Chopra, Harkin, Kurzweil, Ornish, Khan Top Race & Reconciliation Conclave on Health and Wellness

WASHINGTON, March 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, described by Forbes magazine as “the ultimate thinking machine” will join wellness legislative leader Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), health and wellness expert Dr. Deepak Chopra, diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish, PepsiCo Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Mehmood Khan and three dozen other national thought leaders at the March 16th conference on Race and Reconciliation in America: Health and Wellness for All. The daylong gathering is being convened and co-hosted by former US Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and playwright/author Janet Langhart Cohen, and will take place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The March 16th meeting follows the Cohens’ acclaimed July 2008 initiative on race and reconciliation in America, which brought together political, business, entertainment, religious, academic, non-profit and community organization leaders from across the country to discuss the impact of race on education, law and criminal justice, economic inequality, the media and film, religion and the next generation. The groundbreaking series of discussions was broadcast by C-SPAN and CNN.com and is continuing in communities throughout the nation.

In addition to Chopra, Kurzweil, Harkin, Khan and Ornish, there will be over 40 experts from across the country, including former FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach; Dr. Michael Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic; Dr. Irwin Redlener, President and Co-Founder of the Children’s Health Fund; distinguished medical practitioner Dr. Sharon Malone, whose spouse, Eric Holder, now serves as Attorney General; Dr. Tania Heller, Medical Director of the Washington Center for Eating Disorders and Adolescent Obesity; and Leo V. Williams, III, Major General, US Marine Corps (Retired), Executive Vice President of Medifast, Inc.

“We’re very pleased that the July discussions prompted such a positive national response,” said Secretary Cohen. “This is clearly being reflected in the scope and level of thought leader participation as we prepare to address on Monday the key aspects of health issues that affect black and white citizens throughout our country.”

Janet Langhart Cohen, who has created a long-term non-profit organization to sustain and expand a nationwide dialogue on issues of race and reconciliation, said “Our Monday discussions will focus on key area we must address as individuals and as a nation, as we seek to define and shape public and private sector approaches to health care that benefit all Americans: What is wellness? What economic factors affect our health and well-being? What obstacles do Americans, black or white, face in achieving healthy bodies and healthy minds? What must we know and what must we teach to reach those goals? “

The March 16th event will be co-sponsored by the New York-based non-profit philanthropic Howard Gilman Foundation of New York. Foundation Board Member Doug Wilson said “we were honored to partner with Bill and Janet Cohen for their seminal discussions on race and reconciliation last year, and we are pleased to join them again, as they continue their efforts to address key issues that will help all of us to face and bridge America’s racial divide.”

The conference is open to the press and will be carried live over the Internet via CNN.com. The Internet audience will be able to pose questions to conference presenters during the roundtable sessions. A conference agenda is attached.

For more information and to cover the event, contact Langhart Communications.

    RACE AND RECONCILIATION IN AMERICA: HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR ALL
    MARCH 16, 2009
    NATIONAL PRESS CLUB - 529 14TH STREET NW, 13TH FLOOR
    WASHINGTON, D.C 20045

    Hosted by
    The Hon. William S. Cohen and Janet Langhart Cohen

    AGENDA

    7:30am-8:30am           Registration

    8:30am-8:45am           Welcome and opening remarks:
                            The Hon. William S. Cohen
                            Janet Langhart Cohen
                            Senator Tom Harkin

    8:45am -9:45am          Setting the Scene:
                            Dr. Michael Roizen
                              Chairman and Chief Wellness Officer,
                              Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute
                              Co-Founder and Chair, Scientific Advisory
                              Board, RealAge.com
                            Dr. Dean Ornish
                              Founder and President, Preventive Medicine
                              Research Institute
                              Author, Eat More, Weigh Less; The Spectrum

    9:45 am-11am            SESSION I:
                            What Is Wellness?

                            Dr. Deepak Chopra
                              Founder, The Chopra Center for Wellbeing
                              Co-founder and President, Alliance for a New
                              Humanity

    11am-11:15am            BREAK

    11:15am- 12:30pm        SESSION II:
                            The Economics of Wellness

                            Larry Cohen, MSW
                              Founder and Executive Director, The Prevention
                              Institute
                            Dr. Irwin Redlener,
                              President and Co-Founder, Children's Health
                              Fund
                            Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach,
                              Senior Advisor, Greenleaf Health LLC
                              Former Commissioner, US Food and Drug
                              Administration
                              Former Director, National Cancer Institute

    12:30pm-2pm             LUNCHEON SESSION:
                            Keynote Speaker:
                            Ray Kurzweil
                              President, Kurzweil Technologies
                              Author, The Age of Intelligent Machines; The
                              Age of Spiritual Machines; The Singularity is
                              Near

    2pm-3:15pm              SESSION III:
                            The Obstacles to Wellness

                            Larry Adelman,
                              Executive Producer, Unnatural Causes Series
                              Co-Director, California Newsreel
                            Dr. Tania Heller
                              Medical Director, Washington Center for Eating
                              Disorders And Adolescent Obesity
                            Dr. Sharon Malone
                              Foxhall OB-GYN Associates

    3:15pm-4:30pm           SESSION IV:
                            Educating Our Citizens:
                            What Must We Know?  What Must We Teach?

                            Dr. Mehmood Khan
                              Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific
                              Officer, PepsiCo
                            Ginny Ehrlich
                              Executive Director, Alliance for a Healthier
                              Generation
                            Chris Irish
                              Diabetes Nurse Educator, Central Maine Medical
                              Center

SOURCE Langhart Communications