21 March 2004

Former president of National Women’s Political Caucus to speak at Longwood

Anita Perez Ferguson, former president of the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), will speak in Longwood University's Hull Auditorium on Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m.

Ferguson, NWPC president from 1995 to 1999, will be a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow on the Longwood campus during the week of March 28-April 1. She will discuss with students and faculty the changing face of American politics, the intersection of Wall Street and Main Street, building leadership skills, inter-generational solutions for the aging society, and grassroots development and organizing.

Ferguson also has been chair of the Inter-American Foundation, White House liaison to the U.S. Department of Transportation and national director of training for the Democratic National Committee. In 1990 she became the first female Hispanic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from California.

She serves currently on the board of directors for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and co-chairs its Public Policy Initiative. She is the author of A Passion for Politics: EncouragingWomen in Leadership and the co-author of Women Seen and Heard: Lessons Learned from Successful Speakers, has provided leadership and political skills training to women not only in the United States but also in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe, and speaks on leadership, diversity and public policy.