We are delighted to invite you to register for the third webinar in our SI Voices series! –  this time focusing specifically on one of the key themes of the SI President’s Appeal, Older Women.

Hosted by SI President, Sharon Fisher, and SI President Appeal Co-ordinators, Olga Sidenko and Ayushi Kundu, we are again honoured to be joined by three speakers.

Laura Tamblyn Watts is a lawyer, advocate, researcher and media commentator. Her work focuses on law, aging, abuse, accessibility, law reform, governance and knowledge mobilization. She has previously served as Chief Public Policy Officer at CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) for the past two years and National Director of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law. She currently teaches at the University of Toronto, where she is also a Fellow of the Institute for Lifecourse and Aging.

Ms Frances Zainoeddin, who is currently an SI UN Representative, New York, left Australia in 1970 to work at the United Nations, New York – initially in the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs – and ended her career, 31 years later, as Deputy Budget Director of the United Nations Programme Planning and Budget Division. Upon retirement, Ms Zainoeddin joined the NGO community in order to further promote the ideals of the United Nations, with a specific interest in gender and ageing issues. Her knowledge of the United Nations system, policies and procedures, has been particularly useful to NGOs that participate in deliberations in intergovernmental meetings.

Susan B Somers JD, is the Secretary General International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. Ms. Somers earned a Law Degree in 1984 from Albany Law School, Albany NY, and holds a Certificate of Gerontology Studies. For two decades her practice areas concentrated on Civil Rights, Family and Elder Issues, i.e. Guardianship and Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution. She served as Assist. Deputy Attorney General for the State of New York, Consumer Frauds Bureau and Elder Protection Unit. She has expertise in Financial Exploitation of the Elderly and has developed and delivered numerous trainings to Banks, Police and Older Persons. She also served as State Director of the NYS OCFS Bureau of Adult Services. She is currently President of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, (INPEA), an International NGO with special consultative status at the UN, which launch the first Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, 2006. Her focus is on promoting older person’s human rights to end abuse, neglect and violence globally, through advocacy with UN Member States and International NGO’s. She has an interest in addressing harmful cultural and traditional practices, and raising awareness relative to older person’s mental health issues. She co-chairs the NGO Comm. on Ageing, NY, Sub-committee to Promote a New Convention.

SI Voices – ‘Speak Out for Older Women’ will take place on the Zoom platform. If you have not used Zoom previously, please download the Zoom App on your desktop, laptop, phone or IPad,  in advance of the webinar to ensure you can access the webinar easily.

DATE: 24 September 2020 – 11:00 AM Vancouver PDT