The power of love, healing and recognition

Courtney will speak about his efforts to heal a wounded nation for the Assembly Series

Idealists bring the power of conviction and passion to their work; pragmatists concentrate on solutions to meet their goals. Although it’s not usually a black-and-white situation, it is unusual to find a balance of both attributes in one person. Jeremy Courtney is one of those rare people.

Courtney

Courtney, one of the founders of the Preemptive Love Coalition (PLC), will give a presentation on “Reconciliation through Healing” for the Washington University in St. Louis Assembly Series at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, in May Auditorium, located in Simon Hall on the Danforth Campus.

The talk is free and open to the public, and co-sponsored by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and several pre-medical student organizations as part of Pre-Health Week.

Armed with a stunningly simple philosophy — if violence tears apart worlds, physical healing has the power to rebuild them — Courtney, along with his wife, Jessica, and friend Cody Fisher, have been helping citizens of Iraq rebuild a world that was shattered first under Saddam Hussein’s brutal rule, then under outside forces that continue today.

For a number of reasons, Iraqis have suffered from a dearth of doctors, but the hardest hit has been its most vulnerable population: children.

Courtney founded the PLC to eradicate the swelling backlog of Iraqi children in need of corrective heart surgery and to train a new generation of Iraqi medical professional. He and his team believe that in the midst of violence they have the opportunity to provide healing, which opens the doors to reconciliation.

Courtney leverages a background in business with several years’ experience working cross-culturally to create solutions for Iraq’s pediatric needs.

Working with Iraqi leaders, he has established groundbreaking surgical missions throughout the country. Thanks to his team’s efforts, the PLC has saved countless little lives and has provided Iraqi medical professionals with more than 30,000 hours of hands-on training — and the continued opportunity to reconcile through healing.

For information on this Assembly Series program or upcoming events, check the website at assemblyseries.wustl.edu, or call (314) 935-4620.

The event is part of Pre-Health Week, a collaborative effort by several student groups on the Danforth Campus to highlight the vast resources available for pre-medical students and to foster a greater sense of community among them. WUSTL Pre-Health Week is hosted by the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students, Alpha Epsilon Delta, International Pre-Medical Society, and Pre-Medical Society.

For more information, visit the Facebook event page or send an email to wuprehealthweek@gmail.com.