Ginny Kirkwood, Shawnee Ski Area Owner, to Speak at ESU on Entrepreneurship, her Work in Asia on Women’s Health, Education

Posted by: admin on October 17, 2013, No Comments

The owner of The Shawnee Group, which runs the Shawnee Ski Area and Shawnee Inn, will speak to East Stroudsburg University students Monday, October 21, about her extensive work in women’s health, literacy and education in Southeast Asia, as well as her life as an entrepreneur.

Ginny Kirkwood is well-known in the Poconos as a businesswoman whose holdings include hotels, a PGA golf course and real estate. But one of the great passions of her life has been helping people in developing countries ever since she served in the Peace Corps in Turkey in the 1960s.

Kimberly S. Adams, Ph.D., an ESU associate professor of political science, invited Kirkwood to share her unique perspective at Adams’ Women in Politics class at 10 a.m. Monday, October, 21 in Room 415 of Stroud Hall on campus. The public is invited at no cost.

“Ginny is such an inspiration to all age groups,” Adams said. “She is a global ambassador for people in need. Her work spans across three continents and she has made a difference in the lives of so many.  I know that she will inspire my students to lend a helping hand whenever and wherever possible.”

Kirkwood, who speaks four languages, is a director of The Kenan Institute, a Bangkok-based group working in major development projects throughout Thailand and the region. She also serves as an adviser to the National Peace Corps Association and as a director of a Boston-based group World Education Inc. that works on HIV/AIDS and health, education and literacy worldwide.

In addition to her stint in the Peace Corps in Turkey, Kirkwood has lived in Thailand and Singapore and traveled to numerous countries in Asia and Africa for aid work.

Closer to home, Kirkwood’s Shawnee Inn has provided free meals for local people in need, serving thousands of meals in the last four years. She is a producer for the Shawnee Playhouse and has produced scores of free community concerts at the Shawnee Inn.

Kirkwood was an active volunteer and leader in the Special Olympics in Pennsylvania and overseas and served as chairwoman for the Shawnee Academy, a home for troubled children. She is married to Charles W. Kirkwood, who is chairman of The Shawnee Group, and they have five grown children.

For more information, please contact Adams at ksadams@esu.edu.