Former President Barack Obama Led Foundation Summit on Mies Campus

The third annual Obama Foundation Summit, Places Reveal Our Purpose, was held on Illinois Institute of Technology’s Mies Campus on October 28–29. The foundation’s mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world; the summit encourages “civic leaders from around Chicago, the United States, and the world to come together to exchange ideas, explore creative solutions to common problems, and experience civic art, technology, and music.”

In addition to sessions hosted by President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, the summit featured sessions with civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, musician Mavis Staples, and actor Billy Porter, among many others. Illinois Tech’s Director of Community Affairs Alicia Bunton hosted a kickoff event for Obama Foundation leadership and volunteers as they embarked on a day of service throughout Chicago’s South Side on the first day of the event.

As a part of the October 29 main program schedule, Howard Tullman, executive director of the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, hosted a special breakout session, Prototyping for Change, and participated in a morning panel on Changemaking Through Entrepreneurship. Illinois Tech professor and Kaplan Institute architect John Ronan participated in an afternoon breakout session titled Gathering at the Center: Building a Successful Civic Space.

You can read summit highlights at the Obama Foundation website.