Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate

Amy Qualliotine joined the Center in 2012 and focuses on family economic security, education, and employment outreach efforts. Before joining NWLC, she spent two years teaching incredibly brilliant 4th grade students in rural Louisiana as a Teach For America corps member. She has interned at the Center for Strategic International Studies, the Mortara Center for International Studies, and for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Amy graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and will forever "Bleed Hoya Blue". 

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My Take

Gabby Douglas and the Next Generation

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: August 06, 2012 at 11:16 am

Me: Are you watching?

Kaitylan: Yes ma’am I am!

Kaitylan: OMG Gabby is SOO cool. B-)

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Kaitylan and I were texting last Thursday night. Last year, she was one of my students. I was teaching 4th grade in rural Louisiana.

Enter: Gabby Douglas

When Gabby Douglas won the all-around title at the Olympic trials in July I was elated. I got butterflies in my stomach, a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes. I know – that seems pretty ridiculous given the fact that it was only the trials and I don’t know this girl.

Except that I do. After teaching 80 students over the last two years in rural Louisiana, I know they have been waiting for Gabby. Waiting for America’s Sweetheart to look like them.

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Tags: 2012 Olympics | 2 comments

Not So Fast – Title IX’s Work Isn’t Done Yet

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: August 02, 2012 at 10:52 am

“We’ve reaped the fruits of Title IX,” says Theresa Edwards, the U.S. chef de mission for U.S. teams.

Title IX certainly turned out to be the seeds of some pretty incredible fruit. As I sit on my couch (usually eating ice-cream, pie, or something else I bet those athletes have never even seen) watching the 2012 games, I am overwhelmed by the sheer power of Team U.S.A.’s female athletes. I mean have you seen McKayla Maroney fly, literally fly, on her vault? Or Missy Franklin make swimming at 1,000,000 miles per hour – okay, maybe not exactly 1,000,000 – look easy?

London 2012 is the first time that the majority of Team U.S.A. is female, and there is no doubt that thanks is owed to Title IX. In the 1972 Summer Games, the same year Title IX was born, 21% of the American competitors were women. Forty years later the American delegation is a whopping 51% female.

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Tags: 2012 Olympics, Athletics, Title IX, Athletics, Education & Title IX | 1 comment

Ten Reasons Why Sally Ride is a Fantastic Role Model

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: July 25, 2012 at 04:32 pm

Sally RideI remember how every day in elementary school we’d march down the hallway in our (mostly) single file line, keeping our heads facing forward and our hands (again, mostly) to ourselves.  When we rounded the corner between the gym and the main office there was a framed 8 x 10 portrait of Sally Ride hanging on the wall – nobody else, just Sally Ride.  I distinctly remember wondering what that woman with the serious hair-doo was doing up on the wall all by herself – I knew she wasn’t the president, she wasn’t our principal, and she wasn’t on Nickelodeon, so that pretty much left my eight-year-old self with no other options.  

I eventually learned about Sally Ride, and I continue to respect and draw inspiration from the incredible advancements she made as an American and as a woman.  Being the first American woman in space is an incredible accomplishment, but Sally Ride is so much more than that.  I can only speculate as to why Sally Ride’s was the lone picture up in our hallway, but I have a strong feeling these 10 reasons may be part of it.

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Tags: STEM, Education & Title IX | 3 comments