Program Officer, Office of Health Affairs. Washington, D.C.
After graduating from college in 1962, Mary Elizabeth King, went to work for the civil rights movement. From 1968-1972, Mary was the Program Officer in Washington in the Office of Health Affairs. This was part of the United States Office of Economic Opportunity, or the so-called “war on poverty”.
During this time she visited Beaufort-Jasper Counties in the Low Country of South Carolina to review an ambulatory care program they were developing. It was here that Mary met Dr. Jerry Galloway. (See April 7th blog – “The Path to the Peace Corps”).
Mary wrote, “I had a great deal of respect for Jerry and had been immediately impressed by him when I had first encountered him at work in the Low Country.”
Later, Mary was a Presidential appointee in the Jimmy Carter administration. She was confirmed by the Senate and had world-wide oversight of the Peace Corps and VISTA program. Mary recalled bringing Jerry to the headquarters where she worked in Washington, D.C. Based on her experience, Mary knew that you could not disentangle health care when you were trying to address people’s needs and oppression.
Mary wrote that when she had responsibility for the Peace Corps, “I thought of Jerry as an ideal exemplar for an expansion of the remit (activity) of the Peace Corps so it could appropriately address fundamental health needs in impoverished countries.”
For more information about Mary Elizabeth King's work, visit her website http://maryking.info/?page_id=3
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