Honorary Life Member: Dr Beverley Chain
Beverly Chain was 'one of those women' that fought tirelessly for gender awareness in WACC. Her leadership within WACC was based on years of experience in communication and a firm belief that WACC would only model its values fully when WACC fully supported women in communication. Our governing documents that guide our work today were written when Beverly was on Central Committee and reflect that tenacious determination. What else would you expect from someone whose biblical vision is drawn from Micah 6:8: '... what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?'
Beverly's career began with a degree in journalism, followed by a Master of Arts degree in film and TV writing, leading eventually to a Doctorate in communication and education from Columbia University, New York. Her studies included some courses in theology and her career has always been with the church. She served as a United Methodist missionary in Brazil (CAVE) both using and further developing her journalist skills. As an author Beverly wrote a book for teens, 12 short stories focussed on Latin America, and has contributed many articles to magazines and newspapers including the New York Times and USA Today.
Her gift to the world of communication has been the gift of time, energy and creativity as Director of the Office of Communication for the United Church of Christ, USA, as well as the numerous activities related to ecumenical communication. She has served on the North America Regional Association(NARA)-WACC executive, on the WACC Central Committee and within the USA has served on the National Council of Churches Communication Commission which she chaired for two terms, and numerous ecumenical communication groups. Beverly's career association with WACC spans over four decades.
Throughout all of this Beverly is recognized as someone willing to take on a challenge. With the United Church and NCC responsibilities she challenged the Federal Communications Commission and the US Congress to protect the rights and interests of children on television, forced major corporations such as Westinghouse to commit to core programming for children, and joined a long list of senior academic and commercial representatives in a letter to (the infamous) Newt Gingrich demanding that citizens have online access to essential Congressional documents.
Reflecting a lifetime commitment to communication, women and youth, Beverly and Carol Herb, also a communication specialists, have each made a very generous donation to WACC, establishing the Beverly J. Chain Communication Training Fund. The Fund is to be used for training women in communication from Latin America and Africa. We are pleased that Carol is able to be with us today.
Download PDF version of this page