Our listeners have shared their passion for creating a productive community, filled with learning, arts, and culture. Along with WBHM’s award-winning news coverage, events like Issues & Ales give us a way to listen and, as a part of UAB, discover and share ‘knowledge that will change your world.’”
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., followed by a guided conversation between panelists at 6 p.m. The event is free, and food and beverages will be available for purchase from Cantina on Wheels and WorkPlay.
Have a question for our panel? Get in touch with us. Email news@wbhm.org.
About the WBHM Junior Advisors
Through the WBHM Junior Advisors, the station offers service, learning, cultural and social opportunities for those committed supporters in the 21-40 age range. The WBHM Junior Advisors serve under the guidance of the station’s senior Friends of WBHM community advisory board, which gives WBHM a voice in the community promoting public radio and its mission in North Central Alabama. Junior board members are Chair Katie Suttle Weinert, counsel, Littler Mendelson P.C.; Pascal Caputo, chief of staff to Jefferson County Commission President David Carrington; Bebe Goodrich, owner, Cantata Coffee, LLC; Deon Gordon, partner/director, Corvus Consultants; Jennifer Hatchett, executive director, YouthServe, Inc.; John A. Williamson III, securities trader, FNBB Capital Markets; Matt Hooper, senior communications director/digital strategies manager, American Heart Association; Matthew Swerdlin, attorney; Kellie Cosby Clark, project manager, Relax, It’s Handled; Jessica Merlin, MD, MBA, assistant professor, UAB School of Medicine; Seton Parson, bankruptcy specialist, Ascension Capital Group, Inc.