Jael Silliman, a nationally and internationally known women's rights speaker, will be keynoting an event in Iowa City on Jan. 17. Her speech is titled: "The Global Women's Movement Today: Opportunities and Challenges - A View from the Field." The event, which is slated for noon at the Congregational Church on Clinton St. and hosted by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, will be catered by Mama's Deli. Reservations -- $7.50 for members, $8.50 for non-members of the Council -- are due by noon on Jan. 14.
Silliman is the program officer for Women's Rights and Gender Equality, a part of the Human Rights Unit, Peace and Social Justice Program of the Ford Foundation. She has also served as the program officer for reproductive rights.
Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, she was a tenured associated professor in the Women's Studies Department at the University of Iowa. She is the recipient of the Iowa City Human Rights Commission International Human Rights Award and an Open Society Fellow. In addition, she is an accomplished author.
