Whitehouse Weekly Women’s Update: Empowering Our Future‏

November 9, 2011

Weekly Women’s Update: Empowering Our Future Greetings! Big News – Tonight, President Obama will be speaking at the National Women’s Law Center Annual Awards Dinner. You can watch the President live at 8:30 p.m. Eastern as he discusses the issues we care about most. President Obama has spent much of the last week fighting at home and abroad for a strong economic future for all Americans. He continued to stress that We Can’t Wait for Congress to take action, and announced a series of actions to streamline government processes and support economic growth. The President announced important steps to improve the quality of services and accountability at Head Start centers across the country. The White House also highlighted what a jobs act looks like and published an interactive map that details specifics of the Act.   On Thursday, November 3rd, the President traveled to France for a meeting of the G20 — a gathering of 20 nations that represent the world’s most important industrialized economies. In addition to working sessions with the full assembly of leaders, the President also held bilateral talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Back at home, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to join Governor, Bev Perdue, and women from across the state to speak about Empowering Women and Girls at the North Carolina Governor’s Conference for Women. Twitter Q&A with MomsRising On Tuesday, members of Momsrising, participated in a “Twitter Q&A” with Jon Carson, the Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Women from across the country sent great questions on a variety of issues, including the American Jobs Act. Also, check out an additional conversation on Domestic Violence at twitter.com/joncarson44, for a Q&A with Jon Carson and Rachael Yamagata. Check Out This Video First Lady Michelle Obama takes the stage after a performance by The Young People’s Chorus of New York City during the President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities Youth Event in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 2, 2011. Looking for Female Campus Leaders The White House Office of Public Engagement is proud to announce the first ever Campus “Champions of Change” Challenge. The Challenge invites college and university students from across the country to demonstrate how their student-led project is improving their campus community and helping America Win the Future. The deadline for applications is Friday, December 9, 2011. The Challenge finalists will be invited to a concluding event in spring 2012 and will also be highlighted by mtvU and MTV Act. White House Fellows Program – Now Accepting Applications The White House Fellows Program is the nation’s most prestigious program for leadership and public service. Founded in 1964 by President Johnson as a way to promote public service and engage emerging leaders, Fellows spend one year in Washington, DC working in the offices of Cabinet Secretaries, senior White House staff, and other high level Executive Branch officials. Alumni include General Colin Powell, the Ambassador to El Salvador Mari Carmen Aponte, and historian/author Doris Kearns Goodwin. Applications for the White House Fellows Program are currently available online. The deadline for completed applications is January 13, 2012. You can learn more about the Program during an interactive live video chat on Thursday, November 10th at 12:00 p.m. Eastern or view it at a later date online. For more detailed information, you can visit the White House Fellows website. Highlights President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, right, talk with students while visiting a classroom at the Yeadon Regional Head Start Center in Yeadon, Pa., Nov. 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Our Children Can’t Wait: New Regulations Increase Accountability and Boost Quality in Head Start Yesterday, November 8th, 2011, President Obama and HHS announced historic reforms to the Head Start program that will help to ensure that all children in Head Start are attending top-notch programs that will help them reach their full potential. The Department of Health and Human Services will implement new rules that will – for the first time in the program’s history– require all Head Start grantees that fail to meet a new set of rigorous quality benchmarks to compete for continued federal funding.Partnering with Australia to Stop Violence Against Women Last week, Tina Tchen, Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, had the honor of visiting Australia to lead the US delegation to the Pacific Women’s Empowerment Policy dialogue on eliminating violence against women, co-hosted by Australia and the United States. This was the third such policy dialogue, following similar gatherings earlier this year on women’s empowerment and women’s economic security.Announcing the Winners of the Apps Against Abuse Technology Challenge Working with the Office of the Vice President and the White House Office of Science and Technology, we launched the Apps Against Abuse technology challenge – calling on software innovators to harness the power of mobile technology to help prevent dating violence and abuse. The Office of Science and Technology Policy and announced the winners of the challenge: “Circle of 6” and “On Watch.” Text4baby Shows Promising Results for Moms Text4baby, a free health education text messaging service for pregnant women and new moms, is reaching its primary target audience of medically underserved women and achieving a number of its health education goals, according to a preliminary assessment presented at the American Public Health Association annual meeting last week. The program, made possible through a broad, public-private partnership, is the first free mobile health information service in the United States. The Office of Public Engagement Champion Non-Profit of the Week: GLIDE An “Eco-Renaissance” Woman The White House Office of Public Engagement Young Americans blog highlighted 20-year old NYU student Erin Schrode, a dynamic, passionate and ambitious young woman committed to creating big change everywhere she goes. A self-proclaimed “eco-renaissance” woman, Erin’s venture has brought much needed school supplies to over 14,000 children in earthquake ravaged Haiti. First Lady Michelle Obama Talks Healthy Habits with Toddlers First Lady Michelle Obama shared a group hug with children at Royal Castle Child Development Center during her visit as part of her Let’s Move! initiative in New Orleans, La., on Nov. 1, 2011. Mrs. Obama read to the children and led them in exercises to highlight the importance of building healthy habits at a very young age, a key component of the Let’s Move Child Care initiative. Fort Monroe Becomes a National Monument Last week President Obama announced the establishment of Fort Monroe National Monument — a historic fort in Virginia’s Tidewater region that was integral role to the history of slavery, the Civil War, and the U.S. military — as the 396th unit of the National Park System. The fort represents the long struggle for freedom for African Americans, and will now be preserved as a national park for generations to come. Get Updates If you aren’t already receiving our email updates, sign up for our newsletter using this form (and forward this to your friends and family!).We would like to send you updates and engage with you in other ways. 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