The Sycamore Institute

COVID-19 and Economic Opportunity Across Zip Codes in America
2020-10-21 16:00 - 17:15 (America/Chicago) | TN
Will the economic fallout of COVID-19 make it harder to get ahead in America? Is it already harder than we think? On October 21, you’ll have a unique opportunity to explore these questions with acclaimed economist Dr. Raj Chetty, whose groundbreaking work has transformed what we know about economic mobility in the United States.
With insights for data scientists, economists, policymakers, and community leaders across all sectors, Chetty will show how the pandemic’s impact varies by ZIP code, discuss current and potential public policy responses, and connect the dots to long-standing obstacles to opportunity.
Brought to you by The Sycamore Institute and Vanderbilt University’s Data Science Institute, Department of Economics, and Public Policy Studies program, the event took place via Zoom. You can watch it again below.

Community Connection: Public Health Infrastructure in Tennessee
2020-09-17 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
Join The Sycamore Institute, ETSU’s Center for Rural Health Research, and Tennessee Institute of Public Health (TNIPH) for a conversation on public health in Tennessee.
From the flu to salmonella to COVID-19, major disease outbreaks often focus the public eye on public health. But what does that phrase mean, exactly? Join our discussion of what Tennessee’s public health system does, its role in a globalized world, and how Tennessee funds its public health infrastructure.
Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/x/community-connection-public-health-infrastructure-in-tennessee-registration-118194756699

Lifting the Veil on Tennessee’s Budget with the Sycamore Institute
2020-09-14 13:30 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
While it may sometimes go unnoticed, most nonprofit work is tied to or affected by government funding decisions. Some nonprofits carry out their missions with the direct support of government dollars. All are working on issues and in environments that are shaped by the financial decision-making of our public sector leaders.
Tennessee’s state budget is both an accounting of the dollars coming into and going out of the state each year and a statement of the state’s public policy priorities. Unfortunately, the budget – weighing in at over 1,000 pages of tables and text and over 100 pages of legislation – can be daunting, often feeling shrouded in mystery. In this session, you’ll learn more about Tennessee’s budget process, interesting budget trends, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the budget.
Interested participants can register here for this paid event hosted by the Center for Nonprofit Management.

Community Connection: The Numbers Don’t Lie…or Do They?
2020-09-02 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
From the pandemic to politics to the recession, you’re often bombarded with conflicting information. How do you know what’s reliable? Join us for a digital happy hour on September 2nd to learn how savvy consumers of news and statistics use critical thinking to navigate the confusion and sort good info from bad.
Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsd-mqrDkvHNXkWRDGP-utC7nysb3mnptr
Recommended reading: 5 Simple But Important Things to Know About Statistics
Recommended beverage: Whatever you like!

Community Connection: Unemployment Insurance in Tenessee
2020-08-06 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a historic spike in people filing for unemployment benefits. Join The Sycamore Institute for a conversation about Tennessee’s unemployment insurance program — what it is, who it covers, how it’s funded, where it stands compared to other states, and what’s been changed recently.

Aspen Institute Event on Financial Security and COVID-19
2020-05-27 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
On Wednesday, May 27, Sycamore’s Laura Berlind will be a featured speaker at an Aspen Institute webinar on consumer debt and financial security in the time of COVID-19. The event, Managing, Collecting, and Forgiving Consumer Debt: Lessons for Policymakers and Business Leaders, is part of a series meant to triage the immediate effects of the current pandemic, design solutions allowing households to recover, and address the structural challenges to stabilize financial security at the household level.
The webinar will begin at 12:00 p.m. CT (1:00 p.m. ET), and all those interested in attending can register for free at this link.

2019 Holiday Open House
2019-12-10 15:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
The Sycamore Institute has had a whirlwind year in 2019, and what better way to celebrate than with you? Please join us for food, drinks, and friendly disagreement on December 10! RSVP now to let us know you’re coming, and feel free to drop in for a few minutes or stay the whole time.
TIME:
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
LOCATION:
The Sycamore Institute
150 4th Avenue North, Suite 1870
Nashville, TN 37219
PARKING:
Parking is available next door to the One Nashville Place Building, across 4th Avenue, or in the downtown public library parking garage.
Accessing our office from the entrance of One Nashville Place:
After entering the building, select “18” on an electronic pad located by the elevators. Once you arrive on the 18th floor, there will be posted signs directing you to our office.
FAQs
How can I contact the organizer with any questions?
For more information, please contact Brittney Anthony at Banthony@sycamoretn.org or (615) 475-5704.

Medical Debt in Tennessee: Causes, Effects, and State-Based Solutions
2019-10-29 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | TN
Medical debt is in many ways a unique barrier to economic mobility. Unlike a car or home loan, it often results from unexpected emergencies or surprise bills for scheduled care.
It’s also surprisingly common across demographic and socioeconomic lines. In 2016, medical debt hurt the credit reports of 1 in 4 Tennesseans – the 10th highest rate in the county.
There is no silver bullet solution, but Tennessee policymakers have a wide range of options to prevent the problem, help people manage it, and mitigate its effects.
On October 29th, join Sycamore and our expert panelists in a meaningful dialogue about what state policymakers can do to address medical debt in Tennessee.
Expert Panel

Joanna Smith-Ramani, The Aspen Institute
Judge Alex McVeagh, Hamilton County General Sessions Court
Dr. Joseph Webb, Nashville General Hospital at Meharry
Mandy Pellegrin, The Sycamore Institute

Time
5:30pm – Meet and greet with panelists and Sycamore staff
5:45pm – Presentation, panel, and Q&A
Location
Massey Board Room
4th Floor, Massey Business Center
Belmont University
Free Parking
Parking is available in the North garage under Belmont’s Inman Center. Once inside the garage:
• Take INMAN elevator to 2nd floor (Note: Do not use the MCWHORTER elevators.)
• On the 2nd floor, turn to your left and exit to the cross walk leading to the Massey Business Center.
• Enter the Massey Business Center, follow the hallway around to the right and find the elevator on the right.
• Take elevator to Massey level 4 and exit left.
• Massey Board Room is on the left.
Accessing the Garage from I-440:
• Take Exit 3 to 21st Ave South/ Hillsboro Pike and stay on 21st Ave.
• Continue north on 21st Ave until the light at Blair.
• Turn right on Blair and continue straight until the stop sign at the intersection of Belmont Blvd.
• Turn left onto Belmont Blvd and take the first right turn onto Delmar Ave.
• Continue on Delmar and turn left at the stop sign onto 15th Ave South.
• Continue straight through the stop sign on 15th until you reach the round about.
• Take the third exit on the round about.
• At the next round about, the garage entrance is located on the first exit.
• Turn left at the stop sign into the Inman/McWhorter parking garage.
Accessing the Garage from I-65:
• Take exit 81 onto Wedgewood Ave.
• If coming from 65 South, you will turn right onto Wedgewood Ave. If coming from 65 North, you will turn left onto Wedgewood Ave.
• Continue straight on Wedgewood until you reach the traffic light at 15th Ave South.
• Turn left onto 15th Ave south.
• Take the first exit in the roundabout.
• At the next round about, the garage entrance is located on the first exit.
• Turn left at the stop sign into the Inman/McWhorter parking garage.

An Evening with Jonathan Haidt & Laura Berlind
2019-10-17 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist whose research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, will be in Nashville Oct. 17, 2019, for a lecture and conversation with Laura Berlind, Sycamore’s executive director. Hosted by Lipscomb University, the event will take place from 6-8 p.m. in the George Shinn Event Center. Tickets are free and can be reserved at this link.
Haidt’s most recent books are the New York Times bestsellers, “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion” and “The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.”

Book Discussion — The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
2019-09-25 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
Americans have always engaged in hearty disagreement over politics, policy, society, and faith. It’s part of what makes us American. Today, however, there’s something different about our growing anxiety, partisan discord, and disgust for opposing viewpoints.
Why do we (and others) think and feel the way we do? And how can we empower our leaders (and ourselves) to find a healthier approach to public discourse?
Register below to explore these challenges with people who may think differently as we discuss New York Times best-selling book The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt. Brian Straessle of The Sycamore Institute and Kenyatta Lovett with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development will co-facilitate this conversation hosted by Sycamore and Lipscomb University’s College of Leadership and Public Service.
If you use Amazon Smile to buy this book, a small percentage of the sale will be donated to Sycamore.

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Book Discussion: The Righteous Mind
2019-08-21 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
Americans have always engaged in hearty disagreement over politics, policy, society, and faith. It’s part of what makes us American. Today, however, there’s something different about our growing anxiety, partisan discord, and disgust for opposing viewpoints.
Why do we (and others) think and feel the way we do? And how can we empower our leaders (and ourselves) to find a healthier approach to public discourse?
Register below to explore these challenges with people who may think differently as we discuss Jonathan Haidt’s New York Times best-seller The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics & Religion. Laura Berlind of The Sycamore Institute and journalist Natasha Senjanovic (formerly of Nashville Public Radio) will co-facilitate this conversation hosted by Sycamore and Lipscomb University’s College of Leadership and Public Service.
If you use Amazon Smile to buy this book, a small percentage of the sale will be donated to Sycamore.
Plus, don’t miss our follow-up event on September 25: a discussion of Haidt’s book “The Coddling of the American Mind.”
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Sycamore at the Aspen Ideas Festival
2019-06-20 - 2019-06-23 | Aspen, CO
Sycamore’s Courtnee Melton will be a featured speaker on medical debt in Tennessee and the U.S. at The Aspen Institute’s Aspen Ideas Festival. The Festival draws over 2,500 experts, practitioners, advocates, and audience members to discuss the critical issues of our time.

Tobacco Free Chattanooga's Clear the Air Conference
2019-05-08 09:10 - 09:50 (America/Chicago) | Chattanooga, TN
Sycamore’s Executive Director Laura Berlind will speak at the 4th annual Clear the Air Conference, put on by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Health Council. Berlind will present usable data in a “just the facts” presentation on tobacco in Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee Rural Healthcare Leadership Forum
2019-05-06 12:15 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
The Sycamore Institute’s Laura Berlind will speak at the Middle Tennessee Rural Healthcare Leadership Forum, put on by The Rural Health Association of Tennessee. The event will take place at the Wilson County Education Center in Lebanon, Tennessee.
For more details, and to register for the event, click here.

University of Tennessee Chattanooga 2019 Chronic Pain Conference
2019-04-11 09:00 - 17:30 (America/Chicago) | Chattanooga
Sycamore’s Executive Director Laura Berlind will speak a conference addressing chronic pain at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga’s School of Nursing. Berlind will connect the dots between public policy, public health, and opioid addiction.

Leadership Tennessee Policy Forum
2019-03-29 10:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | Downtown Nashville
For the second straight year, The Sycamore Institute will anchor Leadership Tennessee’s annual policy forum with three data and analysis-packed presentations on education, health, and the economy in our state. Sycamore staff’s presentations will lay the foundation for three panel discussions on the same topic and help the audience of leaders and policymakers from across Tennessee engage in the conversation.

Keynote at TCSW Annual Conference
2019-03-25 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
Sycamore’s Executive Director Laura Berlind will give the keynote address at the annual spring conference of the Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare (TCSW). Berlind will discuss the drivers of health, and how they affect health, prosperity, and public policy in Tennessee.
For more details and to register for the conference, click here.

Statewide Women’s Policy Conference
2019-02-08 08:30 - 09:15 (America/New_York) | TN
Sycamore’s Executive Director Laura Berlind will speak at the Statewide Women’s Policy Conference in Chattanooga on February 8, 2019. Berlind will discuss the messy and iterative nature of making public policy, the value of data and evidence, and why you should always look for the trade-offs and unintended consequences.
For more details and to register for the conference, click here.

Tobacco: Health, Economy, and Disparity Forum
2018-10-31 08:30 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | Lipscomb Spark – Downtown Nashville, 147 4th Ave. N, Nashville, TN, 37219
Sycamore’s Policy Director Mandy Pellegrin will present on the health and economic effects of tobacco use in Tennessee at the “Tobacco: Health, Economy, and Disparity Forum” hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network on October 31, 2018. The event will take place from 8:30 – 11:00 a.m. at Lipscomb University’s Spark facility in downtown Nashville.
For more details and to RSVP for the forum, click here.

Jackson Chamber Breakfast
2018-10-16 07:30 - 09:00 (America/Chicago) | Jackson Chamber, 197 Auditorium Street, Jackson, TN, 38301
Sycamore’s Laura Berlind will update members of the Jackson Chamber on how Madison County compares to the rest of Tennessee on a range of health, education, and economic indicators. The event will take place from 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 16, 2018. A light continental breakfast will be served.
JEA Training Center
320 Highway 45 By-Pass
Jackson, TN 38301
$15 registration is required, and space is limited. REGISTER HERE

Embrace Aging Forum in Chattanooga
2018-10-05 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | TN
Laura Berlind will speak on a panel about public policy at the Embrace Aging Forum in Chattanooga on October 5, 2018. The event, a production of Chambliss Law Firm, will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel downtown. Visit the forum’s Eventbrite page for registration information.

"State of the State’s Health" Roundtable in Franklin
2018-10-02 | TN
Laura Berlind will share The Sycamore Institute’s insights on health outcomes, the drivers of health, and the economic cost of high chronic disease rates in Tennessee during a “State of the State’s Health” roundtable event in Franklin on October 2, 2018. The event, a production of the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness, will take place at the offices of Nissan North America.

"State of the State’s Health" Roundtables in Memphis and Jackson
2018-09-11 | TN
Laura Berlind will share The Sycamore Institute’s insights on health outcomes, the drivers of health, and the economic cost of high chronic disease rates in Tennessee during two “State of the State’s Health” roundtable events on September 11, 2018. These roundtables are a production of the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness.
The Memphis event will take place at at Crosstown Concourse, while the Jackson event will be held at the Jackson Chamber.

"State of the State’s Health" Roundtables in Knoxville and Kingsport
2018-08-21 | TN
Laura Berlind will share The Sycamore Institute’s insights on health outcomes, the drivers of health, and the economic cost of high chronic disease rates in Tennessee during two “State of the State’s Health” roundtable events on August 21, 2018. These roundtables are a production of the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness.
The Knoxville event will take place at the offices of Pilot Flying J Corporation, while the Kingsport event will be held at the Kingsport Chamber.
