http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/745381

The Sewall-Belmont House & Museum is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2012 Alice Award, former First Lady, Laura W. Bush. Every year, the Museum honors a distinguished woman who has made an outstanding contribution in breaking barriers and setting new precedents for women. Through Mrs. Bush’s commitment to education, health care and human rights, she has made an impact on women’s lives both at home and abroad.

Laura W. Bush

Mrs. Laura Bush is actively involved in issues of national and global concern, with a particular emphasis on education, health care and human rights. She has investigated and showcased successful programs for early childhood education, at-risk youth, global literacy, and preservation of our national parks and our country’s national treasures. And through her travels to more than seventy-six countries, including historic trips to Afghanistan, Mrs. Bush has helped launch groundbreaking educational and healthcare programs for women.

Mrs. Bush is an advocate for women’s health and has been an active participant in campaigns to raise awareness of breast cancer and heart disease, both in the U.S. and around the world. She partnered with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in The Heart Truth campaign and the Red Dress project.  And she traveled to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Panama to help launch international partnerships for breast cancer awareness and research in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Born in Midland, Texas to Harold and Jenna Welch, Mrs. Bush holds a degree in education with a master’s degree in library science.  She taught in public schools in Dallas, Houston and Austin and worked as a public school librarian. In 1977, she met and married George Walker Bush. They are the parents of twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.

http://www.sewallbelmont.org/programs/alice-award-2012/