AVSC Launches Public Affairs Program
Rachael
N. Pine, a nationally and internationally known expert in reproductive
rights, has joined AVSC as director of public affairs.
A graduate of New York University's School of Law, Pine came to
AVSC from the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, where she
established and directed the international program. From 1985-1992,
Pine worked for the Reproductive Freedom Project of the American
Civil Liberties Union.
In all, Pine has worked for nearly 15 years to champion client-centered,
rights-sensitive policies and services in the areas of population,
family planning, and reproductive health.
Q: Why is AVSC launching a public affairs
program now?
Pine: This is an important and exciting time
for AVSC.
First, we are facing serious threats because of the cuts in U.S.
funding for reproductive health and family planning here at home
and in the developing world. We must now turn our attention to informing
policy makers and the American public of the value of continued
U.S. leadership in improving women's health and advancing reproductive
rights around the globe. We must build a U.S. constituency that
supports our work.
Second, the world has reached an historic consensus on women's
rights and reproductive health as the result of international conferences,
like those at Cairo in 1994 and at Beijing in 1995. AVSC can play
a critical part in carrying forward the momentum from these conferences.
Third, the international women's movement is vibrant and growing.
Grass-roots women's organizations are emerging in countries all
over the world. AVSC can work in partnership with these organizations
to make family planning services more client-centered, of higher
quality, and more responsive to reproductive health needs.
Q: Why is it important to build U.S. support?
Pine: One reason U.S. government funding for
international family planning is in jeopardy is because of a lack
of public understanding and knowledge about the impact of USAID's
population program on the lives and health of real people.
Agencies like AVSC are partly to blame. historically, we have
been a fairly quiet community and have gone about our work without
speaking out or even making our own achievements known to the broader
public.
But continued U.S. support is now in serious jeopardy. We must
do more to inform Americans about the work we and others are doing
around the world and win their commitment to the future of this
work.
Q: What other challenges does the international
family planning community face?
Pine: We must work to truly integrate family
planning into reproductive health services and into the broader
pursuits of the empowerment of women and an improved quality of
life for all.
We must ensure that reproductive health services are connected
and responsive to the lives, interests, and needs of clients, especially
women.
Q: What are the primary goals of the public
affairs program at AVSC?
Pine: First, I want to make AVSC a leading partner
in an interagency effort to create a policy environment that supports
our work. I also hope to bring AVSC's expertise and achievements
into greater public view.
Finally, I hope to join my expertise with that of this already
talented, committed and open-minded staff in an effort to enhance
AVSC's leadership role and its image and standing in the international
community.
Jezowski Named Chief Operating Officer
AVSC
is pleased to announce that Terrence W. Jezowski has been named
chief operating officer of the organization. Jezowski has worked
in the field of international reproductive health for over 25 years,
most of that time in service to AVSC.
In the 1970s, he established AVSC's first office outside the United
States in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Over the years, he has led AVSC's international
program and most recently has served as vice president and director
for corporate planning. Jezowski has worked to establish and develop
reproductive health services in over 40 countries.
