Children’s Defense Fund Founder and President Marian Wright Edelman Receives the 2010 John P. McGovern Award

The Smithsonian Associates announces Children’s Defense Fund founder and president Marian Wright Edelman as the recipient of the 2010 John P. McGovern Award for behavioral sciences. Edelman will discuss child advocacy with the Smithsonian’s Assistant Secretary for Education and Access, Claudine K. Brown, Thursday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center (1100 Jefferson Drive S.W.).

Edelman is the founder and president of the CDF, a nonprofit child-advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for more than 35 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. This evening she will discuss with Brown the progress that has been made and the challenges that are faced by families, communities and policymakers to uphold the CDF’s Leave No Child Behind mission “to ensure every child a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start and a moral start in life and successful passage to adulthood.” This discussion is highlighted by the presentation of the John P. McGovern Award, in recognition of Edelman’s contributions to furthering our understanding of the American family and her work to improve the quality of American family life. Tickets for the presentation are $15. For tickets and further information, call (202) 633-3030 or visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

Edelman has been an advocate for disadvantaged children and their families for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, the CDF has championed federal, state and community policies and programs across the country that help lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect and ensure their access to health care, quality education and a moral and spiritual foundation.

The John P. McGovern Award is supported by an endowment by the late John P. McGovern, a noted physician, educator, author and medical historian. The foundation trustees select awardees whose endeavors have clearly distinguished them as leaders in their spheres of activity. Past recipients include James P. Comer, Joan Ganz Cooney, Andre M. Weil, Eric Carle and Alvin F. Poussaint.

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SI-511-2010