November Program

5:15 - 6:00 pm:  Economic Outlook:  Ruin or Recovery? Mike Walden, News & Observer

6:00 - 6:45 pm: Networking
6:45 - 7:15 pm: Dinner
7:15 - 8:30 pm: Web 2.0, Shannon Tufts, UNC School of Government

Economic Outlook:  Ruin or Recovery?

Is the economy ready to grow?  Is the recession already over, or about to end?  What are both the short and long run challenges to the economy?  These and other questions will be discussed and debated

Mike Walden

 Dr. Michael L. Walden is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and Extension Economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University.   His Ph.D. degree is from Cornell University and he has been at N.C. State since 1978.

Dr. Walden has teaching, research, and extension responsibilities at NCSU in the areas of consumer economics, economic outlook, and public policy.   He has published eight books and over 250 articles and reports.   He has served on several local and state level commissions, including the Governor's Welfare Reform Task Force, the School Capital Construction Legislative Study Commission, and the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Future of Wake County.   Recently he served on the staffs to the State and Local Fiscal Modernization Study Commission and the UNC Tomorrow Commission.

Web 2.0

What is the potential of the next generation of web technologies to transform organizations, or, at least, to add real value? This session will explore both the fundamental concepts and tools of Web 2.0 and provide lots of real-world examples of Web 2.0 in action. If you’re interested in the web as a platform for greater participation, collaboration, productivity, and creativity, then this session will provide the overview you need to proceed. All this good news will then be balanced by an assessment of the challenges in making Web 2.0 actually work in the en­terprise and recommendations for success.

Shannon Tufts

Shannon Tufts is the director of the Center for Public Technology at the UNC School of Government.  Dr. Tufts designed and implemented the first local government Chief Information Officers Certification program in the nation and continues to run CIO certification programs for local and state government IT professionals. Shannon has taught numerous courses on public sector information systems across the US, including IT investment strategies, embracing technology, project management, and stakeholder engagement in technology-enabled government. She serves on several federal, state, and local government committees to promote the effective use of technology in the public sector. Dr. Tufts holds a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill, an MPA from UNC-Charlotte, and a PhD in public administration with a concentration in public sector information systems from North Carolina State University.