THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2011

White House Business Council and the Office of Public Engagement to Host Urban Entrepreneurship Forums in New Orleans and Atlanta

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to co-host Urban Entrepreneurship Forums with the White House Business Council on Growing Our Economy in our Nation’s Cities

WASHINGTON, DC—The White House Business Council and the Office of Public Engagement today announced that they will host two Urban Entrepreneurship Forums in New Orleans, LA on Wednesday, July 20th and in Atlanta, GA on Friday, July 29th. Each forum will focus on ways to best support economic growth in America’s cities and providing the necessary tools to help local entrepreneurs compete in the global economy. These forums follow the first Urban Entrepreneurship Summit that was held at Rutgers Business School in Newark, NJ in June.

President Barack Obama has laid out a vision to win the future by out-innovating, out-educating and out-building the rest of the world – a plan critical for America’s cities and long-term economic competitiveness. Earlier this year, President Obama re-launched the White House Business Council, which focuses on gathering ideas from the private sector and working in close coordination to support the growth and success of American businesses and entrepreneurs.

As entrepreneurship plays a central role in creating jobs and economic opportunity, the Administration is committed to creating public-private and nonprofit partnerships to support current entrepreneurs and spark a new generation of urban entrepreneurs.

To focus on these initiatives to boost job growth in America’s cities, the White House Business Council , the White House Office of Public Engagement and the Domestic Policy Council are partnering with Mayor Landrieu and Mayor Reed for forums concentrated on ways to strengthen urban entrepreneurship.

These events are open to pre-credentialed media.

Media interested in covering the Urban Entrepreneurship Forum in New Orleans on July 20 should RSVP HERE before 5 PM EDT on Monday, July 18.

Media interested in covering the Urban Entrepreneurship Forum in Atlanta on July 29 should RSVP HERE before 5 PM EDT on Wednesday, July 27.

More details about the Urban Entrepreneurship Forums will be released at a later time. Due to limited space, these events are invitation-only. However, there will be an online component for the public to view each forum online.

For media inquiries and planning purposes: Please contact Ryan Berni at 504-621-9504 or rfberni@nola.gov for the New Orleans forum and Sonji Jacobs at 404-330-6558 or sjdade@atlantaga.gov for the Atlanta forum.

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc., author of Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business book LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), and a Member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.

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