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SUMMARY:Part 1 — Unlocking Land\, Equity\, and Climate Opportunity: Lessons from the Mobile Heirs’ Property Support Initiative
DESCRIPTION:This two-part webinar series\, featuring leaders at the Center for Heirs’ Property\, Mississippi for Justice\, and World Wildlife Fund\, will take a deep dive into the topic of heirs’ property as a land title issue and how addressing heirs’ property–through education\, technical assistance\, and legal support–unlocks opportunities for productive land use and opportunities for wealth creation. Heirs’ property is a widespread issue affecting family-owned land across the United States and represents a significant portion of land in the South. It disproportionately affects certain communities\, including low-income and Black communities\, due to historical barriers to clear title. Addressing heirs’ property is a critical step in strengthening land tenure\, enabling productive land use\, and supporting the goals of Black Agrarianism. \n\n\n\nPart 1 will explore the heirs’ property model developed\, tested\, and implemented by the Center for Heirs’ Property (CHP) over the past 21 years. It will also examine how this model was implemented in the Mobile Basin region of Mississippi and Alabama through a partnership with World Wildlife Fund and Kimberly-Clark—aligning CHP’s interest in testing model replication with WWF and Kimberly-Clark’s goals of supporting forestry\, and addressing underlying factors contributing to persistent poverty\, including heirs’ property. This effort also aligned with the Mississippi Center for Justice’s expansion of its heirs’ property work\, establishing it as a key legal partner in the region. \n\n\n\nSpeakers\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAndrea’ Barnes\n\n\n\nDirector\, Heirs Property Campaign\, Mississippi Center for Justice\n\nAndrea’ Barnes is a native of Mississippi and an accomplished attorney\,leader\, and public servant. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree fromTougaloo College\, a Master of Business Administration from Jackson StateUniversity and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Thurgood Marshall School ofLaw. Andrea’s is licensed to practice law in Mississippi. \n\n\nAndrea’ currently serves as the Director of the Heirs’ Property Campaign forthe Mississippi Center for Justice\, a non-profit public interest law firm. TheHeirs’ Property Campaign is dedicated to providing legal assistance andcommunity education to families around the state. The Campaign’s missionfocuses on helping families preserve ownership of their land and maintaintheir family legacy for future generation. \n\n\nPrior to joining the Center\, Andrea’ practiced family law\, estate and probateadministration\, and personal injury litigation. Her professional experiencealso includes service as a law clerk with the Circuit Court of Hinds County\,Mississippi\, a prosecutor with the Hinds County Attorney’s Office\, and asPublic Records Officer and Staff Attorney for the Mississippi Department ofCorrections. \n\n\nIn addition to her legal practice\, Andrea’ has contributed to legal educationas an adjunct professor at Tougaloo College\, where she instructed aspiringlawyers in litigation and trial practice. She has also served on the Board ofDirectors for the Spencer Perkins Center for Reconciliation and CommunityDevelopment\, further demonstrating her commitment to communityengagement and reform. \n\n\nAndrea’ is actively involved in numerous professional organizations andassociations\, including the Mississippi Bar\, Magnolia Bar\, Metro BlackWomen Lawyers Association\, among others. She has received multipleaccolades and recognition from both the profession and community. \n\n\nAs an entrepreneur\, businesswoman\, and attorney by training\, Andrea’ iswidely regarded as a servant leader whose life and work reflects a steadfastcommitment to faith\, integrity\, and justice. \n\n\nIn her spare time\, Andrea’ enjoys spending quality time with her family\,gardening\, and traveling. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJennie L. Stephens\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nCEO\, Center for Heirs Property\nJennie L. Stephens\, Ph.D.\, is a native of Walterboro\, SC\, and an accomplished executive leader with deep expertise in nonprofit management\, advocacy\, and community development. She has successfully secured over $25 million in funding\, driven policy reforms\, and established strategic partnerships to promote land preservation\, economic equity\, and social justice. \n\n\n\nAs the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Heirs’ Property since 2006\, Jennie has expanded the organization’s budget from $150K to $12M\, developed a replicable nonprofit model used in six states\, and secured $25M in federal and foundation funding to expand the Center’s impact and build a national heirs’ property alliance. Her leadership has empoweredhistorically under-resourced landowners with the legal and financial tools needed to protect and sustain their property. \n\n\n\nJennie’s expertise extends into academia as an Adjunct Professor at Mercyhurst University\, where she taught grant writing and program development. She is also a published author\, with her work featured in academic journals\, ABA publications\, and documentary films\, includingGaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land and America’s Forests in South Carolina. She has served on numerous boards and committees\, including the American Forest Foundation Board of Directors (current) and the USDA Equity Commission Agriculture Subcommittee (2022-2024). She has been honored as a TEDx speaker\, a BALLE Fellow\, and a Charleston RegionalBusiness Journal 40 Under 40 Award recipient. \n\n\n\nJennie holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University\, a Master’s in Public Administration\, and a B.S. in Business Administration(Accounting). Beyond her professional work\, Jennie is an avid baker who enjoys experimenting with new recipes for her family and coworkers. Her passion is to help people prosper in every area of their lives through leadership\, advocacy\, and community engagement. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKerry Cesareo\n\n\n\nSenior Vice President\, Forests and Freshwater\, World Wildlife Fund\n\nKerry Cesareo\, senior vice president for forests and freshwater\, leads a portfolio of strategic initiatives in pursuit of WWF’s goal to conserve the world’s most important forests and freshwater ecosystems—for nature\, climate\, and people. This includes investing in forest conservation\, management\, and restoration as essential means of mitigating climate change; restoring and replenishing wetlands and river basins; implementing nature-based solutions with Indigenous peoples and local communities; and reducing the impacts of unsustainable logging\, agriculture\, unsustainable water management\, and infrastructure. \n\n\nKerry previously led WWF’s forest markets work\, launching the North American program of the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) and forging partnerships with Fortune 500 companies on environmentally responsible supply chains for wood and paper products. She has also managed global operations for GFTN as well as the start-up of the Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance\, a public-private partnership with the US Agency for International Development. She has served as cochair of the board of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)-US\, a certifier of forestry best practices that WWF helped found in 1994. \n\n\nKerry first began working on forest issues during a summer partnering with First Nations on Vancouver Island\, British Columbia\, as they prepared for their inaugural timber harvest through a newly formed company\, Iisaak Forest Resources. The creation of Iisaak and its commitment to FSC had helped to end decades of conflict among environmentalists\, First Nations\, and logging companies in Clayoquot Sound. Iisaak received FSC certification in 2001 and inspired Kerry’s career. \n\n\nPrior to joining WWF\, Kerry worked as an environmental scientist\, a forest inventory researcher\, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer\, and a US PIRG field manager. She received a BS in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn brief\, Part 1 will cover the original model developed by CHP\, and its pilot replication/adaptation\, and Part 2 will be a conversation with partners on the ground – a “theory to practice” sequence.  We encourage registrants to attend both parts. The key points speakers will cover are: \n\n\n\n\nContextualizing heirs’ property as a land title issue and the Center for Heirs’ Property Model\n\n\n\nWhy and how the model was implemented in the Mobile Basin and other areas in the South\n\n\n\nHow addressing heirs’ property supports productive land use\, economic opportunity\, and  Black Agrarianism\n\n\n\n\nSee details for Part 2\, on May 6\, here! \n\n\n\nThis webinar series is open to all. We especially encourage you to join if you are:  \n\n\n\n\nAttending the SAFSF Forum in Savannah\, Georgia. This series will provide critical regional context.  \n\n\n\nA  funder interested in land ownership\,  economic development\, and working lands.\n\n\n\nA policymaker focused on agriculture\, land use\, or property rights.\n\n\n\nA member of the public interested in learning more about heirs’ property.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                \n                        \n                            Mobile Heirs’ Property Series Registration\n                            Please fill out this form once to register for Part 1 and Part 2 of the series. \n							"*" indicates required fields \n                        \n                        FacebookThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.This field is hidden when viewing the formRegisterName*\n                            \n                            \n                                                    First\n                                                    \n                                                \n                            \n                            \n                                                            Last\n                                                            \n                                                        \n                            \n                        Organization*Title*Email*\n                            \n                        Are you are funder?*\n								\n								Yes\, I am affiliated with a funding organization.\n							\n								\n								No\, I am not affiliated with any funding organization.\n							SAFSF defines funders as staff\, board members\, trustees\, donors\, program officers\, and other professionals from organizations using grantmaking or investments as a core strategy to fulfill their mission.\nThis field is hidden when viewing the formEvent Name\nIt may take longer than expected to process your submission\, please only click submit once.
URL:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org/event/part-1-unlocking-land-equity-and-climate-opportunity-lessons-from-the-mobile-heirs-property-support-initiative/
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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