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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 4, 2017 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-b <br /> SUBJECT: 2017 Piedmont Laureate Mimi Herman Presentation for National Poetry Month <br /> DEPARTMENT: Orange County Arts <br /> Commission <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Katie Murray, 919-245-2335 <br /> PURPOSE: To recognize National Poetry Month with a presentation by the 2017 Piedmont <br /> Laureate, poet Mimi Herman. <br /> BACKGROUND: The Annual Piedmont Laureate Program is a joint collaboration of the Orange <br /> County Arts Commission, City of Raleigh Arts Commission, the Durham Arts Council, and the <br /> United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County. Its primary goal is to promote awareness and <br /> heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts throughout the Piedmont region. The <br /> program is dedicated to building a literary bridge, allowing residents to come together and <br /> celebrate the art of writing, enriching the lives of everyone. <br /> Durham resident Mimi Herman is Director of the United Arts Council Arts Integration Institute, <br /> and a teaching artist, writer and editor. Since 1990, Ms. Herman has engaged over 25,000 <br /> students and teachers with writing residencies, as well as designing and providing professional <br /> development in arts integration for teaching artists, teachers and administrators throughout the <br /> country. She has taught in the Masters of Education and EdD programs at Lesley University, <br /> and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and has been an associate editor for Teaching <br /> Artist Journal. Ms. Herman holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at <br /> Chapel Hill and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: The Orange County Arts Commission contributes $1,350 of state <br /> Grassroots Arts Program funds to this program, which is fiscally managed through the United <br /> Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County. <br /> SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is associated <br /> with this item. <br /> • GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION <br /> Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting and <br /> volunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation <br /> RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board acknowledge the <br /> presentation and encourage literary awareness for all residents of Orange County. <br />