AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work will host a talk by Mark K. Shriver, senior vice president of Save the Children’s U.S. Programs, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. in the school’s UTOPIA Theatre, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd. The event is free and open to the public. 1 CEU ($5) Approved for Social Workers, LPC, LMFT.
Shriver will discuss his New York Times and Washington Post best-selling memoir, “A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver.” The book, published in June 2012 by Henry Holt, chronicles the true successes of Sargent Shriver’s life, as well as his struggles with Alzheimer’s disease towards the end of his life.
In addition to his work for Save the Children, Mark Shriver is a former caregiver and has been a spirited advocate in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Through his work as a Champion for the Alzheimer’s Association, he works to raise awareness of the mysterious illness.
The event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Grief, Loss, and Family Survival, a unit of the Center for Social Work Research at the UT Austin School of Social Work, and the Alzheimer’s Association, Capital of Texas Chapter.
Mark K. Shriver leads Save the Children’s U.S. Programs, which works to ensure a fair start for all children in the United States, including the nearly one in four living in poverty.
Shriver developed Save the Children’s early childhood development, literacy and health programs, which benefit more than 76,000 children in some of the most impoverished regions of the country. Studies reveal that 68 percent of children showed major improvement after participating in the literacy program and the percentage reading at or above grade level more than doubled from the start of the school year to the end.
Shriver also created Save the Children’s domestic emergencies unit, which works to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children before, during, and after disasters through preparedness and response programs, as well as advocacy at the federal, state, and local level.
Shriver was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2002. In 1988, Shriver founded the innovative Choice Program, which serves delinquent and at-risk youth through intensive, community-based counseling.
Shriver received his B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross in 1986 and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1993. He has received honorary degrees from Loyola College in Baltimore, Md., and from The College of the Holy Cross.