Mavis Leno Set to Inspire Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists

Mavis Leno Set to Inspire Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists

Serious 'Half' of Leno Family, Champion of Women's Rights, Will Keynote Convention

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Mavis Leno, long time women's rights advocate, will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) on Friday, November 18, 5:30 p.m. in Exhibit Hall A at the San Diego Convention Center.

Leno, wife of comedian and "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno, will address ASHA members, 93.5% of whom are women. ASHA is committed to international outreach and support, meeting challenges that arise from difficult situations, and helping people communicate-topics strongly reflected in Leno's advocacy.

Leno is the Chair of the Feminist Majority's Foundation's Campaign to Help Afghan Women and Girls. She joined the Board of Directors of the Feminist Majority Foundation and became Chair of the Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan in 1997, less than one year after the Taliban's brutal treatment of women began. In 1998, she testified on gender apartheid before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was instrumental in defeating the energy company UNOCAL's efforts to construct an oil pipeline across Afghanistan that would have supplied the Taliban with over $100 million and dramatically increased their control in the region.

Currently, she is a leader in the effort to restore women's rights in post-Taliban Afghanistan. She continues to promote awareness of the plight of Afghan women to the public and has appeared on Larry King Live, the Today show, CNN with Paula Zahn, Hardball with Chris Matthews, and MSNBC Nightly News. She has also been featured in Time, Newsweek, The LA Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and People magazine.

ASHA is the national professional organization for more than 120,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists, the professionals who research and treat speech, language, and hearing disorders.

Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

CONTACT: Mona Thomas of the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, +1-301-897-0156, or mthomas@asha.org

Web site: http://www.asha.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: To arrange an interview with Mavis Leno, register to attend this session or for more information, contact Mona Thomas at 301-897- 0156, mthomas@asha.org. Beginning November 18 at 8:30 a.m., the press room will be open and located in Room 13, Mezzanine Level, San Diego Convention Center, 619-525-6335 or 619-525-6336. Free parking is offered for registered reporters. Contact Mona Thomas for more details.

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