Speaker for your club: “Face to Face with the Women of Iraq”

[Kelly Hayes-Raitt]

“Face to Face with the Women of Iraq”

To research her book, Kelly Hayes-Raitt has interviewed: Iraqi refugees living in Syria and Jordan; Palestinian survivors of refugee camp massacres in Lebanon; victims of toxic wastes at military bases in the Philippines; and peace activists in Israel and the West Bank. In her upcoming book, “Violating Sanctions: An American Woman’s Listening Tour through the Axis of Evil,” Kelly puts a human face on US foreign policies. She blogs at http://www.PeacePATHFoundation.org.

In the south this winter as the recent Carson McCullers Writing Fellow, Kelly is presenting a talk and a reading from her book about her experiences in pre- and post-invasion Iraq and in Syria last summer volunteering with Iraqi refugees.

She has presented her dynamic 35-minute talk, illustrated by portrait photos of Iraqis she met, to more than 200 audiences, including churches, temples, Rotary Clubs, neighborhood associations, journalism and creative writing classes, junior and senior high school students – and Congresswomen in the US Capitol.

As a public relations consultant for nearly three decades, Kelly has earned a reputation as a fearless advocate while working on dozens of California legislative and initiative campaigns to protect the environment, secure consumers’ legal rights, promote educational opportunities, protect workers and fight for affordable and accessible health care.

She has been a national spokesperson to protect civil rights and to champion women’s rights. As a passionate and effective advocate, she has appeared on more than 500 radio and television public affairs shows including PBS “News Hour with Jim Lehrer,” CBS “This Morning,” CNN “Financial News,” and CNN “Moneyline.”

Appointed to the Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women, Kelly joined a women’s delegation to Iraq just five weeks before the US-led invasion. The Iraqis touched her so deeply that she returned a few months later and provided on-air commentaries from Baghdad, Basra and Fallouja to National Public Radio. She was named "Woman of the Year" in 2004 for her humanitarian work and she was a candidate for the California State Assembly in 2006.

She is available to address audiences this winter in Chapel Hill, NC (week of Jan 12), Nashville, TN (week of Jan 26), Atlanta, GA (Feb 1 – 23), Birmingham, AL (Feb 1 – 23) and other points throughout the south. To schedule a presentation, please e-mail BeInvolved (at) aol.com.

Thanks for your activism and leadership!

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