Generation Progress' Make Progress Summit 2015

 Yesterday, I had the privilege to attend the 2015 Make Progress Summit in Washington, D.C. to join with other young "change makers" across the U.S.  Make Progress is an annual event hosted by Generation Progress, a national organization that empowers, engages, and mobilizes young people around progressive policy issues.  The all-day event was held at the beautiful Walter E. Washington Conference Center where we were greeted with enthusiastic staff members anxious to get the day underway.

I was honored to be approached by the campaign manager of HigherEdNotDebt, Ms. Maggie Thompson who said she has been following my social media for months and was thrilled to have me attend.  The morning begin with breakfast and an exciting welcome from Generation Progress' Executive Director, Anne Johnson to start off the day.  I sat at a table with a super group of young people inspired for change in our nation.  They represented the states of California, Massachusetts and Oregon.  The entire room was filled with positive energy from all attendees and the GP staff ensured everyone was having a great time.

Among the guest speakers Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden spoke about Millennials impact to the country.   Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, one of the morning speakers spoke about her passion to reduce student loan debt and make college affordable for all who want to pursue a higher education.

Additional guest speakers included Nancy Pelosi, Secretary Thomas E. Perez and Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President.  GP also offered three break out sessions, one specifically geared towards student loan debt which I was especially excited to attend.  There was an outstanding panel, including Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI) and Rohit Chopra, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and former regulator at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  They were extremely happy to hear that my year as Miss District of Columbia International has been dedicated to bringing awareness to the issue of student loan debt and the demand for financial literacy among young people worldwide.

Student Loan Debt Panel

At the conclusion of the event, I received an invitation to partner with HigherEdNotDebt and its efforts to help spread the message about student loan debt throughout the globe.  I left the day with a cool attendee "swag bag" from Generation Progress!

Thank you to everyone at Center for American Progress and Generation Progress for making #MakeProgress 2015 a fun-filled and enlightening day!

Paying it forward,

Keia  Brown
Miss District of Columbia International 2015