Last modified: Friday, July 8, 2005
Director of the World Food Programme's U.S. Relations Office to speak at IU Bloomington
Will present lecture, "Winning the War Against Global Hunger"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 8, 2005
EDITORS: To arrange a phone interview with Lewis, contact George Vlahakis at 812-855-0846 or gvlahaki@indiana.edu.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Judith Lewis, director for the World Food Programme's U.S. Relations Office since 2003, will give a presentation Tuesday (July 12) on "Winning the War Against Global Hunger" at Indiana University Bloomington.
The presentation is part of the 10th annual International Studies Summer Institute and the International Agricultural Education Summer Institute. The institutes are hosted by the Center for the Study of Global Change at Indiana University. Both events are designed for school teachers, who are coming to IU from across the United States and other countries. The presentation will take place at 10:30 a.m. in Room CG1008 of the Corporate and Graduate Center at the IU Kelley School of Business, 1275 E. 10th St.
The U.S. Relations Office oversees U.S. government fundraising, works with Congress and the administration, and seeks to enhance WFP's profile as an advocate for the world's hungry people.
Prior to her arrival in Washington, D.C., Lewis was WFP's regional director for southern Africa, overseeing operations in 10 African countries. In addition to managing a team of international staff located in the region, she directed WFP's Southern Africa Crisis Response from Johannesburg, South Africa. The WFP response included an emergency operation valued at more than $500 million that provided food assistance to more than 10 million people. The operation was the agency's largest food aid assistance program prior to this year's Iraq operation.
Lewis also served as regional coordinator of the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa and heads the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination and Support Office (RIACSO) in Johannesburg.
Lewis has been with the WFP since 1992 and has served in a variety of capacities in Angola, Ethiopia and Uganda, as well as WFP Headquarters in Rome. In her previous role as WFP representative and country director for Ethiopia, she led the Ethiopia Country Programme, which was valued at more than $448 million.
From 1989 to 1992, she was the special assistant to the Assistant Secretary to Food Consumer Services at the Department of Agriculture. She holds a doctorate degree in higher education, communications and theatre from the University of Mississippi as well as bachelor's and master's degrees in education and speech communications from Mississippi College.
