The University of Illinois Springfield Innovation Hub, UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership and the Community Health Roundtable will host a free public webinar titled “COVID-19 and Returning to Work: Implications for the Workforce, Women and Work Sectors” at Noon Friday, May 21 via Zoom.

As the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are gradually lifted, "returning to work" is not as simple as it seems for some people, due to childcare issues, lingering fear of COVID-19 infection, re-start challenges for businesses, government subsidies and other reasons. In this webinar, expert panelists will discuss how these issues are affecting our state and local workforce, why women may be more affected than men and what we can expect as the summer approaches. There will also be a general COVID-19 update with specifics on vaccines and masks. 

Panelists include Alison Dickson, senior instructor in the Labor Education Program in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Chris Hembrough, president and CEO of The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce; Gail O'Neil, director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health; and Rachel DeVries, vice president of human resources for the Hospital Sisters Health System Illinois Division. The discussion will be moderated by Molly Lamb, executive director of the UIS Center of State Policy and Leadership.

In order to attend the event, please register online at go.uis.edu/COVIDwebinar. A Zoom link will be emailed to those who register. 

For more information, contact Bruce Sommer at 217-899-3186 or bsomm2@uis.edu. Past UIS webinars can be found online at go.uis.edu/Webinars.