Nancy Parrish, Founder and CEO of Protect Our Defenders and the 2016 recipient of the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage. 

The Allen Prize Symposium: Civil Rights, Ethics, and Leadership honors Nancy Parrish for her work as a community and public affairs leader, particularly in the area of supporting brave men and women in uniform who have been raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members. The 2016 Allen Prize Symposium serves as a symbol of how the legacy of Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., born in Atlanta, continues to embrace civil and human rights for the nation and the world.

The symposium brings together individuals whose work reinforces the life and work of Nancy Parrish. Each stands as a witness to their own personal commitment to sustaining social change and promoting ethical leadership. Symposium participants will hear from each panel and then engage in spirited dialogue at their tables with fellow attendees. 

Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage Symposium Schedule

9 a.m. - Doors open, Continental Breakfast will be served
9:45 a.m. - Welcome, Protect Our Defenders video clip
10 - 11:45 a.m. - Conversation I: Creating and Sustaining Social Change
Facilitated by: Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Journalist and Author
Panelists: Lee Helmken, Health Educator, Georgia Institute of Technology; Emily Li, Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Student, Georgia Institute of Technology; Miranda Petersen, Program and Policy Director, Protect Our Defenders; and Jabari Simama, President, Georgia Piedmont Technical College

Noon - 1:30 p.m. - Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage Award Luncheon honoring Nancy Parrish, Founder and CEO, Protect Our Defenders

1:45 - 3:30 p.m. - Conversation II: Courage and Ethical Leadership

Facilitated by: William Wepfer, Professor and Chair of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Panelists: Jennifer Abrams, Public Policy Undergraduate Student and Undergraduate Student Government Association President, Georgia Institute of Technology; Seletha Butler, Assistant Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Georgia Institute of Technology; Don Christensen, Colonel of the U.S. Air Force (Ret.) and President, Protect Our Defenders; and Deanna Ferree Womack, Assistant Professor in the Practice of the History of Religions and Multi-Faith Relations, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology 

The Georgia Tech community and public are welcome to attend. RSVP by February 10, 2016.