From Ambassador Susan E. Rice to Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Hawa Abdi to Eva Longoria, global leaders and inspiring women from around the globe will convene in New York City on April 4 and 5 for the fourth annual Women in the World Summit. Keep checking this page for more participant updates. Plus, see the summit's agenda and buy your tickets today.
FOUNDER, DR. HAWA ABDI FOUNDATION; AUTHOR, KEEPING HOPE ALIVE
Dr. Hawa Abdi Diblaawe was born in Mogadishu. She studied medicine in Kiev and became Somalia's first female gynecologist. She completed her law degree at the Somali National University in Mogadishu and opened a clinic on her family's ancestral land in the Afgooye Corridor. When the civil war began in 1991, Abdi housed employees on her land, feeding and caring for them, as well as their friends and relatives. In 2012, Abdi's land housed more than 90,000 refugees, most of whom were women and children. Abdi has won numerous distinctions and awards, including the John Jay Justice Award, Vital Voices's Women of the Year Award, and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.
Pieter Hugo
HOST, AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL; GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANCHOR, ABC NEWS
Christiane Amanpour, CBE, is CNN’s chief international correspondent and anchor of Amanpour and the global-affairs anchor for ABC News. Her illustrious career in journalism spans three decades. Since becoming an international correspondent for CNN in 1990, Amanpour has reported from the world’s major hotspots, including Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, the Palestinian territories, Iran, Sudan, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans, Egypt, Libya, and the U.S. and has interviewed most of the world’s top leaders. Amanpour has earned every major television journalism award including an inaugural Television Academy Award, eleven News and Documentary Emmys, four George Foster Peabody Awards, the Courage in Journalism Award, a Giants of Broadcasting honor from the Library of American Broadcasting, and nine honorary degrees. Amanpour graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a B.A. in journalism.
FOUNDER AND CEO, WORLDWIDE ORPHANS FOUNDATION
Dr. Jane Aronson is a pediatrician, adoption-medicine specialist, and the founder and CEO of Worldwide Orphans, a nonprofit organization that provides direct services to orphaned children globally. She serves as a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Cornell University, Columbia University, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Her many awards include the Angel in Adoption Award, Glamour Woman of the Year, and induction into the Hunter College Hall of Fame. Her book, Carried in Our Hearts, will be published in April 2013.
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, DREAM FOUNDATION TRUST
Humaira Bachal is an education advocate from Pakistan. After she and her younger sister were the only children to receive an education in the squatter settlement of Karachi City, she decided she wanted the same for the children around her. Bachal began teaching and recruiting classmates to join her effort. In 2003, she established the Dream Foundation and with the help of the ARM Youth Welfare and was able to rent a space for what she calls her “Dream Model Street School.” Already gaining attention worldwide for her work on behalf of girls’ education, Bachal is the subject of a short documentary by Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
FOUNDER AND INVENTOR, SPANX
In 2000, Sara Blakely started SPANX with a dream and $5,000. She invented Footless Pantyhose, landed on Oprah’s Favorite Things, and created a revolutionary brand! A celebrity favorite and must-have for women and men everywhere, SPANX offers more than 200 products, is available in more than 50 countries, and has headquarters in Atlanta.
Gregory Campbell
PRESIDENT AND CEO, SAM‘S CLUB
Rosalind Brewer is president and CEO of Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart Stores, Inc., with more than 600 locations nationwide. Brewer joined Sam’s Club in February 2012, bringing a wealth of talent to the members-only warehouse operating segment that serves the needs of individual and small business members. Throughout her career, Brewer has performed as a high-impact strategist with experience spanning global manufacturing operations, research and development, marketing, and strategic-business-unit leadership. She currently serves on the board of directors for Lockheed Martin Corporation and is chair of the board of trustees for her alma mater, Spelman College. Fortune honored Brewer in 2010, 2011, and 2012 as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business.”
WRITER AND FORMER ANCHOR, NBC AND CNN
Campbell Brown is an award-winning journalist who has written op-eds for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, and Slate, and covered stories around the globe for CNN and NBC News. Brown previously hosted the primetime nightly news program Campbell Brown for CNN. Prior to CNN, Brown spent 11 years at NBC News, where she served as White House correspondent, primary substitute anchor for Brian Williams, and hosted the weekend edition of the Today show. She has interviewed and profiled world political and business leaders, including the past three sitting presidents. Brown currently manages her own production company, which develops documentary and feature films focused on key public-policy challenges.
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, SUGHAR WOMEN PROGRAM
Khalida Brohi is a 24-year-old social entrepreneur who began her career as an activist standing against the traditions of honor killing and exchange marriages. Brohi launched her social-enterprise program, Sughar, in 2009, with an aim to create a society where women are not killed for honor but are honored and respected. Sughar provides socioeconomic empowerment to tribal women using their traditional embroidery skills as a tool to generate businesses. Brohi has been named in Newsweek’s list of “100 Women Who Matter in Pakistan.” She was awarded the Women Excellence Award by the government of Pakistan, the Azm-e-Alishan National Award, and is a global speaker for Girls Fight Back USA.
EDITOR IN CHIEF, NEWSWEEK AND THE DAILY BEAST
Tina Brown is an editor, author, and broadcaster. From a young writer for Punch magazine and The Sunday Times, she quickly rose through the ranks of the magazine industry on both sides of the Atlantic to become editor in chief of Tatler, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, and editor of Talk. Most recently Brown became founder and editor in chief of The Daily Beast and editor in chief of Newsweek. In 2007 her biography, The Diana Chronicles, spent several weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Brown launched the annual Women in the World Summit in March 2010, and following its globally recognized success founded the Women in the World Foundation.
Victoria Will
FOUNDER, EVERY MOTHER COUNTS
Christy Turlington Burns is a global maternal-health advocate and founder of Every Mother Counts, a campaign to end preventable deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth around the world. In 2010, Turlington directed and produced No Woman, No Cry, a documentary film about the global state of maternal health. She has been a longtime health-and-well-being activist focusing on smoking prevention and cessation and yoga. Turlington authored Living Yoga: Creating A Life Practice (Hyperion, 2002). She is also the founder of two wellness lifestyle brands; Sundãri, an Ayurvedic skin-care line, and nuala, a yoga-inspired apparel and accessories line.
CHIEF FEEDER AND COFOUNDER, FEED
Lauren Bush Lauren is the chief FEEDer and cofounder of FEED Projects, a charitable company with the mission to create products that help feed the world. Each FEED product sold supports organizations such as the U.N. World Food Programme, UNICEF, and Feeding America. To date, FEED Projects has partnered with companies like Whole Foods Market, Barnes & Noble, HSN, Disney, Pottery Barn, and many more. Lauren is also the chairman of the board and cofounder of the FEED Foundation. Through the sale of ecofriendly products and donations, FEED has provided nearly 60 million school meals to children around the world.
Roger Moenks
FOUNDER AND CEO, TASKRABBIT
Leah Busque is the founder and CEO of TaskRabbit, a website and mobile app that allows people to outsource small jobs and tasks to people in their community. Since boot-strapping TaskRabbit in 2008, Busque has expanded the company nationally, grown the team to more than 60 employees, raised nearly $40 million in venture funding, and inspired legions of startups to launch in the collaborative and service networking space. Fast Company named Busque one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” and her achievements have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and Time.
CEO, CHAMBERS LOPEZ STRATEGIES LLC
Lorena Chambers is the only Latina—and one of only two women—to have produced broadcast commercials for any U.S. presidential campaign. For the 2012 elections, Chambers’s advertising for Priorities USA, SEIU, and PFAW helped deliver 71 percent of Latino voters and reelect President Barack Obama. A graduate of UCLA and the University of Michigan, Chambers focused her graduate studies on the intersection of American history and feminist theory, and taught in the Department of History and in the Women’s Studies Department at the University of Michigan.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS’ NIGHTLINE
Juju Chang is an Emmy Award—winning special correspondent and fill-in anchor for ABC News’ Nightline. She also reports regularly for Good Morning America and 20/20. Chang covered breaking news on the effects of Superstorm Sandy, the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., and global events and issues such as the earthquake in Haiti and maternal and infant mortality in Mozambique. Chang previously anchored World News Now and World News This Morning and is the winner of two Emmys and two Gracies. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a founding board member of the Korean American Community Foundation.
MANAGING EDITOR, TEHELKA
Shoma Chaudhury is managing editor of Tehelka, a weekly newsmagazine widely respected for its investigative and public-interest journalism. Previously she worked with The Pioneer, India Today, and Outlook. Chaudhury has written extensively on areas of conflict in India: people vs. state, the Maoist insurgency, the Muslim question, and issues of capitalist development and land grabbing. She has won several awards, including the Ramnath Goenka Award and the Chameli Devi Award for the most outstanding woman journalist in 2009. In 2011, Newsweek (USA) picked her as one of 150 power women who “shake the world” and in May 2012, Chaudbury won the Mumbai Press Club Award for best political reporting.
BOARD MEMBER, THE CLINTON FOUNDATION
Chelsea Clinton was born in Little Rock in 1980 and has lived in Washington, Palo Alto, Oxford, New York, and London. She holds a B.A. from Stanford, an M.Phil. from Oxford, and an M.P.H. from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. Clinton is a special correspondent for NBC News and is currently pursuing a doctorate at Oxford. Clinton also works at New York University and the Clinton Foundation and with the Clinton Global Initiative. She previously worked at McKinsey & Company and Avenue Capital. Clinton serves on the boards of the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the School of American Ballet, Common Sense Media, and the Weill Cornell Medical College. She and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, live in New York City.
Peter Kramer/NBC
Hillary Rodham Clinton served as the 67th U.S. secretary of state from 2009 until 2013, after nearly four decades in public service. Her “smart power” approach to foreign policy repositioned American diplomacy and development for the 21st century. Clinton played a central role in restoring America’s standing in the world, reasserting the United States as a Pacific power, imposing crippling sanctions on Iran and North Korea, responding to the Arab Awakening, and negotiating a ceasefire in the Middle East. Earlier, as first lady and senator from New York, she traveled to more than 80 countries as a champion of human rights, democracy, and opportunities for women and girls. Clinton also worked to provide healthcare to millions of children, create jobs and opportunity, and support first responders who risked their lives at Ground Zero. In her historic campaign for president, Clinton won 18 million votes.
ACTRESS
Claire Danes has established herself as one of Hollywood’s leading actresses. She currently stars on Showtime’s Homeland, for which she has won two Golden Globe Awards, a SAG Award, and an Emmy. She also received critical acclaim for her performance in HBO’s Temple Grandin. Danes first caught critical, and audience, attention in the acclaimed series My So Called Life, which earned her a Golden Globe. Her film credits include Evening, Shopgirl, The Family Stone, Stage Beauty, Igby Goes Down, The Hours, Brokedown Palace, The Rainmaker, Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, and Little Women. In 2007 Danes made her Broadway debut in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. She is an accomplished dancer and has received critical acclaim for her performances in Edith and Jenny and Christina Olson: American Model.
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Elaine DePrince, a teacher, writer, and mother of two biological sons, adopted three boys with hemophilia in the 1980s. When her youngest sons were infected with HIV, she became an activist for blood safety and wrote Cry Bloody Murder (Random House, 1997); In 1999, while attending Rutgers School of Law, DePrince learned of the plight of children affected by the civil war in Sierra Leone. She and her husband adopted two little girls orphaned by that war. Subsequently, they added four more West African daughters to their family.
BALLERINA, DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM COMPANY
Michaela DePrince was born in Sierra Leone, orphaned by its civil war, and adopted by an American family in New Jersey when she was 4 years old. She began dancing at age 5 and by 13 attended the American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive in New York City and was named a National Training Scholar. DePrince is a two-year recipient of The Beverly G. Smith Scholarship at ABT and was featured in the documentary First Position. She has danced for Darrell Grand Moultrie, the Harlem School of the Arts Dance Benefit, the Francesca Harper Project, Ballet Vérité, Daniel Ulbricht's Dance Against Cancer Gala, De Dutch Don't Dance's production of Abdallah en de Gazelle van Basra, the South African Ballet Theatre, and TV program Dancing With the Stars.
PARIS BUREAU CHIEF AND MIDDLE EAST EDITOR, NEWSWEEK AND THE DAILY BEAST
Award-winning author Christopher Dickey is the Paris bureau chief and Middle East editor for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Dickey is the author of six books, including Securing the City about the NYPD and Summer of Deliverance, his memoir about his father, poet and novelist James Dickey. Prior to Newsweek, Dickey worked for The Washington Post in Cairo and Mexico City. His columns about counterterrorism, espionage, and the Middle East appear regularly on The Daily Beast.
SURVIVOR AND ACTIVIST
In 2010, Divya was raped. She has chosen to share her story in order to illuminate the endemic problem of sexual violence in India.
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JOURNALIST AND TV ANCHOR, NDTV
Barkha Dutt is one of India's best-known television journalists, who rose to prominence with her frontline reporting of the 1999 India-Pakistan war in Kargil. Since then she has reported from numerous conflict zones across the world. A winner of multiple national and international awards, she was most recently awarded “International Personality of the Year” by the London-based Association of International Broadcasting. Dutt is the recipient of the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors, as well as having been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She is the host of India's longest-running talk show, We the People.
PRESIDENT AND CEO, BREAKTHROUGH
Mallika Dutt, founder of the global human-rights organization Breakthrough, is one of today’s most innovative, admired, and effective leaders in cultural transformation. Breakthrough has reinvented the delivery of social and behavioral change through a potent mix of stirring multimedia campaigns, cutting-edge pop culture, smart social media, and authentic community engagement. Breakthrough’s most recent campaign, “Ring the Bell: One million men. One million promises,” calls on men around the world to challenge violence against women. The recipient of an honorary doctorate from Mount Holyoke College, Dutt has served on several boards, including the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Human Rights and India, the Open Society Institute’s U.S. Programs, and WITNESS. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Games for Change Advisory Board, and a co-founder of SAKHI for South Asian Women.
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, UNITED NATIONS
Joy Ngozi Ezeilo assumed her functions as the United Nations special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially of women and children, in 2008. Ezeilo is a human-rights lawyer and professor at the University of Nigeria. She has also served in various governmental capacities, including as honourable commissioner for the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Enugu State and as a delegate to the National Political Reform Conference. She has consulted for various international organizations and is involved in several NGOs, particularly those working on women’s rights. She has published extensively on a variety of topics, including human rights, women’s rights, and Sharia. Ezeilo was conferred with a national honor of Officer of the Order of Nigeria in 2006 for her work as a human-rights defender.
ACTOR, PRODUCER, AND ACTIVIST
America Ferrera is best known for her fearless portrayal as Betty Suarez on the television show Ugly Betty. She can next be seen in It’s a Disaster and Chavez. Past films include End of Watch, Real Women Have Curves, The Dry Land, How to Train Your Dragon, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2. In the West End, Fererra starred in the musical Chicago, and off-Broadway in Bethany. Ferrera appeared in PBS's Half the Sky, served as an artist ambassador for Save the Children, and recently visited Honduras on behalf of ONE.
Jeff Vespa/Getty
GLOBAL STRATEGY AND MARKETING OFFICER, BANK OF AMERICA
Anne Finucane is global strategy and marketing officer at Bank of America. She oversees the company’s marketing, communications, public policy, and corporate social responsibility organization. In addition to overseeing the strategic positioning of the company worldwide, Finucane directs a number of initiatives focused on the advancement of women in business and society: Bank of America’s Global Ambassadors Program, a partnership with Vital Voices, provides mentoring to emerging women leaders worldwide; a partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation engages employees to provide online mentoring for women entrepreneurs; and 1000 Women for Mentoring focuses on youth mentoring in the U.S.
PRESIDENT, MERCK VACCINES
Dr. Julie Gerberding is responsible for Merck’s current portfolio of vaccines and accelerating efforts to broaden access to Merck’s vaccines around the world. Previously, Gerberding served as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she led the agency through more than 40 emergency responses to public-health crises. She was named to Forbes’s “100 Most Powerful Women in the World” (2005–08) and to Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” (2004).
CHAIRMAN, GRUPO ABC
Nizan Guanaes is chairman and founder of Grupo ABC, a Brazilian enterprise made up of 15 companies in the advertising, marketing, content, and entertainment sectors. Dedicated to social causes for more than 20 years, Guanaes has been appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and is a member of UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention. He is also an active member of the Clinton Global Initiative, World Economic Forum, Endeavor, and Women in the World Foundation. Guanaes helped create Together for Girls, a worldwide collaboration between U.N. entities, the U.S. Department of State, the Clinton Foundation, and Grupo ABC to bring attention to sexual violence against girls and women.
Edu Lopes
CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, TOYOTA
As Toyota's chief communications officer, Julie Hamp oversees marketing, product, and brand communications for the Toyota, Lexus, and Scion brands. She spearheads the company’s communications and engagement initiatives at a time when Toyota is investing more than $1.5 billion in its North American products and operations. She leads Toyota’s collaboration with the Women in the World Foundation to support “Mothers of Invention”—a program to help recognize and fund female entrepreneurs who are tackling some of the most pressing problems facing women and society worldwide. Prior to joining Toyota, Hamp was a senior executive at PepsiCo., where she participated in their Women's Inspiration Network. She also has served on the boards of the Ad Council and Purchase College. A native of Queens, New York, she's married and the mother of two daughters, from whom she draws her inspiration today.
ACTOR
Tom Hanks is an award-winning actor, director, producer, and writer. He holds the distinction of being the first actor in 50 years to be awarded back-to-back Best Actor Academy Awards for his roles in Philadelphia and in Forrest Gump. Hanks, with his production company Playtone, executive-produced the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries John Adams and the award-winning HBO political drama Game Change, which follows Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate in his 2008 presidential campaign. In 2009 Hanks was honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center with the Chaplin Award.
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT, AND CEO, WOODROW WILSON CENTER; FORMER UNITED STATES CONGRESSWOMAN
During her nine terms in the U.S. Congress, from which she retired in February 2011, Jane Harman served on all the major security committees and traveled to hotspots around the world to assess threats against the U.S. An expert on security and public-policy issues, she has received the Defense Department Medal for Distinguished Service, CIA Seal Medal, CIA Director’s Award, and National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal. Prior to serving in Congress, she was a top aide in the U.S. Senate, deputy Cabinet secretary to President Jimmy Carter, and special counsel to the Department of Defense. In April 2011, she assumed the seat of her late husband, Harman International Industries founder and Newsweek chairman Sidney Harman, on Newsweek & The Daily Beast’s board of directors.
David Hawxhurst
VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRACY, RIGHTS AND JUSTICE, FORD FOUNDATION
As vice president of the Ford Foundation’s Democracy, Rights and Justice program, Maya Harris leads worldwide efforts to strengthen democratic participation, governance, and the protection of human rights. Before joining the Foundation, Harris was executive director of the ACLU of Northern California, directing litigation, public education, lobbying, and grassroots organizing work on issues ranging from racial and criminal justice to reproductive, immigrant, and LGBT rights. She served as dean of Lincoln Law School of San Jose—at age 29, the nation’s youngest law-school dean—and has been a litigator and an adjunct law professor. A contributing author to the New York Times No. 1 bestseller The Covenant With Black America and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Harris received her J.D. from Stanford Law School and B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
CO-FOUNDER AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR, GIRLTANK
Sejal Hathi is the co-founder of girltank and the founder of Girls Helping Girls, two social enterprises dedicated to empowering young women change-agents globally. She is also a founding partner at S2 Capital, an early-stage fund investing equity and debt in young entrepreneurs in the developing world. Hathi aspires to a career at the nexus of health innovation and global women’s rights. She is a senior at Yale, a published author, Harry S. Truman Scholar, and was just named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30.
TV HOST AND FOREIGN POLICY EXPERT, MSNBC
Rula Jebreal is a Palestinian-Israeli journalist, author, and TV host. Currently she works as a foreign-policy analyst for MSNBC and writes for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Jebreal was the first foreign anchorwoman in the history of Italian television to read the evening news. She was awarded a prize from Media Watch for challenging the government’s position on the Iraq War and in 2005 received the Ischia International Journalism Award for Best Journalist of the Year. In 2009, Jebreal produced and hosted a political television show in Egypt. Her novel Miral has sold more than 2 million copies and has been published in 14 languages. She also wrote Divieto di Soggiorno [Rejected], and The Bride of Aswan, which won the International Fenice Europe Prize.
WRITER, DIRECTOR, ACTOR, AND SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
Angelina Jolie is a writer, a director, and an Academy Award-winning actor. She has starred in movies including Girl, Interrupted (1999), Beyond Borders (2003), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), A Mighty Heart (2007), Changeling (2008), The Tourist (2010), and the Lara Croft films. Jolie has also received wide recognition for her humanitarian work. After 10 years serving as goodwill ambassador to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the high commissioner appointed her special envoy. In this pursuit she has undertaken more than 40 trips to countries all over the world to bear witness to and actively support solutions for refugees, vulnerable children, and international-law efforts.
Carlo Allegri/AP
PRESIDENT, SHAKTI VAHINI
Ravi Kant, founder and president of Shakti Vahini, has been associated with the development sector for the last 18 years. A law graduate from the University of Delhi, Kant has worked on several public and pro bono litigation cases related to human trafficking, child labor, environment and health issues, honor killings, and violence against women. Kant is a national-level resource person for the training of law-enforcement agencies and is part of various committees appointed by the government of India to combat human trafficking and violence against women.
CHAIRMAN, UNITED CIVIL FRONT OF RUSSIA AND FORMER WORLD CHESS CHAMPION
Garry Kasparov came to international fame as the youngest world chess champion in history in 1985 at the age of 22. He retired from chess in 2005 after 20 years as the world's top player to become a leader of the Russian pro-democracy movement. Kasparov is the chairman of the United Civil Front in Russia and a global voice for human rights. In 2002, the Kasparov Chess Foundation was launched in New York City to promote the teaching of chess in schools. With programs in more than 5,000 schools in every state, KCF recently opened centers in Europe and Africa. Kasparov and his wife, Daria, travel frequently to promote the many proven benefits of chess in education.
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DIRECTOR, SOM, KAMPALAª
Robert Katende is World Chess Federation (FIDE) arbiter and instructor and the director of development for the Uganda Chess Federation. He is also the ministry director for Sports Outreach Institute in Kampala, Uganda, where he created a chess program for children in the Katwe slum. Katende’s program has produced chess champions like Phiona Mutesi, a one-time illiterate slum child who developed into the first titled female player in her nation’s history. Katende lives in Kampala with his wife, Sarah, and their two daughters, Mercy and Hope.
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CHAIRMAN AND CEO, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
Muhtar Kent joined the Coca-Cola Company in 1978 and has held a variety of marketing and operations leadership roles in markets across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 2005, Kent was appointed president of Coca-Cola International, overseeing all operations outside North America. In 2006, he assumed the role of president and chief operating officer, and in 2008 became president and CEO. He was named chairman of the board of directors in 2009. Kent is co-chair of the Consumer Goods Forum, a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, and a member of the Business Roundtable. He was also recently appointed as a member of the Eminent Persons Group for ASEAN by President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton. Kent serves on the boards of 3M, Special Olympics International, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and Emory University.
FAWZIA KOOFI
MEMBER AND CHAIRPERSON OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, PARLIAMENT, AFGHANISTAN
Fawzia Koofi is an Afghan politician and human-rights activist. When the Taliban barred women access to education in 1995, Koofi focused on women’s rights, working closely with internally displaced people and marginalized women and children. After the fall of the Taliban, she continued her work with UNICEF and acquired both a law degree and a master’s degree in business and management. In 2005 Koofi was elected the first female deputy speaker of Parliament in the history of Afghanistan. She has championed key human-rights initiatives, including improvement of women’s conditions in Afghan prisons, a commission to combat violence against children, and amendments to the Shia Personal Status law. Koofi has been reelected to a second term in Parliament and is chair of the women, civil society, and human-rights commission. She is the author of Letters to My Daughters and The Favored Daughter: One Woman’s Fight to Lead Afghanistan Into the Future.
Mohammad Ismail/Reuters, via Landov
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, BRAND MARKETING, ADVERTISING, AND SPONSORSHIPS, AT&T
Esther Lee is senior vice president of brand marketing, advertising, and sponsorships for AT&T, the world's largest communications holding company. She oversees global brand marketing, advertising, media, and sponsorship, as well as the integration of brand leadership into the company's business strategies. Previously, Lee has served as CEO of North America and president of global brands for Euro RSCG Worldwide, and global chief creative officer for the Coca-Cola Co. Most recently, her achievements in leadership and business have been noted in the “Power Players” category of Advertising Age’s “100 Most Influential Women” in 2012, and Business Insider's list of "29 Most Influential CMO's in the World."
FOUNDER AND CEO, MARIEBELLE NEW YORK
Maribel Lieberman has been a food entrepreneur since she made and sold candies as an 8-year-old in her Honduras neighborhood. From that enterprising beginning, Lieberman moved to New York City to study at Parsons School of Design. She went on to create her own catering company and MarieBelle Fine Treats and Chocolates, the flagship store of her luxury chocolate empire, MarieBelle New York. Lieberman is guided by the lessons her family taught her about passion, perseverance, and wonderful food. The company’s renowned chocolate brand is now sold in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Chris Chen
ACTRESS, ACTIVIST, AND PHILANTHROPIST
Eva Longoria is an actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. She is the executive producer of two upcoming TV series, NBC’s Ready for Love and Lifetime’s Devious Maids. She founded the Eva Longoria Foundation to help Latinas build better futures through education and entrepreneurship. Longoria also co-owns restaurants Beso Hollywood and SHe Las Vegas. She served as national co-chair of President Obama’s reelection campaign and the 2013 presidential inauguration.
BOARD CHAIRPERSON, PRESIDENTIAL INITIATIVE ON MATERNAL HEALTH AND SAFE MOTHERHOOD, MALAWI
Crowned as Ngoni tribe chief in 1999, Senior Chief Kwataine manages 269 villages under his jurisdiction. His efforts and commitment to advance health issues date back to 2004, when he was identified as one of the outstanding chiefs to advance issues of safe motherhood in an effort to curb maternal deaths in the country. Appointed as board chairperson of the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood in April 2012 by President Dr. Joyce Banda, Inkosi Kwataine leads in community mobilization and training of fellow chiefs in Malawi.
CO-ANCHOR, ABC NEWS'S NIGHTLINE
Cynthia McFadden is a triple threat—producer, writer, and reporter at ABC, where she co-anchors Nightline and Primetime. Her documentary work is about those whose voices may not be heard: children raised in poverty by their grandmothers, girl gangsters in Los Angeles, prostitutes in San Francisco, and the last days of a death-row inmate in Louisiana. McFadden's award-winning investigations into human-rights abuses, focusing on women and children, have had her reporting from India on children in the sex trade, in Mexico on a mental hospital, on sex slavery in Israel, as well as from China, Rwanda, Bosnia, South Africa, and El Salvador. She has won numerous awards for her work, including Emmy, Peabody, duPont, and Foreign Press Club honors.
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BURMA’S FIRST ALL ORIGINAL FEMALE POP MUSIC GROUP
Me N Ma Girls are Burma's first all-girl musical group. Formerly known as Tiger Girls, the five talented performers—Ah Moon, Cha Cha, Kimi, Htike Htike, Wai Hnin—have released their first original album, MingaLarPar. Rehearsing in a run-down house in downtown Yangon, and keen to have a voice and make a difference in the world, they've performed for dignitaries, members of Parliament, and major venues throughout Southeast Asia. The girls are now collaborating with a record label and producers in the U.S. While they are working to expand themselves into a global force, their hearts will forever be anchored in Myanmar.
FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TOSTAN
A life dedicated to grassroots community empowerment, Melching’s work with Tostan has brought international recognition for crosscutting results such as the abandonment of female genital cutting and child/forced marriage in eight African countries, as well as reductions in infant/maternal mortality and emergence of female leadership. She received the 2010 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and in 2011 was named one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World” by Newsweek, and one of “The Most Powerful Women in Women’s Rights” by Forbes. Melching’s story of Tostan’s founding and the incredible community-led movement for transformative social change in Africa will be published on April 30, entitled However Long the Night: Molly Melching’s Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph.
HEAD OF GLOBAL WEALTH AND INVESTMENT MARKETING AND SALES SUPPORT, BANK OF AMERICA
Justine Metz serves as marketing and sales support executive for global wealth and investment management for Bank of America. She is responsible for developing and executing marketing plans for clients including Merrill Lynch and US Trust. Prior to joining Bank of America, Metz was senior vice president of segment management at Fidelity Investments. Metz serves as a mentor as part of Bank of America’s Global Ambassador Program, which focuses on making connections globally to empower women. She also mentors through the Bank of America Women’s Exchange and is an active participant in the Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development Women’s Group.
CHIEF FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS; HOST, ANDREA MITCHELL REPORTS, MSNBC
Andrea Mitchell, NBC’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, covers foreign policy, intelligence, and national-security issues for NBC News and MSNBC. Mitchell, who traveled with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, hosts Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC. She was a lead correspondent covering the 2012 presidential campaign and is the author of Talking Back: …To Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels. An Emmy Award—winning journalist, Mitchell received the prestigious Goldsmith Career Award, the National Press Foundation 2010 Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, and the Radio-Television News Directors’ Foundation Zeidenberg Award. She is married to former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and resides in Washington, D.C.
PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA
Pat Mitchell is one of media’s most accomplished professionals. Named in Newsweek’s 150 Women Who Shake the World, she has worked in front of the camera and behind, anchoring the news and reporting for broadcast networks before producing award- winning documentaries as executive in charge of original productions for Ted Turner’s cable networks. Her work has been recognized with 44 Emmy Awards, five Peabodys, and two Academy Award nominations. Mitchell became the first women president/CEO of PBS, and is currently president/CEO of the Paley Center for Media, whose mission is to optimize the power of media to inform, inspire, entertain, and empower. She is a sought-after speaker and has been honored numerous times for her achievements. Mitchell serves on many nonprofit and corporate boards.
CHAIRMAN AND CEO, MOBY GROUP
Saad Mohseni is the chairman and CEO of MOBY Group. Established in 2002, MOBY Group is a diversified media entity whose news shows, dramas, and documentaries have received recognition in the international arena, including two awards at the 2010 Sundance Festival. In 2005, Reporters Without Borders recognized MOBY’s Afghan channel, Tolo TV, for its ongoing battle for the right to inform the public. The channel has aided in rooting out corruption, empowering civil society, and serving the Afghan people as they seek transparency and accountability from their government. Mohseni served as a senior economic adviser to the Afghan government from 2002 to 2004, and helped establish the Afghanistan Centre for Policy and Research Studies. In 2011, Time magazine recognized him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Sandra Calligaro/Picturetank
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, THE VOICE OF LIBYAN WOMEN
After graduating from high school at the age of 15, Canadian-born Alaa Murabit moved to Zawia, Libya, to study at the University of Zawia College of Medicine. There she became the first and only female student-council member and founded the Voice of Libyan Women. VLW organized “One Voice,” the first international women’s conference in Libya after the fall of Gaddafi, and assembled a Libyan Women’s Charter, which will be incorporated into the Libyan Constitution. Murabit was a Trust Women Hero Award finalist and was named “The Arab Woman to Watch” by Al-Jazeera.
CANDIDATE MASTER AND NATIONAL CHESS CHAMPION, UGANDA
Phiona Mutesi was a 9-year-old primary-school dropout who could neither read nor write and struggled daily to survive in the dangerous Katwe slum in Kampala, Uganda, when she stumbled upon the game of chess. By age 11, Mutesi became the Uganda girl’s junior chess champion and three years later the women’s national champion. In 2010 and 2012 Mutesi, now 17, competed in the World Chess Olympiad, earning the title woman candidate master, the first titled woman in Ugandan history.
PRESIDENT AND CEO, VITAL VOICES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
Alyse Nelson is president and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership. A cofounder, she has worked with women leaders in 144 countries over the past 15 years. Previously, she served as deputy director of the Vital Voices Global Democracy Initiative at the State Department with former first lady Hillary Clinton and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. Nelson worked with the president’s Interagency Council on Women at the White House and State Department from 1996 to 2000. She attended the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and served as an adviser to the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.
Lisa Nipp
CEO, SOC FILMS
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is an Academy and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, whose work centers on human rights and women’s issues. She has worked with refugees and marginalized communities from Saudi Arabia to Syria and from Timor Leste to the Philippines. Obaid Chinoy has made more than a dozen multiaward-winning films in over 10 countries around the world and in 2012 Time magazine included her in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2013, Obaid Chinoy was the recipient of the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for her work in documentary filmmaking, making her the first Pakistani to receive this honor.
Bina Khan
COORDINATING MINISTER FOR THE ECONOMY AND MINISTER OF FINANCE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a development economist and economic reformer who has held positions within the Nigerian government and the World Bank. In her current role as Nigeria’s coordinating minister for the economy and the minister of finance, she is responsible for managing the finances of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Okonjo-Iweala serves on numerous boards, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the African Institute of Science and Technology, and the Center for Global Development. She was named one of the “100 Most Powerful Women in the World” in 2011 and 2012 by Forbes, and one of the “100 Top Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy. She has authored several books and articles, including Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons From Nigeria (MIT Press, 2012).
CO-HOST, CBS THIS MORNING, CBS NEWS
Norah O’donnell was named a co-host of CBS This Morning in July 2012. An Emmy Award winner, she joined CBS News in June 2011 as the network’s chief White House correspondent. She also serves as the primary substitute anchor for Face the Nation and reports for all CBS News broadcasts, including as a correspondent for 60 Minutes. O’Donnell is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she received a B.A. in philosophy and an M.A. in liberal studies. She is married to Geoff Tracy, a restaurateur in Washington, D.C. They have three children.
Heinz Klutmeier/CBS
COFOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, RECOVERS
Caitria O'Neill is the chief executive officer of Recovers. O'Neill is a graduate of Harvard University, former employee of the Harvard Law Review and State Department, a member of her local Community Emergency Response Team, and holds FEMA NIMS and ICS certifications. A resident of Pacifica, California, O'Neill spends her spare time reading Hemingway, growing vegetables, and rock climbing.
COFOUNDER AND CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER, RECOVERS
Morgan O'Neill is the chief science officer of Recovers. She has over 4 years of experience in political campaigns ranging from city-council races to a presidential election. O'Neill is a Massachusetts-certified EMT-B and actively volunteers for an ambulance service for fun. She has a B.S. in Physics from the University of New Hampshire and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at MIT in Atmospheric Science.
DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DOMESTIC WORKERS ALLIANCE; CODIRECTOR, CARING ACROSS GENERATIONS CAMPAIGN
Ai-jen Poo is director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and codirector of the Caring Across Generations campaign, a movement that is transforming how Americans think about home, relationships, and care. Poo serves on numerous boards, including Momsrising, National Jobs With Justice, and the National Council on Aging. Among her numerous accolades are the Ms. Foundation Woman of Vision Award, the Independent Sector American Express NGen Leadership Award, Newsweek’s 150 Fearless Women list, and Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
C. Stephen Hurst
LEADER, AGANG
Mamphela Aletta Ramphele has been a student activist, medical doctor, community-development activist, researcher, university executive, and global public servant and is now an active citizen in both the public and private sectors. Following the Soweto uprising in 1976, Mamphela was detained without trial, released after five months, and soon afterward served with an apartheid-era banishment order. She went on to become vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town and one of four managing directors of the World Bank. Ramphele is the author of several books and publications on socioeconomic issues in South Africa. She has received numerous national and international awards acknowledging her scholarship and leading role in spearheading projects for disadvantaged people in South Africa and elsewhere.
U.S. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Ambassador Susan E. Rice is the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations and a member of President Obama's cabinet. Under her leadership, the U.S. Mission to the U.N. has helped win the stiffest sanctions ever against Iran and North Korea, unprecedented action to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, support for life-saving interventions in Libya and Ivory Coast, cooperation on the referendum for the independence of South Sudan, vital U.N. assistance in Afghanistan and Iraq, and reform of the flawed U.N. Human Rights Council. As U.N. ambassador she has also defended universal values, strengthened the world’s common security, and promoted human rights. Ambassador Rice was co-recipient of the White House’s 2000 Samuel Nelson Drew Memorial Award and has served on numerous boards, including the National Democratic Institute and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
NETWORK CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS
Deborah Roberts joined ABC’s 20/20 in June 1995. Since then she has also served as a substitute anchor on Good Morning America and World News Weekend. Roberts reports regularly on a wide variety of stories for the newsmagazine program and World News With Diane Sawyer. She has reported from Africa on the HIV/AIDS crisis and orphans, and the California wildfires, which earned her an Emmy award. She was also awarded an Emmy for her emotional, in-depth reporting on an Ethiopian-American woman’s journey back to Africa to find her mother and for her work with ABC’s millennium coverage. Roberts resides in Manhattan with her husband, NBC weatherman Al Roker, and their two children.
Steve Fenn/ABC
COFOUNDER AND CEO, GIRLTANK
Tara Roberts has worked as a magazine editor for over 15 years. She served as the senior editor for CosmoGirl and the lifestyle editor for Ebony, Essence, and Heart & Soul magazines. She also published her own internationally distributed magazine, Fierce, which was nominated as best new independent magazine in 2003 by Utne Reader. Roberts has edited critically acclaimed books for girls: Am I the Last Virgin? Ten African American Reflections on Sex & Love and What Your Mama Never Told You: True Stories About Sex & Love. Roberts graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College and received her M.A. from New York University.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR AND ANCHOR, CHARLIE ROSE; ANCHOR, CBS THIS MORNING
Charlie Rose is the executive editor and anchor of Charlie Rose, the nightly one-hour news interview program on PBS. He is also the co-anchor of the daily morning television program CBS This Morning and a contributing correspondent to the CBS News program 60 Minutes. Since 1991 Charlie Rose has done more in-depth interviews with Nobel laureates and extraordinary men and women of science, politics, art, business, sports, technology, literature, and entertainment than any other program in the world. He received the Legion of Honor award in 2010.
CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, SABANCI HOLDING
Güler Sabancı has been the chairman and managing director of Sabancı Holding since 2004, one of the most reputable business groups in Turkey. Sabancı is the founding president of Sabancı University and also acts as chairman of the Sakıp Sabancı Museum and chairman of the board of trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, the leading private foundation in Turkey. Throughout her career, Sabanci has frequently been the first and only female in the organizations of which she is a member. Sabanci remains a strong advocate of women’s participation in the business world. She is also the recipient of several awards including the Clinton Global Citizen Award.
AMBASSADOR AT LARGE, REPUBLIC OF HAITI; COFOUNDER AND SPECIAL ADVISER, FEMMES EN DÉMOCRATIE
Danielle Saint-Lôt is the ambassador at large for the Republic of Haiti, cofounder and special adviser to Femmes en Démocratie, and CEO of Caribbean Business Consulting. Previously, she was the first woman appointed as Haiti’s minister of commerce and industry, served as minister of tourism, and was executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti. From 2011 to 2012, Saint-Lôt led a Haitian coalition that developed the first Haitian Women’s Policy Platform, which was completed through the Global Ambassadors Program, a partnership between Bank of America and Vital Voices. Saint-Lôt holds a B.A. from the Haiti National Institute for Management and International Relations and graduated from the International Institute of Public Administration, in Paris, in international economic relations.
FOUNDER, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL
Zainab Salbi is a humanitarian, an author, and a media commentator who has dedicated herself to women’s rights and freedom. She is the founder of Women for Women International, a humanitarian and development organization dedicated to helping women survivors of wars rebuild their lives. Under her leadership (1993—2011) the group distributed more than $100 million to more than 300,000 women survivors of wars. She is the author of several books, including her latest, If You Knew Me, You Would Care. Salbi has been identified as one of the most influential 100 women in the past three years by Harper’s Bazaar, The Guardian, Newsweek, and FastCompany. She is currently working on a documentary on the role of Arab women in the Arab Spring.
FOUNDER, GIRLS WHO CODE
Reshma Saujani is the founder of Girls Who Code and the former deputy public advocate of New York City. As executive director of the Fund for Public Advocacy, Saujani brought together public and private sectors to encourage entrepreneurshp and civic engagement across NYC.
Today, she has galvanized industry leaders to close the gender gap in STEM education and empower girls to pursue careers in technology and engineering. In 2010, Reshma became the first South Asian woman to run for Congress, promoting smarter policies to spur innovation and job creation. Advocating for a new model of female leadership focused on risk-taking, competition, and mentorship, Saujani is the author of a new book entitled Women Who Don't Wait in Line, to be released by Amazon Publishing in 2013.
INVENTOR, FOUNDER, AND CEO, FENUGREEN
Kavita Shukla is the inventor and founder/CEO of Fenugreen, a social enterprise taking on the massive global challenge of food waste with a simple innovation, FreshPaper. Based on a home remedy Shukla’s grandmother in India once gave her to drink, FreshPaper started as a middle-school science project. Today, FreshPaper is used by farmers, retailers, and consumers across the globe. Shukla holds three patents, with five pending, and has been inducted into the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors for FreshPaper’s potential to revolutionize the food system. Fenugreen’s mission is “Fresh for All.”
CO-ANCHOR, ABC’S GOOD MORNING AMERICA
Lara Spencer is one of the co-anchors for ABC’s Good Morning America. She is also author of I Brake for Yard Sales, a New York Times bestseller about interior design from Abrams Books. Her love of design led her to create and executive-produce the series Flea Market Flip for HGTV, which is currently in its second season. Spencer is a mom to two children and lives in Connecticut.
Donna Svennevik/ABC
CORRESPONDENT, 60 MINUTES
Lesley Stahl has been a 60 Minutes correspondent since 1991. Prior to joining the news program, she served as CBS News White House correspondent during the Carter, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush presidencies. From 1983 to 1991, Stahl also served as moderator of Face the Nation, on which she interviewed such newsmakers as Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, Yasir Arafat, and virtually every top U.S. official. Her autobiography, Reporting Live, recounts her experiences in Washington. She has a collection of Emmy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Emmy for her Face the Nation interviews and 60 Minutes reporting. Her provocative “Punishing Saddam” report won Stahl an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Journalism award, and she won a Business and Financial Emmy for her profile of Google.
ACTRESS
For almost 40 years, Meryl Streep has portrayed an array of characters in a career that has cut a path through theater, film, and television. First nominated for an Oscar in 1978, for The Deer Hunter, Streep broke records when she received her 17th Academy Award nomination for The Iron Lady, for which she won the British Academy Award, the Golden Globe for Best Actress, and the Oscar for Best Actress. She has been accorded the Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, an American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, and a Kennedy Center Honor.
Brigitte Lacombe
FELICIA TAYLOR
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, CNN INTERNATIONAL
ASSISTANT EDITOR AND COLUMNIST, FINANCIAL TIMES
As assistant editor and columnist, Gillian Tett writes two weekly columns for the Financial Times, covering a range of economic, financial, political, and social issues throughout the globe. From 2010 to 2012, Tett served as the FT’s U.S. managing editor, leading the editorial development of the paper’s U.S. edition and of U.S. news on FT.com. In 2012, she received a Society of American Business Editors and Writers award for best feature article, “Madoff Spins His Story.” Tett holds a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Cambridge University based on field work in the former Soviet Union. She is a graduate of Cambridge University.
SCHOLAR, HUMANITARIAN, AND FOUNDER, TINOGONA FOUNDATION
Dr. Tererai Trent is a professional evaluator of international development programs and policies. A two-time guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Trent has reached millions with her personal story of perseverance and with her powerful message of the importance of educating and empowering underprivileged women and girls. She was also featured in Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a New York Times bestseller written by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. In partnership with the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and Save the Children, Trent is building a new school and improving learning for nearly 4,000 children in Zimbabwe.
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, MARIA DE LOS ÁNGELES FOUNDATION
Since the disappearance of her daughter on April 3, 2002, Susana Trimarco faced a desperate search that revealed the crime of human trafficking in Argentina. On 2007 she created the María de los Ángeles Foundation to provide integral assistance to victims, receive formal complaints of disappearances and bring counseling to family members. Thanks to Trimarco’s work, human trafficking is now gaining public and government attention in Argentina, and victims are being encouraged to report the crime.
DEVELOPER, AWARD-WINNING MINICHESS PROGRAM; COFOUNDER AND TRUSTEE, MOVES FOR LIFE
Marisa van der Merwe developed the MiniChess program over 20 years, using chess as an educational tool to develop critical-thinking skills in young children. The MiniChess program builds a foundation for future learning, especially impacting math and life-skills development. In 2010 Moves for Life was launched, with President Jacob Zuma as the patron, to take these benefits to all parts of South African society. In 2012 Marisa won the Shoprite Checkers Women on the Year Award. With the support of Garry and Dasha Kasparov, the MiniChess electronic game is currently under construction.
FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR FOR GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES
Ambassador Melanne Verveer is the director of Georgetown University’s newly established Institute for Women Peace and Security and a founding partner of Seneca Point Global, the global women’s strategy firm. In 2009 President Obama appointed her the first-ever U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues. In that role she worked closely with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in integrating the political, economic, and social advancement of women and girls into U.S. foreign policy. Prior to that Verveer cofounded Vital Voices Global Partnership and served as its chair and co-CEO. Earlier she served as chief of staff to Hillary Clinton in the Clinton administration.
Sharon Farmer
CO-CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER, DIANE VON FURSTENBERG STUDIO L.P.
Diane von Furstenberg first entered the fashion world in 1972 with her iconic wrap dress, the seed of what is today a global fashion lifestyle brand. By 1976, von Furstenberg had sold millions of her dresses, introducing female power and freedom to an entire generation. In 1997, she reemerged on the New York fashion scene and began rebuilding her company. In 2005, von Furstenberg was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and has been president of the CFDA since 2006. Von Furstenberg is also on the board of Vital Voices, and in 2010 established The DVF Awards to honor the courage of female social activists around the world. In 2012, von Furstenberg was named the most powerful woman in fashion by Forbes magazine, coming in at No. 33 on their list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
Lorenzo Agius
CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS; CREATOR, CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, AND CO-HOST, ABC'S THE VIEW
The first woman to co-host network news, Barbara Walters is a broadcast journalism legend. Since joining ABC News in 1976, she has interviewed every American president and first lady since Richard Nixon’s administration. For 25 years, Walters co-hosted ABC News’ celebrated 20/20, and her Barbara Walters Specials continue to bring in top ratings. Prior to joining ABC, she appeared on NBC’s Today Show for 15 years. In 1997 Walters created and became co-host and co-executive producer of the award-winning daytime ABC talk show The View. Walters has earned many accolades over the years, including lifetime-achievement awards from the International Women’s Media Foundation and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She is also the author of a memoir, Audition.
Donna Svennik/ABC
CHAIRMAN AND CEO, OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK AND HARPO STUDIOS
Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world for more than 25 years. Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired figures today. As chairman and CEO, she's guiding the development of her cable network, OWN.
FOUNDING PARTNER, XG VENTURES
Andrea Zurek, founding partner of XG Ventures, has been named one of the top 25 tech angels by Businessweek. She has also been named one of “25 Influential Business Women in SF/Silicon Valley” and profiled in the 2009 “Top 40 Under 40” in the Silicon Valley Business Journal. XG Ventures has invested in over 45 companies with fifteen exits, including such companies as Tapulous, Posterous, and Aardvark. Zurek worked at Google for over seven years as one of the first ad-sales executives and earned her B.A. and M.B.A. from Santa Clara University. She is a board member of ASTIA Women Entrepreneurs Network and the Santa Clara University School of Business and is often a guest panelist at the Wharton School of Business.
