2015 HOPE Global Forum Commences in Atlanta This Thursday

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Operation HOPE, the leading global financial dignity non-profit, will commence the 3^rd annual HOPE Global Forum from the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. This year's Forum coincides with a weekend of celebrations in the city of Atlanta in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. 

The HOPE Global Forum Annual Meeting will convene leaders from community, government, entertainment and the private sector to outline a vision for the modern global economy – a vision that includes all people. Where the poor, underserved and teetering middle class are seen as untapped assets for economic growth, entrepreneurship and job creation. With the theme "Reimagining the Global Economy: Expanding Free Enterprise for All," the Forum will be held at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia.

"The 2015 HOPE Global Forum is shaping up to be the best one yet with well-respected, experienced leaders from every discipline joining us this week to move the dialogue forward as we develop the blueprint for a new, inclusive global economic vision," said HOPE founder, CEO and chair John Hope Bryant. "The entire Operation HOPE family is humbled by the record level of interest in this year's Forum – we're ready to make history once again."

This year's forum will include presentations and appearances by a number of well-known, influential leaders from a broad cross section of industry including:

• William J. (Bill) Clinton, the 42^nd President of the United States of America
• Julian Castro, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary
• Ambassador Andrew Young, civil rights icon, former Atlanta mayor and HOPE Global Spokesman
• Dr. Bernice King, CEO, the King Center
• Rajendra Pachauri, Nobel Laureate, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Steve Case, former chairman and CEO, AOL Time Warner
• Kat Cole, president, Cinnabon, Inc.
• The Honorable Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
• Vanessa De Luca, editor-in-chief, Essence Magazine
• Lisa Borders, vice president of Global Community Affairs, The Coca-Cola Foundation
• William Rogers, chairman and CEO, SunTrust Banks
• Kessel Stelling, CEO, Synovus
• Michael Arougheti, co-founder, Ares and director and president, Ares Management GP LLC

The 2015 HOPE Global Forum will host nine working groups (four on Friday, January 16 and five on Saturday, January 17) where attendees, representing the best and brightest from C Suite to Main Street, will brainstorm solutions to the shrinking middle class and discuss innovations for the future. Influential leaders will speak during each working group session and offer the opportunity to ask questions to experts in fields related to the topic. These working groups will drive conversation and change in every community at every income level.

MSNBC recently announced that for the first time, the network will be the media sponsor of Operation HOPE'S 2015 HOPE Global Forum Annual Meeting, held in Atlanta from January 15-17. Several MSNBC journalists will be traveling to Atlanta to cover the event. MSNBC's "Ronan Farrow Daily" will broadcast live from the forum on Friday, January 16 at 1 p.m. ET and MSNBC reporter Trymaine Lee will also be reporting live from the forum. MSNBC.com will stream several of the weekend's events live on shift.msnbc.com.

To learn more about the 2015 HOPE Global Forum, please visit: HopeGlobalForum.org. All interested media should register here.

About Operation HOPE

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been providing financial dignity and economic empowerment to over 2.2 million individuals worldwide. Through its work, HOPE turns check cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners and minimum wage workers into living wage consumers. For additional information about Operation HOPE, go to www.operationhope.org. 

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SOURCE Operation HOPE