WELLESLEY, MA— Erika Kates will talk about her work in directing the Massachusetts Women in Prison Coalition, which she initiated July 2009. The Coalition is a group of experts with in-depth knowledge of the gender-specific needs of female offenders and experience in direct service provision, research, policy analysis, and policy making. Its goals are: to raise awareness of the significance of maintaining family connections as a major factor in reducing recidivism; to identify promising community-based program models in Massachusetts that not only provide resources to women who are incarcerated, but that also provide continuity of those services to women when they are released; and to bring this information to the attention of the policy makers and agencies tasked with reducing the recidivism and promoting the rehabilitation of female offenders.

Lunchtime Seminar Series programs are free and open to the public. Held Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:30 in the Cheever House Library, the seminars highlight the work of Wellesley Centers for Women researchers and program staff. For more information, call 781.283.2500 or visit www.wcwonline.org.  

For 35 years, scholars from the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) at Wellesley College have helped drive positive social change through their social science research projects and training programs. Work at WCW addresses three major areas: the status of women and girls and the advancement of their human rights both in the United States and around the globe; the education, care, and development of children and youth; and the emotional well-being of families and individuals. Issues of diversity and equity are central across all the work as are the experiences and perspectives of women from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.