| Upcoming Speakers for the Jack Maddox Distinguished Lecture Series |
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- Jean Chatzky
Fall 2010
Award Winning Journalist
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Jean Chatzky
Jean Chatzky, award-winning journalist and best-selling author, is the financial editor for NBC’s Today, a contributing editor for More Magazine, a columnist for The New York Daily News, and a contributor to The Oprah Winfrey Show. She blogs daily at JeanChatzky.com.
She is the author of six books, including her newest The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times (Crown Business) and best sellers Pay It Down: From Debt to Wealth on $10 A Day (New York Times and Business Week best seller) and Make Money, Not Excuses (Wall Street Journal and New York Times best seller). Jean has been recognized as an exceptional journalist. In 2009, the Consumer Federation of America awarded Chatzky the Betty Furness Consumer Media Service Award for her nearly two decades of pioneering personal finance education. She has also received the Clarion Award from Women in Communications, a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television, Inc., and was named one of the best magazine columnists in the country by the Chicago Tribune.
Jean lives with her family in Westchester, NY.
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- Laura W. Bush
March 29, 2011
Former First Lady of The United States
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Laura W. Bush
Mrs. Laura Bush is actively involved in issues of national and global concern, with a
particular emphasis on education, health care and human rights.
As First Lady, Mrs. Bush made an historic trip to Afghanistan in 2005 and witnessed
firsthand the progress achieved by the Afghan people after the fall of the Taliban regime.
She visited the Women's Teacher Training Institute in Kabul, which is training women to
lead classrooms that girls were once forbidden to enter. She met with President Hamid
Karzai and expressed America's continued support for Afghanistan's new democracy, which
ensures equal rights for women and men. Mrs. Bush's involvement in Afghanistan began in
2001, when she delivered the weekly presidential radio address to call attention to the plight
of women and children suffering under the Taliban.
A former teacher and librarian, Mrs. Bush convened in 2001 a Summit on Early
Childhood Cognitive Development, providing a forum for prominent scholars and educators
to share research on the best ways for parents and caregivers to prepare children for lifelong
learning. She is an enthusiastic proponent of teacher recruitment programs such as Teach for
America, The New Teacher Project and Troops to Teachers.
As the leader of former President George W. Bush's Helping America's Youth
initiative, Mrs. Bush has listened closely to the concerns of young people, parents and
community leaders throughout the country. She draws attention to proven programs that
help children avoid such risky behaviors as drug and alcohol use, early sexual activity and
violence, and highlights the need for a caring adult role model in every child’s life.
In September 2001, Mrs. Bush joined the Library of Congress to launch the first
National Book Festival. The Festival has grown each year, drawing more than 120,000
book-lovers from across the nation to Washington, D.C. in 2008. In 1995 Mrs. Bush
established the Texas Book Festival, and it continues to thrive today. In 2006 Mrs. Bush
hosted leaders from around the world for the White House Conference on Advancing Global
Literacy, showcasing successful, culturally aware literacy programs from a diversity of
countries. Her leadership of this effort led to her current role as Honorary Ambassador for
the United Nations Literacy Decade.
Mrs. Bush is an advocate for women’s health and has been an active participant in
campaigns to raise awareness of breast cancer and heart disease, both in the U.S. and around
the world. She partnered with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in The Heart
Truth campaign and the Red Dress project. And she traveled to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates and Panama to help launch international partnerships for breast cancer
awareness and research in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, Susan G. Komen
for the Cure, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
A hiking and camping enthusiast and strong supporter of our national parks, Mrs.
Bush has spotlighted the glories and needs of the parks through her many visits as First
Lady. As Honorary Chair of the National Park Foundation, she has worked to promote the
Junior Ranger program to encourage children to become active stewards of our national
parks. And she has helped start Preserve America, a national initiative to protect our
cultural and natural heritage.
Laura Bush was born in Midland, Texas, to Harold and Jenna Welch. She holds a
Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southern Methodist University and a master’s
degree in library science from the University of Texas. She taught in public schools in
Dallas, Houston and Austin and worked as a public school librarian. In 1977, she met and
married George Walker Bush. They are the parents of twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna
and son-in-law, Henry Hager.
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