Expanding the
White House's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships, Pres. Barack Obama appointed Fred Davie, the
openly gay leader of Public/Private Ventures, to the
office's governing council.
The council of 25
appointees, serving one-year terms, is composed of
secular and religious leaders who will promote
localized involvement and community improvement.
Davie joined P/PV
in 2001 and became president in 2006, according to the
organization's website. Prior to joining P/PV, Davie worked
at various positions in New York City government
as well as for philanthropic groups and
community-service programs. As the program officer for
the Ford Foundation's faith-based community development
office, he managed grants for programs in the United
States and Africa.
Public/Private
Ventures describes itself as an "action-based
research, public policy, and program-development
organization" that especially focuses on programs like
education, employment, prisoner reentry, crime
reduction, and community health.
"There is a force
for good greater than government," Obama said in a
statement on Thursday. "It is an expression of faith, this
yearning to give back, this hungering for a purpose larger
than our own, that reveals itself not simply in places
of worship, but in senior centers and shelters,
schools and hospitals, and any place an American
decides."
The president
signed an executive order expanding the Office of
Faith-Based Initiatives launched by former president George
W. Bush. He appointed as its director Joshua DuBois, a
26-year-old Pentecostal pastor from Massachusetts who
worked with Obama on religious outreach both as a
senator and on the campaign trail.
When campaigning,
Obama condemned Bush policies that allowed religious
organizations to receive federal money despite exercising
discriminatory practices in employment and aid work.
"If you get a
federal grant, you can't use that grant money to
proselytize to the people you help and you can't
discriminate against them -- or against the people you
hire -- on the basis of their religion," Obama said.
(Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com)