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Ellen McCurley '82 returned to campus on Nov. 8 to deliver a presentation on "War and Plague in Africa: The Social and Human Costs of Political Violence." The founder of the Pendulum Project—a non-profit organization that helps children who are orphaned and vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS, poverty and war—McCurley is also the executive producer for Pendulum Films, a documentary film company that produced Malawi—A Call to Action, about the AIDS epidemic in Malawi and sub-Saharan Africa.
Upon graduation from Holy Cross, McCurley pursued a successful career in advertising and marketing. In 2001, however, following a trip to Malawi, she embarked on a different professional and personal path. After watching the suffering of people there, McCurley shifted her priorities and she started the Pendulum Project; she also returned to school to pursue degrees in social work and public health. McCurley has traveled extensively in Africa and has witnessed some of the most dramatic consequences of armed conflict in the region.
A board member, adviser and fund-raising volunteer for several national humanitarian, non-profit organizations devoted to women and children and the AIDS effort, she was the subject of a recent feature story in The Boston Globe that detailed her dedication to helping children affected by AIDS in Africa.
McCurley's presentation was sponsored by the College's Peace and Conflict Studies concentration.
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