Join International House, the IOP, and The Pearson Institute as we welcome U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) for a conversation with IOP Director David Axelrod.

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient and former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. She was among the first Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom after deploying to Iraq in 2004 as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois Army National Guard. Duckworth served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring from military service in 2014 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. On November 12, 2004, her helicopter was hit by an RPG and Duckworth lost her legs and partial use of her right arm. Senator Duckworth spent the next year recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she quickly became an advocate for her fellow Soldiers. Following her recovery, she became Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, working to create a tax credit for employers who hired Veterans, establish a first-in-the-nation 24/7 Veterans crisis hotline and develop innovative programs to improve Veterans’ access to housing and health care. In 2009, President Obama appointed Duckworth to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, where she coordinated the joint initiative with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to end Veteran homelessness. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after representing Illinois’s Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms. Senator Duckworth and her husband Bryan are the proud parents of two daughters, Abigail and Maile.

This event is free and open to the public with registration. Register here.

Presented by the International House Global Voices Lecture Series, the Institute of Politics, and the Pearson Institute.