ODU President's Lecture Speaker an Advocate for Domestic Workers
March 03, 2016
Ai-jen Poo
Ai-jen Poo, for two decades an advocate for female domestic workers, many of whom come to the United States as immigrants, will deliver the latest address in the Old Dominion University President's Lecture Series on Tuesday, March 22.
Presented by Friends of Women's Studies at Old Dominion, the lecture, titled "Who Cares? Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America," reflects how domestic workers can play a key role in providing affordable care for the nation's aging population.
She will speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Ted Constant Convocation Center. All lectures in the series are free and open to the public. Seating is limited; guests are encouraged to RSVP to Old Dominion University's Office of Community Engagement.
The director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign, Ai-jen Poo was named to Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2012. A 2014 MacArthur fellow, she founded Domestic Workers United in 2000, a New York organization that spearheaded the passage of the state's historic Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010.
After noticing an increase in the number of domestic workers originally hired as nannies and housekeepers who were being asked to provide home care for their employers' aging relatives, Ai-jen Poo co-launched the Caring Across Generations campaign in 2011 to ensure access to affordable care for the nation's aging population and access to quality jobs for the caregiving workforce.
She serves on the board of directors of MomsRising, Jobs with Justice and WorkingAmerica. She is a 2013 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, one of Fortune.com's World's 50 Greatest Leaders and author of the book "The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America," published by The New Press.
The President's Lecture Series serves as a marketplace for ideas, featuring fascinating personalities who share their knowledge, experience, opinions and accomplishments. Discussing timely topics, the series puts diversity first, offering an international lineup of authors and educators, business innovators and political figures.
Friends of Women's Studies is the community support group for Old Dominion University's Department of Women's Studies. It seeks to draw from a wide foundation of colleagues, community leaders, educators and alumni to provide rich opportunities for engagement and dialogue.
Each year, Friends of Women's Studies features a celebrated speaker at an annual fundraising dinner and sponsors a series of public events for the wider community. Through the Friends of Women's Studies, three students are supported with endowed scholarships and the group hosts an annual awards ceremony for graduates of the program.