Women in Public Policy Panel Discussion
The Center for Public Policy and Administration hosts a panel discussion on “Women in Public Policy.”
Women leaders in the public and non-profit sectors discuss their experiences in politics and policymaking.
Dean Janet Rifkin of the UMass Amherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Legal Studies will moderate the discussion with the following distinguished guests serving as panel members: Massachusetts Representative Ellen Story, Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins, Kristin Keel of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Dean Lisa Wyatt Ganson of Holyoke Community College.
Dean Janet Rifkin: Moderator
Janet Rifkin is Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her main area of expertise is alternative dispute resolution. From 1992-1996, she served as Ombudsperson of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Previously, she served as Director of the University of Massachusetts Mediation Project. She has written extensively on dispute resolution and mediation.
Representative Ellen Story
Ellen Story, State Representative for the 3rd Hampshire District, is currently serving in her sixth full term in the Massachusetts Legislature. She is the first woman to represent her district, which consists of Amherst and Granby. Ms. Story spent 17 years at the Family Planning Council of Western Massachusetts, as Associate Executive Director. She became involved in local issues, serving for three years on the Regional School Committee, as well as six years as a Town Meeting member.
Mayor Mary Clare Higgins
Mary Clare Higgins has been the Mayor of Northampton for five years. Prior to that, she was a city councilor for six years. She is an officer in the Massachusetts Mayors Association. Ms. Higgins has 22 years of child care experience working with special needs students, in a teen parent childcare program, and daycare program director. She spent five years as the United Auto Workers Union representative for all of Western Massachusetts for the Massachusetts Day Care and Human Services local.
Kristen Keel, Class of ’88, MPA.’92
Ms. Keel is currently the Vice President for Financial Planning and Analysis at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Wellesley Massachusetts. She was previously the Undersecretary for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She received both her masters in public administration ('92) and bachelor of science degree ('88) from UMass Amherst.
Dean Lisa Wyatt Ganson, Ph.D.
Lisa Wyatt Ganson, Ph.D., currently serves as the Dean of Science, Engineering & Mathematics at Holyoke Community College. She has focused her work and research interests primarily on women's' issues and the accessibility of higher education to under-represented populations including but not limited to substance abusers, inmates and truants. In addition to working in higher education, Dr. Wyatt Ganson served as the Director of Vocational/Educational Services for the New York City Department of Corrections and Samaritan Village, Inc. drug treatment programs.
The Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) is a nonpartisan interdisciplinary research center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst committed to improving public policy, management and governance by conducting and applying research and educating leaders for public service. CPPA engages in scholarly and applied research affecting regional, national and global challenges, facilitates ongoing exchange among policymakers, scholars, and citizens, while offering innovative teaching and applied learning opportunities to students.
For more information about the panel discussion on “Women in Public Policy”, please contact Jackie Brousseau-Pereira, Special Projects Manager for the Center for Public Policy and Administration at UMass at 413-577-0239.