Thirty Hadassah members visited the U.S. Mission to the United Nations on February 25. They met with Laurie Shestack Phipps and Peggy Kerry. Ms. Kerry is the liaison from the U.S. Mission to non governmental organizations associated with the UN.

Ms. Phipps is an advisor at the U.S. Mission whose expertise is economics and social affairs, with a special focus on women's issues, including global empowerment and the aging. She is the US representative to the Third Committee of the UN. This committee concerns itself with social development and human rights. She is also U.S. Mission Advisor at the UN on the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established in the year 2000 and will be evaluated in 2015. Ms. Phipps stated the MDGs as follows: "Eradicating Poverty and Hunger, Primary Education Improvement, Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality, Decreasing Child Mortality, Improvement of Maternal Health, Fighting HIV/AIDS, Environmental Quality, and Partnerships for Economic Development."

Ms. Phipps asked the audience what issues were of particular interest. She soon had a list that ranged from the Human Rights Council, to the Commission on the Status of Women, to violence against women, to sex trafficking, to the fruition of the Millennium Development goals and more. She spoke extemporaneously and then answered questions.

Members of Hadassah’s UN Team are Ruth Cole, Renee Albert, Judy Padolf and Ruth Grossberg.