Board member attends conference
DIXON Geoff Vanderlin has been invited to address the International Sister Cities Association Midwest Regional Conference Diversity in Action.
He is a board member and past president of the Dixon Sister Cities Association and the executive director of the Lee County Council on Aging.
The conference runs through today in Cincinnati.
Its focus is on the idea of exploring the “case for program diversity.” A theory that in a growing global marketplace, programs that are inclusive of a variety of members (men and women, people of many generations, people from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds), a variety of partners (public, private, NGOS and universities) and a variety of fundraising sources will be the strongest.
Joining him will be Mukila Maitha, past president of the United Kenyans of Chicago. Maitha is a lecturer at Harper College in Palatine, and has been a frequent visitor to Dixon.
The pair will be speaking on the role of diaspora organizations in helping to form and help with Sister City relationships. Maitha was, and continues to be, a great supporter of Dixon’s relationship with its fourth sister city, Thika, Kenya. A native of Kenya, he was there when the original letter of intent was signed between the two cities in 2007 and, along with other UKC colleagues was instrumental in bringing the two cities together.
Visit www.discoverdixon.org/sister-cities-association/sister-cities-association for information on Dixon Sister Cities or www.sciregionalconference.org/ for more information on the conference.
