Former National Organization for Women Head Starts Five College Policy Residency Oct. 22

AMHERST, Mass. – Long-time women’s rights advocate Kim Gandy begins a two-week stay as the Five College Public Policy Initiative’s fall 2012 Social Justice Practitioner-in-Residence on Monday, Oct. 22 through Nov. 2. During her stay, Gandy will present several public events throughout the Five College community.

Gandy’s residency this fall marks the second of the Social Justice Practitioner-in-Residence Program. This collaborative Five College project is housed administratively at the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It was created to offer Five College students and faculty opportunities to engage with and learn from individuals who have hands-on policymaking experience. By providing occasions to interact with those who have chosen lives of service, the residency program helps students imagine careers of their own that might advance the common good.

Gandy has just been named president and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Since 2010 she served as vice president and general counsel of the Feminist Majority Foundation and was president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 2001 to 2009. During her presidency, she led NOW’s campaigns on issues ranging from Supreme Court nominations to the rights of women and caregivers, and from Social Security reform to ending the war in Iraq. In the legislative arena, Gandy helped with the drafting of two groundbreaking federal laws: the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which gave women the right to a jury trial in sex discrimination and harassment cases; and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

Gandy will speak at several classes and participate in some informal workshops during her visit. For a full list of Gandy’s events that are open to the public, click here.

Monday, October 22 at 4 p.m.

Building Hope: Fighting Reproductive Injustice When our Candidates Won’t(panel discussion)

East Lecture Hall, Franklin Patterson Hall, Hampshire College

Tuesday, October 23 at 4:30 p.m.

Feminization of Power: Running, Winning and What it Means for American Politics(lecture)

Cole Assembly Room, Converse Hall, Amherst College

Saturday, October 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Making Connections: Violence Against Women and Reproductive Justice(symposium)

Seelye Hall, Smith College

Tuesday, October 30 at 4:15 p.m.

Who Dissed the Women’s Treaty (And Why We Should Care): A Global Salon on International Women’s Rights

Global Studies Center, Main Level of Wright Hall, Smith College

The Program for the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College is Gandy’s official host during her residency. Carrie Baker, an assistant professor in that department, is thrilled that this residency will offer the Five College community access to such an influential and seasoned policy expert who is committed to social change.

“Gandy is an experienced public policy practitioner who has worked on advancing reproductive freedom, promoting diversity and ending racism, stopping violence against women, winning LGBT rights, ensuring economic justice, ending sex discrimination and achieving equality for women,” said Baker. “She is bringing to the Five Colleges her experience as an activist who has worked to shape public policy at the national level for over two decades.”

The CPPA is the hub of interdisciplinary public policy research, teaching and engagement at UMass Amherst. The CPPA program is the 2011 recipient of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration’s Social Equity Award, created to honor a public administration, affairs or policy program with a comprehensive approach to integrating social equity into its academic and practical work.