Judy Montero

Judy’s in Los Angeles for the next couple of days, attending the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) conference. She’s there on a scholarship — no taxpayer money is being used to fund the trip — and will attend four sessions to learn frameworks for promoting healthier communities within District 9. Here is her Thursday a.m. dispatch:

This morning I am listening to the Honorable Adolfo Carrion, who works for President Obama as the White House Director of Urban Affairs He is speaking about the need for health care reform. The breakfast topic this morning is State of American Communities: Governing in Troupled Economic Times. It’s a very timely subject, as the Denver City Council is weighing various options for cutting the city budget and determining which services take priority.

A number of other Obama administration officials are here, including Cecilia Muñoz, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs; Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; and Rebecca Blank, Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs.

My workshop track for the week is called “Health Disparities and Latino Leadership; Working Together to Provide Solutions.” There are also workshops on the opportunities that green industries may hold for local economies; K-12 education in multiethnic communities; early childhood education; job creation; infrastructure; and a wide range of other issues that are relevant to District 9.

Here is the conference website. I’ll be back in Denver for the weekend!