Salem College President Dr. Susan Pauly recently announced that Jo Luck, former president and CEO of Heifer International, will be the speaker at Salem’s commencement on May 19, 2012.

“We are proud during our 240th anniversary year to continue the tradition of celebrating amazing women who change the world,” she said in the announcement.

Luck served as CEO and president of Heifer International from 1992-2010. Under her leadership, the organization increased its budget from $7 million to more than $130 million, primarily through Luck's introduction of the Heifer International Gift Catalog, in which people can buy livestock for poor families around the globe. The charity works to end poverty and hunger internationally by supplying needy families with income-providing animals. Since 1944, Heifer has assisted more than 60 million people in more than 125 countries.

Luck was selected as World Food Prize Laureate in 2010 for her work with Heifer, and was also appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. Agency for International Development's Board for International Food and Agricultural Development. The board advises USAID administrators on agricultural development priorities and issues as they relate to famine and hunger worldwide.