RADNOR, Pa. (Feb. 27, 2014) – Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK in Washington, D.C., will receive the 2014 Ivy Young Willis Award in a ceremony at Cabrini College on March 13, 2014.
At NETWORK since 2004, Campbell lobbies on issues of peace-building, immigration reform, healthcare, and economic justice.
A vowed member with the Sisters of Social Service (SSS), she is a nationally lauded religious leader, attorney and poet with extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for systemic change.
Given annually, the Ivy Young Willis Award recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions in the field of public affairs.
Sister Simone Campbell will speak to the Cabrini College community on Thursday, March 13, 4:30 p.m. in Grace Hall, 610 King of Prussia Road, Radnor).
She is well-known for the 2012 “Nuns on the Bus” tour of nine states to contest proposed budget cuts to federal safety-net programs. A year later, she led a new cross‑country “Nuns on the Bus” trip focused on comprehensive immigration reform.
Campbell authored a forthcoming book about these experiences “A Nun on the Bus,” to be released by HarperCollins Publishers on April 15.
During the 2010 congressional debate about healthcare reform, she wrote the famous “nuns’ letter” supporting the reform bill, which led to a personal invitation from President Obama to attend the celebration for signing the Affordable Care Act into law.
Sister Simone has received numerous awards including the Health Care Heroes Award from Families USA. She was a featured speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and is often featured in national and international media, including recent appearances on “60 Minutes,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” and “The Colbert Report.”
Prior to NETWORK, Campbell served as executive director of JERICHO, a California interfaith public policy organization that protects people living in poverty and also served as the general director of the Sisters of Social Service for the United States, Mexico, Taiwan, and the Philippines. In 1978, Campbell founded and served for 18 years as the lead attorney for the Community Law Center in Oakland, Calif.
The Ivy Young Willis Award and Lecture program began in 1992 through the generosity of William G. Willis, father of Martha Dale, a 30-year employee of the College who passed away in 2012. Ivy Young Willis was a pioneer in the teaching of reading on television who worked closely with The League of Women Voters and the World Affairs Council.
Previous recipients of the Ivy Young Willis Award include Joan Buzzallino ’66 (2013), retired vice president of human resources for IBM’s Global Industries; Risa Vetri Ferman (2012), district attorney of Montgomery County; Jane Golden (2010), executive director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program; Lisa Johnson Nutter (2008), president of Philadelphia Academies, Inc.; and the late Happy Fernandez (2000), former Philadelphia City Councilwoman and president of Moore College of Art and Design.
About Cabrini University
Founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cabrini University is a Catholic institution that empowers students to become advocates of social change through an Education of the Heart, focusing on academic excellence, community engagement, and leadership development.
Cabrini enrolls approximately 1,300 undergraduates in more than 35 majors, pre-professional programs, concentrations, and minors on its serene 112-acre campus located 30 minutes from Philadelphia. The University also enrolls 900 students in graduate, doctoral, and professional studies programs at its main campus in Radnor, PA, and at five off-campus locations.