Poverty, welfare, low-income families, and access to higher education are the issues that Sonoma State University Sociology Professor Sheila Katz will discuss at meetings with President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team at the Realizing the Promise Forum in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 4.
She also plans to meet with members of Congress and their legislative staffers on Friday, Dec. 5.
Katz was invited for her policy perspective and experience conducting community-based research on these issues. She conducts qualitative research with mothers on welfare who are enrolled in higher education programs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Katz is interested in why single mothers on welfare pursue higher education as their welfare-to-work activity, their narratives about their experiences in higher education and the welfare system, and how being involved in a grassroots advocacy organization affects women's experiences.
Most of the women who participate in her research are also domestic violence survivors. She is working on a book manuscript based on this project.
Katz will be part of a group representing Low Income Families' Empowerment Through Education (LIFETIME) and The California Partnership.
She has worked with the organizations for more than five years. She will travel with LIFETIME's Executive Director, community organizers from the CA Partnership and two community activists who are mothers on welfare.
Katz has been involved in national policy work for several years with LIFETIME. In 2005, she and LIFETIME released the "Family Violence is NOT an Option" research report about the experiences of domestic violence victims on welfare by holding a policy briefing on Capitol Hill during Violence Against Women lobby week.
This event was attended by more than 80 legislators, staffers, academics, advocates, and other community partners, including legislative staffers from the offices of then-Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
"I think this is an important opportunity to represent SSU and our community in this historic moment. President-Elect Obama faces many tough issues, and it is vital that community activists and policy advocates stay involved in this transition to strive for social and economic justice," she says.
Katz is currently scheduled to teach Women and Social Policy this spring.
LIFETIME's mission is to empower low-income parents to determine, pursue and achieve their goals for education, employment and economic security. Its goal is to help low-income parents enroll in, continue and successfully complete higher education and training .
The California Partnership is a statewide coalition of community-based organizations that fights poverty in California.
For further information, contact Dr. Sheila Katz at the CalWorks Higher Education Study, (707) 664-2583.
Listen to Katz's discussion with Margie Schafer on KCBS Radio at http://www.kcbs.com/pages/3404981.php?
MEDIA ADVISORY
Sociology Professor Sheila Katz and representatives from the Family Connection explore homelessness in Sonoma County and California during the current economic and housing crisis. Panelists will engage the audience in discussion of how the community can get involved to change the current situation. Questions on the causes of homelessness and how social safety nets have disappeared will be addressed. 7 p.m. Monday, Nov 17 at the Cooperage.
