For Immediate Release

Contact: Kate Worster, director of communication, 641-269-3404

Grinnell College presents Alumni Awards: Elizabeth Powley '93

District of Columbia resident and activist Elizabeth Powley was presented with an Alumni Award by Grinnell College on June 2 at the Alumni Assembly held on the College's campus during her 14th reunion. The College's Alumni Council presents these awards annually to graduates who have distinguished themselves by their extraordinary contributions of service to the College, their communities, or their professions.

Powley has been active working with women and children to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of wars around the world. Her work with Rwandan women has been instrumental in helping create a government that can effectively serve the needs of its people. The College's award citation quoted a classmate: "She took Grinnell with her in a way that most of us could only have dreamed." It went on to praise her for "helping give a stronger voice to a group that has often been marginalized, for making concrete steps for a more peaceful world, and for finding new ways to include others who want to help."

After graduating from Grinnell in 1993 with a history degree and teaching certificate, Powley taught at schools in Lafayette, Indiana, and Bettendorf, Iowa, before earning a master's degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from the American University School of International Service. Since then she has been helping women find their place as leaders in war-torn countries through Women Waging Peace. This organization develops strategies to integrate women into peace processes, conducts research on women's contributions to peace building, and provides leadership training and education to women parliamentarians. Not content with her already significant contributions, she is currently at work establishing a new nonprofit organization, Every Child is My Child, to advocate for access to education and provide school fees for children in developing countries.

Grinnell College, founded in 1846, is a private, residential liberal arts college with some 1500 students, located in Grinnell, Iowa. The College awards the Bachelor of Arts in 25 areas of study, and is consistently ranked among the top 20 liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report.