Peacebuilders: Heloise Brainerd

Episode Summary

The podcast episode featured Heloise Brainard, a woman who dedicated her life to promoting peace and cultural exchange between the United States and Latin American countries. Heloise was born in 1881 in Vermont. After graduating from Smith College in 1904, she moved to Mexico City where she worked as a bilingual secretary and immersed herself in Mexican culture. This experience seems to have sparked her lifelong interest in Latin America. In 1908, Heloise began working at the Pan American Union in Washington D.C. The Pan American Union aimed to foster cooperation between nations in North, Central and South America. Heloise steadily rose through the ranks, eventually becoming Chief of the Division of Intellectual Cooperation. She encouraged educational and cultural exchanges between Latin American countries as a means of promoting peace in the region. In 1928, Heloise spent 6 months traveling through Latin America to learn more about the various countries. She used this knowledge to advocate for more exchange programs between Latin American and American students and educators. She also promoted the establishment of Pan American clubs in schools to teach students about their neighboring countries. After over 25 years at the Pan American Union, Heloise resigned in 1935. She then began working for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Her focus was bringing Latin American women into the peace movement. She traveled extensively in South America connecting with women across the continent. Heloise dedicated nearly 20 years to the Women's International League before resigning in 1953. She received many honors recognizing her contributions to education and peace in Latin America. Heloise devoted her life's work to fostering connections between nations as a pathway to peace.

Episode Show Notes

Heloise Brainerd (1881-1969) spent her life fighting for Latin American women to be brought into the fold of peace activism.

Episode Transcript

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At Morgan & Morgan, we've made it really easy. Anything that we need from you, you're able to do from the comfort of your home. You can just dial pound law and you talk to someone like me. SPEAKER_07: If you or any one of your family has been injured, call Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. We've collected over $15 billion for our clients. It's easy. Visit forthepeople.com for an office near you. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Melte Mburak. SPEAKER_03: I'm the host and producer of the podcast, SESTA. We aim to harness the power of arts and culture to foster conversation and build peace in Cyprus. I'll be your guest host for this month of Womanica. This month, we're highlighting peace builders. In times of conflict, these women have stepped in, bringing their creativity and insight to help facilitate peace across the globe. Today, we're talking about a woman who spent her life fighting for Latin American women to be brought into the fold of peace activism. Let's talk about Heloise Brainard. Heloise was born in New England on April 30th, 1881. She remained in state for her first year at Middlebury College, before moving to Northampton, Massachusetts. She was born in the early 80s, in Northampton, Massachusetts. There, she finished her degree at Smith College, where she graduated in 1904. Heloise had lived her whole life on the East Coast, but after college, she followed new calling. Farther from home, she moved to Mexico City and started working as a bilingual secretary in a law firm. While living there, she lived with local Mexican families, honing her Spanish skills. We're not exactly sure what propelled Heloise's move to Mexico. Whether it was a pursuit of knowledge, a change of pace, or an invitation from abroad, Heloise's decision to pack up her life in Vermont invited me to reflect on that busy period of life, just after graduation, still trying to feel out your place in the world. For Heloise, that leap of faith opened the doors to the rest of her life as a peace builder. After four formative years, Heloise left her job as a law firm secretary in Mexico City and moved to Washington, D.C. There, she started working at the Pan American Union as a secretary to the assistant director. The Pan American Union was founded in 1890 with the purpose of fostering peace between all the countries in South America and the United States. The nations shared information with each other through a monthly bulletin published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, with articles about a broad range of topics, from the social customs in Latin American countries to foreign trade statistics. At the Pan American Union, Heloise steadily moved up the ranks. Eventually, she became the chief of the Division of Education. It was later expanded and renamed the Division of Intellectual Cooperation. Heloise's job was to encourage cultural exchange between the various Latin American countries through education, art, literature, and science. Just as she had after graduation, Heloise jumped into her role full force. In 1928, she spent six months visiting nearly every country in South and Central America. She took the information she learned from her travels and applied them to a topic she was passionate about, fostering connections between American and Latin American educational institutions. Heloise encouraged American universities to invest in Latin American students studying abroad in America. She pointed out that this exchange could help Americans understand Latin American countries better and vice versa. Heloise also encouraged Pan American clubs in Latin American schools. In these clubs, students could learn more about other countries across the Americas. Heloise believed that educational initiatives like these broadened students' viewpoints about neighboring countries and to Heloise, that understanding was vital in keeping peace between Pan American nations. Finally, after over 25 years working for the Pan American Union, on June 22nd, 1935, Heloise resigned from her role. But her work fostering peace in Latin America was far from over. Soon afterwards, she started working for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. There, she was the chair of the division of Inter-American Work. Her goal in that position was to bring Latin American women into the peace movement. She continued traveling all around South America, often for long periods of time, connecting with women in various countries. In recognition for her work, Heloise received the money and the Order of Merit from Ecuador to honor her contributions to education and peacekeeping. Multiple scholarships in her name were set up in the US to help fund Latin American high school students studying in America. Heloise spent nearly 20 years working for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She resigned in 1953. Heloise was a member of the women's international league in the United States in 1963. Heloise died on February 16th, 1969 at the age of 88. By encouraging citizens of Latin American countries to learn more about their neighbors, she promoted peace and fostered international connections. All month, we're talking about peace builders. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Womanika Podcast. Special thanks to co-creators, Jenny and Liz Kaplan for having me as a guest host. Talk to you tomorrow. SPEAKER_05: Until 2024 on approved credit, over 15,000 satisfied customers on Google had a five-star experience with Dibella. 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