Hundreds of students and experts from across the country converged at the University of Mary Washington from Friday, Oct. 5 to Saturday, Oct. 6 for the Poverty Action Conference. The conference, hosted by Two Dollar Challenge, allowed students to share development project ideas and present their work to panels of experts in the field.
The two-day conference included more than 15 presentations from students representing universities such as New York University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley. The students shared their work on issues ranging from education and community development to waste management, entrepreneurship and microfinance.
“The Poverty Action Conference creates a learning environment that puts students in the spotlight by providing them with the opportunity to receive constructive feedback, network and share ideas with other like-minded individuals,” said Shawn Humphrey, associate professor of economics at UMW and founder of Two Dollar Challenge (TDC). TDC, founded in 2006, encompasses development projects and initiatives including La Ceiba, the $2 a Day Challenge and the Month of Microfinance.
The conference also included keynote addresses from Dean Karlan, professor of economics at Yale University and founder and president of Innovations for Poverty Action and Jonathan Lewis, founder of iOnPoverty and Opportunity Collaboration.
For more information, contact Shawn Humphrey at (540) 654-1487.
