Readout of White House Meeting with the Poor People’s Campaign

This week, White House Office of Public Engagement Director Steve Benjamin, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu met with Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign Bishop William J. Barber, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) International President Mary Kay Henry, and other leaders from the Poor People’s Campaign and Repairers of the Breach to discuss the enduring fight to end poverty in America.

During the meeting, senior White House officials underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to make the promise of America real for every American, including communities impacted by persistent poverty. They discussed how President Biden has led the most equitable economic recovery on record by signing into law the historic American Rescue Plan (ARP), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), in turn creating more than 13 million jobs since taking office and helping generate new economic opportunities for underserved communities. The officials thanked participants for sharing their stories about the devastating impact of poverty and for their moral leadership and partnership in building an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.  The officials emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration’s core commitment to continue building the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

Participants included:

White House Officials

1. Steve Benjamin, Assistant to the President, Director, Office of Public Engagement
2. Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President, Domestic Policy Advisor
3. Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to the President, Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator 
4. Erika Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President, AA and NHPI Senior Liaison
5. Tara Murray, Special Assistant to the President, Deputy Director, Office of Public Engagement
6. Melissa Rogers, Special Assistant to the President, Director of White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
7. Phil Kim, Senior Advisor, AA and NHPI and Faith Liaison, Office of Public Engagement
8. David Marsh, Director of Economic Mobility, Domestic Policy Council

Poor People’s Campaign and Repairers of the Breach

1. Bishop William J. Barber II, Director, Yale Center for Public Theology & Public Policy; President, Repairers of the Breach; Co-Chair, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
2. Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Director, The Kairos Center; Co-Chair, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
3. Mary Kay Henry, International President, SEIU
4. Valerie Eguavoen, Associate Director, Yale Center for Public Theology & Public Policy 
5. Rev. A. Kazimir Brown, Executive Director and Vice President, Repairers of the Breach
6. Shailly Barnes, Policy Director, Kairos Center 
7. Rabbi Alana Suskin, Maryland Poor People’s Campaign 
8. Tanya Fogle, Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign
9. Pam Garrison, West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign 
10. Callie Greer, Alabama Poor People’s Campaign
11. Mariel Garcia, Fight for $15 LA
12. Rev. Dr. Della Jane Owens, Senior Minister, St. James Christian Church
13. Yara Allen, Director of Theomusicology, Repairers of the Breach
14. Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson, Executive Director, Poor People’s Campaign
15. Rev. Dr. Louis Threatt, Minister and Chaplain
16. Rev. Wayne Wilhelm, North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign

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