March 16, 2005

Felker Leadership Conference to feature expert on nonprofits

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Robert Egger, a nationally noted expert on nonprofit organizations, will be the keynote speaker on April 15 during the annual Felker Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Purdue University College of Consumer and Family Sciences.

The conference will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the University Inn & Conference Center.

In 1989 Egger founded D.C. Central Kitchen, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that collects food donated by local restaurants, caterers and hotels in order to produce more than 5,000 meals a day. Since its founding, the D.C. Central Kitchen has distributed 14 million meals and provided job training and placement in the food service industry to 450 previously unemployed men and women.

Egger also heads the Campus Kitchen Project, which establishes similar kitchens on college campuses across the nation.

Author of "Begging for Change: The Dollars and Sense of Making Nonprofits Responsive, Efficient and Rewarding for All," Egger has been featured on the television programs "Oprah Winfrey Show," "Nightline" and "48 Hours." He has received several awards, including the Use Your Life Award from the Oprah Angel Network. He also has been named the James Beard Humanitarian of the Year, a national award given to a person in the food industry who has significantly aided humanity by developing programs and/or molding ideas and attitudes to help those less fortunate.

The conference's luncheon speaker will be Purdue alumnus Doug Bennett, who received a bachelor's degree in consumer and family sciences in 1983. He is vice president of sales for the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association.

Cost for the conference, including lunch, is $35. Cost for the conference alone is $25. Reservations are required by March 31.

The Felker Leadership Conference was established in 1993 to support programs in education and scholarship at Purdue. Donald W. Felker served as dean of consumer and family sciences from 1987 until his death in 1992. Felker established a fund to provide leadership opportunities to students, faculty and alumni in honor of his wife, Evelyn, who earned a master's degree in 1976 from Purdue.

For more information on the conference, call (800) 535-7303 or (765) 494-7890.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Source: Amy Liter, Consumer and Family Sciences director of alumni and donor relations, (765) 494-7890, liter@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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