As part of the Iowa Initiative's mission to reduce unintended pregnancies in Iowa among adult women through networking, outreach and education, we invite nationally-known health care thought-leaders to Iowa to provide an informed perspective on the issues at stake.  This also gives Iowa's family planning professionals opportunities to experience, learn from, and be inspired by national experts as well as lessons they can learn from each other.  Below are highlights on our upcoming and past "On The Issues" Speaker Series.

 
10/18/10 - On the Issues: The Impact of Health Care Reform on Family Planning Providers
At this event, we will be discussing topics related to health care reform and its impact on family planning providers.  We'll also engage providers and community leaders in a dialogue about sustainability beyond the Initiative.  We are honored to announce our speakers for this event: The event will be held at the Olmsted Center at Drake University from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  A detailed agenda and online registration form will be available soon!

5/13/10 - On the Issues: Working Effectively with Latinos in Iowa
Several topics were discussed related to Iowa's Latino community and how we can better serve them in our work to reduce unintended pregnancies. Links to each presenter's presentation are provided below. Videos of the presentations can be viewed on the Iowa Initiative's YouTube channel. (Be sure you click on "see all" in the right-hand column to view all of the available videos.)

Presenter
Topic
Material
Video Link (YouTube)
 
 
 
 
Laura Jimenez
Reproductive Justice
 
 
 
 
Hector Sanchez-Flores
Latino Youth & Families
 
 
 
 
Melissa Esquivel
Latinos in Iowa
 
 
 
 
Juan Manuel Galvez Ibarra and Esperanza Pintor Martinez
La Noche te da Sorpresas radio soap opera
 
 
 
 
Myriam Hernandez Jennings
Improved services to Latinas, cultural competencies
 
 
 
 
Hector Sanchez-Flores
Engaging Men in Pregnancy Prevention

 
7/22/09 - Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
The Iowa Initiative, in partnership with Des Moines University Global Health and the Iowa Department of Public Health, proudly welcomed Director Barnes to Des Moines on July 22.  You can learn more about the White House Domestic Policy Council at www.whitehouse.gov.  

Following a great morning, we had two other presentations.  Dr. Mary Mincer Hansen and Jenell Stewart from Des Moines University provided an overview of the current global landscape for maternal and child mortality.  You can view a copy of their presentation here.  Finally, Julie McMahon with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) discussed Iowa's health reform and the IDPH's efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies.

 
9/29/08 - Sarah Brown, The National Campaign to Reduce Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies
Sarah is the CEO and co-founder of The National Campaign headquartered in Washington, D.C.  To learn more, visit www.thenationalcampaign.org.  
 
6/11/08 - Dr. Lawrence Finer, The Guttmacher Institute
The Guttmacher Institute is the leading think tank on sexual and reproductive health issues in the United States and worldwide, headquartered in Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit www.guttmacher.org/.