Cindy Hensley McCain to talk leadership, volunteerism


LAWRENCE —The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas announces an upcoming program with Cindy Hensley McCain. McCain will speak about her experiences as chair of Hensley & Company, her extensive work with a number of major charitable organizations and share some stories from the campaign trail. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, at the Dole Institute of Politics. This program is free and open to the public.

“Cindy Hensley McCain’s wide variety of experiences in business, philanthropy and volunteer work are evidence of her lifelong devotion to helping others,” said Dole Institute director Bill Lacy. “This program is sure to provide practical and inspirational information for all who dedicate themselves to leadership and volunteerism, regardless of political affiliations.”

Though she is best known publicly as the wife of 2008 presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain, McCain is a successful businessperson and prolific philanthropist, exhibiting exemplary leadership in her own right. McCain founded the American Voluntary Medical Team in 1988 to provide emergency medical and surgical care to impoverished children throughout the world.

As a member of the board of trustees for the HALO Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to landmine removal and weapons destruction in war-torn countries, McCain is dedicated to the worldwide removal of landmines. She is also a founding member of the Eastern Congo Initiative. In her work with the initiative, she has traveled to the region five times in the last three years and is committed to raising awareness of the travesties facing women and children in the Congo.

McCain serves as co-chair of the Arizona Governor's task force on human trafficking. She is dedicated to efforts to reduce human trafficking in Arizona, throughout the United States and globally, as well as working to improve the lives of human trafficking victims. McCain recently joined the board of the Special Olympics Los Angeles 2015 summer games. She has also served on the Board of Directors for Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to repair cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities for children around the world.

McCain is the chairman of her family’s business, Hensley & Company, which is one of the largest Anheuser-Busch distributors in the nation. She holds an undergraduate degree in education and a master’s degree in special education from the University of Southern California and is a member of the USC Rossier School of Education Board of Councilors. McCain resides in Phoenix with her husband, John McCain. They have four children.

This program is co-sponsored by KU Fights Hunger and KU’s Coalition Against Slavery & Trafficking.

Tue, 03/18/2014

author

Melanie Coen

Media Contacts

Melanie Coen

Dole Institute of Politics

785-864-1156