On October 31 and November 1, Gray Matter founder, Britney Robbins was invited to join President Barack and Michelle Obama for their inaugural Obama Foundation Summit. The first-ever Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago brought together hundreds of passionate and inspiring civic leaders from around the world to share ideas, learn from one another, and explore creative solutions to common problems.
The Summit featured five main stage sessions with talks on topics ranging from motivating young people to choose a civic path to technology’s role in creating equitable and inclusive communities. The Summit also included breakout sessions on topics ranging from communicating across differences to art and culture’s role in creating productive cities to understanding race in relation to one’s civic identity. Breakout sessions provided attendees with the opportunity to dive deeper into topics, engage directly in conversation, and learn new skills.