Opening Ceremonies

Whether it’s creating universal health care or halting global warming, ending poverty or ending the war in Iraq and restoring America’s moral leadership around the world, John Edwards has led with the boldest and most comprehensive plans for overcoming the challenges we face today.

John is a self-made man who was born in Seneca, South Carolina and raised in Robbins, North Carolina, a small town in the Piedmont. Growing up, John learned the values of hard work and perseverance from his father, Wallace, who worked in the textile mills for 36 years, and from his mother, Bobbie, who ran a shop and worked at the post office. Working alongside his father at the mill, John developed his strong belief that all Americans deserve an equal opportunity to succeed and be heard.

A proud product of public schools, John was the first person in his family to attend college. He worked his way through North Carolina State University where he graduated with high honors in 1974, and then earned a law degree with honors in 1977 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For the next 20 years, John dedicated his life to representing families and children just like the families he grew up with in Robbins, who were being victimized by powerful interests.

Throughout his career, John found himself on one side of the courtroom with an army of corporate lawyers on the other. Every time, they thought they could win. But they were wrong. Because John beat them, again and again, on behalf of hard-working families facing the darkest moments of their lives. Through his career, he helped families overcome tremendous challenges, and earned a national reputation as a forceful and tireless champion for regular, hard-working people.

In 1998, John took that commitment into politics, to give a voice to the kind of people he represented throughout his career. Without taking a dime from lobbyists or political actions committees (he never has), John ran for the Senate and won an upset victory, unseating an incumbent Republican who was a part of the corrupt Jesse Helms political machine.

In the Senate, Senator Edwards continued to be a champion for regular, hard-working families, taking on critical issues like quality health care, better schools, protecting civil liberties, preserving the environment, saving Social Security and Medicare, and getting big money out of politics.

As a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Edwards worked tirelessly for a strong national defense and to strengthen the security of our homeland. He authored key pieces of legislation on cyber, bio, and port security.

Senator Edwards brought his positive message of change and fighting for regular families to the 2004 presidential primaries. During the primary season he spoke about the Two Americas that exist in our country today: one for people at the top who have everything they need and one for everybody else who struggle to get by. This powerful message resonated with voters all across America.

After the Democratic primaries, Senator John Kerry picked Senator Edwards to serve as his running mate in the 2004 general election, and Senator Edwards crisscrossed the country and campaigned tirelessly on Senator Kerry's behalf.

He is the former Director of the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Henrietta H. Fore was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 7, 2007, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 14, 2007 as the new Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In that capacity, she is concurrently designated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance. As the first female Administrator of USAID, she is responsible for managing U.S. foreign assistance, including support to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. She oversees a staff of approximately 8,000, of whom more than 75 percent are working overseas in USAID field offices.

Immediately prior to her confirmation as USAID Administrator, she served as Under Secretary of State for Management, a position she held beginning in August 2005. Prior to this appointment Fore served as the 37th Director of the United States Mint in the Department of Treasury between August 2001 - August 2005. She had also been a Presidential appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1989 -1993, first as Assistant Administrator for Private Enterprise in the U.S. Agency for International Development and then Assistant Administrator for Asia.

In addition to her foreign policy experience in government service, Henrietta Fore has held leadership positions in numerous international non-profit organizations. She was a Trustee and Executive Committee Member at the Center of Strategic and International Studies. She also served as Chairman of the Audit Committee and Member of the Executive Committee of the Aspen Institute Board of Trustees. In addition she served as a Trustee or Director of the Asia Society, The Asia Foundation, The Institute of the Americas, and the United States Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.