International Public Health and Social Worker to Speak at UMES
PRINCESS ANNE, MD - Researcher, policy analyst, community activist, and teacher are some of the many faces of Jacqui Patterson, who is scheduled to speak at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Thursday, March 26, at 11 a.m. in Hazel Hall, Room 1020. "Around the World to a Fulfilling Life: Peace Corps and Beyond" is the title of her discourse.
"Ms. Patterson is the right speaker for the right time," said Dr. Kathryn Barrett-Gaines, director of the UMES African and African American Studies Program. "As a result of the world-changing election of President Barack Obama, many UMES students are thinking now of what they can do to help and serve humanity as well as how their service might lead them into their careers. Jacqui Patterson s example is a great one."
Patterson has worked in 23 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. A three-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica led her successful pursuit of a master's degree in social work from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University.
Currently, Patterson serves as the coordinator for Women of Color United and the public policy co-chair of the National Association of Black Social Workers. As a member of the executive committee, she serves the Congressional Black Caucus Fellows Alumni Program, the Leadership Circle of the Women's Working Group of the U.S. Social Forum, the Core Leadership Group for Women of Color United and the Advisory Committee for The Grandmothers Project. She also serves on the boards of directors of Christian Connections in International Health and the Health Global Access Project. As a senior women's rights policy analyst for ActionAid International USA, she worked on integrating a focus on women's rights into foci of food rights, macroeconomics and climate change.
Concerning women's rights to health, Patterson managed a program addressing the intersection of HIV/AIDS and violence against women. Prior to working for the program, she served as assistant vice-president of programs for HIV/AIDS Services for Interchurch Medical Assistance, managing and coordinating HIV and AIDS-related projects and providing technical assistance to overseas medical facilities and programs affiliated with development and relief agencies.
With extensive experience in social activism, research, policy analysis, training and community-based health programming, Patterson has served as the outreach project associate for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and policy analyst for Baltimore City Healthy Start. She co-designed data collection and analysis protocol for the Johns Hopkins University study on the effects of neighborhood residence on child development, and she has provided consultancies for the Center for Health and Gender Equity, the U.S.-China Business and Cultural Exchange and the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network based in Nairobi, Kenya.
This event, sponsored by the UMES African and African American Studies Program, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Barrett-Gaines at 410-651-7934 or by email at kbarrett-gaines@umes.edu.
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Suzanne Waters Street, director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-621-2355, sstreet@umes.edu.