Naomi Tutu, daughter of Nobel Laureate and human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, will visit Chattanooga State Community College on Wednesday, March 24.  An author, activist, and economist, Ms. Tutu will present her lecture, “What Gift do You Bring?”,  during a program at 10 a.m. in the Humanities Auditorium located in the C.C. Bond Humanities Building on Chattanooga State’s main campus.  The event is open to the public free of charge.

Born in South Africa, Ms. Tutu has channeled the opportunities and challenges of her life into a career focused on campaigning for human rights.  Her professional experience includes working as a development consultant in West Africa and creating educational programs about race, gender, and gender-based violence at the University of Cape Town.  Additionally, Ms. Tutu has taught at the University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, and Brevard College in North Carolina.

Ms. Tutu began lecturing as a college student at Berea College in Kentucky in the 1970s.  Since that time she has cultivated her message into a special program devoted to managing conflict known as Truth and Reconciliation workshops.  Ms. Tutu also leads retreats that focus on women’s issues and workshops that address the issues surrounding race and racism.

In addition to speaking, Ms. Tutu is a consultant to two organizations, both of which champion a mission committed to human rights.  The organizations are the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence (SAIV), which was founded by renowned author Riane Eisler and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Betty Williams, and the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA).

Ms. Tutu is a single mother of three and currently lives in Nashville, TN. For more information about Naomi Tutu and her visit to Chattanooga State, contact Mary Knaff by telephone at 423.697.3371 or by email at mary.knaff@chattanoogastate.edu.

For more information about Chattanooga State Community College and its educational programs, call the Chattanooga State information hotline at 423.697.4404 or toll free at 1.866.547.3733 or visit the college’s Web site at www.chattanoogastate.edu.

Chattanooga State Community College is a comprehensive, regionally accredited community college, operated under the policies and guidelines of the Tennessee Board of Regents College System.  Founded in 1965 and serving a six-county area in Southeast Tennessee, Chattanooga State offers a wide array of programs and services.