About 247 TownHall

247 Townhall is a community forum dedicated to change. Don’t be afraid of change, it won’t bite. But it might just light you up and let you know that things can be better—in your neighborhood, in the country, and in the world. Just imagine, by speaking up, sharing video, blogging and reporting on real issues in your community, you could become the change advocate we need. I mean think about it, what makes you and your neighborhood fresh-to-life? And who’s telling the world about it- CNN, Myspace, Block Savvy, YouTube? So here’s your chance to be real, to participate, to meet others with similar interests, to start small discussion groups, to take action. Learn more about 247 Townhall

	Mohammed Soriano Bilal, Executive Producer - Mohammed is best known as "the even-tempered, dread-locked rapper guy” on MTV's REAL WORLD III: San Francisco. He is also a diversity consultant, a musician, a poet, and an extraordinary writer who educates audiences about some of today’s social ills. As facilitator of over 300 diversity presentations and workshops worldwide, with clients include – Lucent Technologies, Progressive, Boston College, Friends of the Children, and the US Treasury, an MA in Diversity Studies, and 14 years spent creating fun, innovative ways to enjoy difference -- Mohammed has positioned himself as one of today’s top diversity consultants. His 12 Steps to Appreciating Diversity has helped thousands to embrace and incorporate social justice and equity into their daily lives. Midnight Voices, the live instrumentation Hip-Hop band Mohammed started with his best friend, Will Power, in 1990, has toured worldwide, and has won numerous awards including two SF Whammies and one Bay Area Music Award for best Hip-Hop group. Mohammed's first solo album, beatbox metafiction, is already being touted as “groundbreaking” for it’s sensitive lyrics and use of world music. Mohammed has collaborated and/or performed with such luminaries as Santana, The Ohio Players, Michele Shocked, Public Enemy, Ben Harper, De La Soul, Goapele, Martin Luther, and Primus. His music has been featured in the Sundance Award-winning film, Drylongso, and on TV shows such as Moesha and NBC’s mini-series- Kingpin.
	Catlin Condit - Born and raised in Portland, Oregon Catlin enjoys the perks of the Northwest. He loves being outdoors recreating as much as possible, rain or shine. Amongst his favorite activities are camping, snowboarding, hiking, surfing, fishing, hunting, golfing, frisbee golfing, and basketball. Experiencing his first camping trip at just 6 weeks old he has grown up appreciating the incredible natural beauty Oregon has to offer. Growing up with such a close connection with nature, Catlin feels very strongly about protecting the environment and living sustainably, he also feels a very strong connection with the city he grew up in and would very much like to see Portland be the model city for the rest of the country to follow. Catlin attended College in Colorado at the University of Denver graduating in four years with his BSBA in Finance with a minor in International Studies with a focus on Globalization. Catlin’s work at One-Economy and more specifically their civic engagement web site 247townhall.org, has become a fusion of his interests, passions, and studies by writing blogs on “Going Green” and being “Financially Savvy”. In addition to his blogs Catlin is in charge of the Flip it Forward Spoken Word Poetry Campaign for 247townhall and has also contributed extensively to the “Daily Prompt” and “If I Were President” Campaigns. Catlin puts most of his time and effort at One-Economy towards the newly launched 247townhall and assists his teams in those efforts, however Catlin also interns with the Access Services Teams of One-Economy helping in a different avenue of One-Economy’s technology based non-profit network.
	Daniel Earnshaw - Daniel Earnshaw is a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Spanish minor. His professional experience includes work with opt-in email marketing campaigns, contributing to the awareness of a nonprofit organization, and most recently as an entrepreneur involved in an online payments company. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys playing basketball, tennis, snowboarding and in general enjoying the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.
	Taylor Dixon - Taylor was born in Portland, Oregon and has spent most of her life in the Pacific Northwest. She was raised by her mother and Poh Poh (means Grandma in Cantonese) with a solid understanding of Chinese values. She loves learning about different cultures and in her spare time can be found watching Bollywood movies or exploring the aisles of international grocery markets learning about new foods. She also enjoys traveling, watching people and being outdoors. Every time she takes a trip, she tries to photo-document every experience. Most recently, she was in Costa Rica teaching English at a rural high school and fell in love with the atmosphere, taking over 1,000 portraits and candids. Taylor intends to go to graduate school in the near future to pursue a Masters in Education, either in ESL, or in the Speech Pathology realm. For now, she is gathering relevant work experience at One Economy Corporation, putting her aptitudes with images and words to use for the greater good. Here, she assists with content production for the media department and helps to present important life information and resources to the community.
	Paul Anderson - Paul: Creative Engineer Director of Chaos Motivation Enthusiast Video Aficionado Song-Smith Silly Picture Maker Need to know more...? Check out www.andermation.net
	Bobby Jones - My name is Bobby Lorenzo Jones. I am 23 years old. I have recently finished up my Bachelors degree in Political Science from Portland State University. I was born and raised in Portland,OR and I love my city. I am a very passionate person. Some of my passions include: the better treatment of foster care children throughout this nation, the restructuring of the funding system that is used to fund the public schools in this country, and the injection of love into the undeserved communities of this great nation. I'm the type of guy who thinks that things can be improved if we just work to make them better.