The Wellesley Centers for Women will kick off its biannual Lunchtime Seminar Series on Thursday, February 28 with, “Lifers: Growing Older, Staying Power, and the Out-of-School Time Field.” The program will run from 12:40 to 1:30 p.m. at Cheever House, 828 Washington St, Wellesley, MA.

In all employment fields, some workers change career paths while others stay in the field for long periods of time. Researchers from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time will examine these trends in the afterschool and out-of-school time field during this presentation. They will share findings from a workforce survey focused on out-of-school time professionals and their views on the benefits, challenges, and opportunities for growth within the field. The researchers will also discuss broader employment trends and how workforce training and professional development can promote quality out-of-school time programming.

The presentation will be led by Georgia Hall, Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, and her colleagues Elizabeth Starr, M.Ed., Kathryn A. Wheeler, Ed.D., Lisette DeSouza, Ph.D., and Kathy Schleyer, M.S. The National Institute on Out-of-School Time is a program of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College. Since 1979, it has moved the afterschool field forward through its research, education, training, and consultation.

The Lunchtime Seminar Series is free and open to the public. Guests are invited to bring their lunches, and the Centers will provide tea and coffee. For more information about the series, visit wcwonline.org/calendar. For accessibility questions, contact Disability Services at Wellesley College at disabilityservices@wellesley.edu or call 781.283.2434. The Lunchtime Seminar Series schedule is subject to change. For those who are unable to attend in person, the program will be streamed live on the Wellesley Centers for Women Facebook page (@wcwonline).

The Wellesley Centers for Women is the largest academic, women-and gender-focused, social-change-driven, research-and-action institute in the United States, located at Wellesley College. Scholars at the Centers advance gender equality, social justice, and human wellbeing through high-quality research, theory, and action programs. Areas of work include: Education, Economic Security, Mental Health, Youth and Adolescent Development, and Gender-Based Violence.