BOSTON, MA, March 3, 2005 — The Berklee Women's Network, Mercy Corps, and My Sister's Keeper present A Call To Listen, A Call To Action: Women's Voices From Darfur, a multimedia, interactive community forum, on Wednesday, March 23, 2005, 4:00-7:00 pm (reception 4-5:30, forum 5:30-7), hosted by Massachusetts College of Art at the Massachusetts College of Art Auditorium, 621 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA. Linda Mason, Liz Walker, Dr. Reverend Gloria E. White-Hammond, and Susan Romanski, went to Sudan last month, taking with them songs written, performed, and recorded for the Sudanese women by Berklee students. They heard firsthand accounts of the violence that has ripped families apart and dislocated tens of thousands to refugee camps, leaving women and children homeless, hungry, cold, and in personal danger. Many of these stories were told in song, and recorded as part of the team's experience. The songs are currently being incorporated into Sudanese-inspired music by Berklee faculty, staff, and students for release on a CD to benefit the women and children of Darfur.

Press: to inquire about photo availability and usage, please e-mail us. Darfur refugee women dance and sing in response to the Berklee songs. Photo by Susan Romanski

On March 23, Mason, Walker, White-Hammond, and Romanski will facilitate an educational forum to relate their experiences, raise awareness of the massive humanitarian crisis in Darfur and other impoverished countries, and to transform that awareness into support for people who are most affected. They will provide an overview of the context of the conflict, report on the state of women and children in the camps, answer questions, share the images and recordings from Darfur, and offer suggestions on how to support the people of Darfur. This is an opportunity for the public to hear about the needs of those affected in Sudan from a primary source, and learn what can be done to help.

About the extraordinary women who embarked on the weeklong trip to Sudan:

• Linda Mason is Chairman and Founder of Bright Horizons (the world's leading provider of employer-sponsored child care), and the spouse of Berklee President Roger H. Brown. Author of The Working Mother's Guide to Life: Strategies, Secrets, and Solutions, she managed large-scale relief operations overseas and served as co-director of Save the Children's emergency program in Sudan, serving 400,000 famine and war victims.
  
  
• Liz Walker is an award-winning journalist on Boston television station CBS4, with a special interest in the victims and survivors of domestic violence. After twenty-five, highly-acclaimed years at the CBS4 News anchor desk, Walker decided to focus her expertise, creativity, and passion for the community on her new show, "Sunday With Liz Walker." She co-founded My Sister's Keeper, and helped found the Jane Doe Safety Fund to support domestic abuse shelters and safe houses around the Commonwealth.
  
  
• Dr. Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond is Co-Pastor of Bethel AME Church in Boston, and a pediatrician at the South End Community Health Center. Dr. White-Hammond is the co-founder of My Sister's Keeper, a humanitarian action group focused on women-led micro-enterprise projects in southern Sudan.
  
  
• Susan Romanski, Global Emergency Operations officer for Mercy Corps, set up Mercy Corps' relief programs in Darfur in 2004. A graduate of Boston University, she has also served in Iran, Iraq, Liberia, and Zimbabwe, and most recently led the agency's tsunami relief operations in Sri Lanka.

Press: to inquire about photo availability and usage, please e-mail us. Linda Mason, Gloria White-Hammond, and Liz Walker meet with Sudanese activists. Photo by Susan Romanski

Mercy Corps, sponsor of the trip to Sudan, exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than $830 million in assistance to people in 80 nations. With support from donors worldwide, nearly 2,000 staff, volunteers, and partners change lives each day, working hand-in-hand with those who seek to build a better future.

The Women's Network at Berklee College of Music provides a community for women staff, faculty, and administrators at Berklee. The group holds no political beliefs save the fundamental idea that all humans should be treated with the respect inherent in humanity regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, nationality, socioeconomic status, or ability. The Women's Network offers a social and professional forum for women at Berklee and serves as a catalyst for change and as a resource for the Berklee community.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today — and tomorrow.

For editorial information or digital photos, the media may contact:

Margot Edwards
Office of Public Information
(617) 747-2004
medwards@berklee.edu