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The Global Women's Action Network for Children 2006 Conference

Short Biographies of the Conference Presenters

In the order of appearance on the agenda

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah
Marian Wright Edelman
Melanne Verveer
The Honorable Madeleine Albright
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf  
Pat Mitchell 
Dr. Mathea Falco   
Angela Glover Blackwell  
Mahnaz Afkhami   
Betty Williams   
Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai    
The Rt. Honorable Tessa Jowell
Joy Phumaphi
Torild Skard
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Neema Mgana
Varsha Ayyar
Olena Prykhodko
Xoliswa Sithole
Dr. Rhondee Benjamin-Johnson
Danah Dajani
Mary Robinson 
Dr. Eddah Wacheke Gachukia
Ann Pettifor    
Suhair Al-Ali        
Jody Williams   
Dr. Shirin Ebadi 
Carol Bellamy   
Ann-Therese N’dong-Jatta 
Nebghouha Mint Mohamed Vall  
Esme Chipo Kadzamira   
Dr. Naomi Hossain  
Jalila Hamud Shuja’a Al Deen 
Dr. Donna E. Shalala  
Bertha Pooley 
Elizabeth Lule 
Jill Sheffield   
Dr. Lynn P. Freedman
Anne Tinker 
Sandra L. Thurman 
Petra ten Hoope-Bender 
Vivian Lowery Derryck  
Lucy Lake   
Dr. Rowaida Al-Maaitah 
Betty Eileen King   
Sylvia Borren       
Joan Walsh     
Dr. Linda Koch Lorimer

 

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah (formerly Rania Al-Yassin) was born in Kuwait to a notable Jordanian family of Palestinian origin. As First Lady, Queen Rania’s activities encompass issues of national concern, such as education, health, youth, and human rights, among others. She also has a special interest in several core issues: the development of income-generating projects and the advancement of best practices in the field of microfinance; the improvement of quality of life of the family unit including the protection of children from violence and the promotion of Early Childhood Development; the incorporation of Information Technology into the educational system; and the promotion of tourism and the preservation of Jordan’s heritage. Internationally, Queen Rania is a Board member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Vaccine Fund, a non-profit organization that seeks to provide the children in the poorest countries of the world with access to life-saving vaccines. She has also recently been appointed as WHO Patron for Violence Prevention in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Her Majesty has also joined the Board of Directors of the International youth Foundation (IYF) and the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA). Queen Rania has also been elected to serve as one of the Representatives for the Asian Region on the Board of Directors of the Victims Trust Fund of the International Criminal Court (ICC) around the world.

Marian Wright Edelman (United States) is Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), the U.S.’s strongest independent voice for children and families. CDF’s Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. A graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, she was the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar where she directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In l968, she moved to Washington, D.C., as counsel for the Poor People's Campaign Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began organizing before his death. She founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of the Children's Defense Fund. For two years she served as the Director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University and in l973 began CDF. She has received over a hundred honorary degrees and many awards including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, and a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings, which include eight books.

Melanne Verveer (United States) is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international nonprofit that supports emerging women leaders in building vibrant democracies and strong economies. Vital Voices focuses on expanding women’s participation in politics and civil society; increasing women’s entrepreneurship and fighting human rights abuses, particularly the trafficking of women and children. Ms. Verveer has over twenty-five years experience in government and public interest work. She has a broad knowledge of domestic public policy issues which she has brought to the international arena. Prior to the Vital Voices, Ms. Verveer served as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady in the Clinton Administration. She also served as Executive Vice President of People for the American Way, a civil rights and constitutional liberties organization where she played a key role in the passage of several landmark civil rights bills. She was Coordinator for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs for the U.S. Catholic Conference, Field Manager of Common Cause and worked in both the US House and Senate as Legislative Director and Special Assistant respectively. Ms. Verveer received her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Russian studies from Georgetown University, where she was a University Fellow. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including the American Association of University Women’s “Woman of Distinction” Award, Knock Out Abuse Leadership Honoree and the Basilian Humanitarian Award.

The Honorable Madeleine Albright (United States) is Founding Chair of the International Assembly of Women Ministers, a branch of the Council of World Women Leaders. Dr. Albright served as the 64th Secretary of State of the United States. She was the first woman Secretary of State and the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States government. As Secretary, Dr. Albright reinforced America’s alliances, advocated democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade and business, labor and environmental standards abroad. Among her achievements are ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention and progress toward stability in Eastern and Central Europe. Before her appointment as Secretary of State, Dr Albright’s diverse career included such positions as Senator Edward Muskie's Chief Legislative Assistant; a Woodrow Wilson fellow; President of the Center for National Policy, a nonprofit research organization; and Research Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Women in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. During President Clinton's first term, Dr. Albright served as the United States' Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of Clinton's National Security Council. Dr. Albright received her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Liberia) is Africa's first elected female leader and Liberia’s first elected head of state since the end of the war in 2003. Mrs Johnson Sirleaf graduated from the College of West Africa (Monrovia), a United Methodist high school. She received a B.B.A. in Accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in 1964, an economics diploma from the University of Colorado in 1970, and a Master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1971. Returning to Liberia after Harvard, Mrs Johnson Sirleaf became Assistant Minister of Finance in President William Tolbert's administration. In 1980, Tolbert was overthrown and killed by army sergeant Samuel Doe, ending decades of relative stability. Mrs Johnson Sirleaf then went into exile in Nairobi, Kenya, where she worked for Citibank. She returned to run for Senate in 1985, but when she spoke out against Doe's military regime, she was sentenced to ten years in prison. Released after a short period, she moved to Washington, D.C.. She returned to Liberia again in 1997 in the capacity of an economist, working for the World Bank, and Citibank in Africa. Initially supporting Charles Taylor's bloody rebellion against President Samuel Doe in 1990, she later went on to oppose him, and ran against him in the 1997 presidential elections. She managed only 10% of the votes, as opposed to Taylor's 75%. Taylor charged her with treason. She campaigned for the removal of President Taylor from the office, playing an active and supportive role in the transitional government, as the country prepared itself for the 2005 elections. With Taylor's departure, she returned to take over the leadership of the Unity Party. In the first round of 2005 voting, she came second with 175,520 votes, putting her through to the runoff vote on November 8 against former footballer George Weah. On November 11, the National Elections Commission of Liberia declared Johnson Sirleaf to be President-elect of Liberia.

Pat Mitchell (United States) is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Museums of Television and Radio and The International Media Centers in NY and Los Angeles. Previously, Ms. Mitchell was President and Chief Executive Officer of PBS, the public broadcasting service, the only public service broadcaster in the United States. She was the first woman and first producer and journalist to hold the position. A former classroom teacher and college instructor, Ms. Mitchell has enjoyed a three-decade career in media working for three broadcast networks, several cable channels, and achieved success both in front of, and behind, the camera as a reporter, news anchor, talk show host, White House correspondent, producer, and executive. In the mid-eighties, she established her own independent production company that produced documentaries, series, and specials for broadcast, cable, and national syndication focused on the issues of women and children. Her documentary, Women in War: Voices from the Frontlines, was broadcast on NBC to much acclaim, and her history of women in America, A Century of Women, was one of the first of nearly 500 hours of documentaries and specials she produced as the executive in charge of original productions for Ted Turner’s cable networks, including CNN and CNNI.

Dr. Mathea Falco (United States) is President of Drug Strategies, a non-profit research institute in Washington, D.C. that promotes more effective approaches to the nation’s drug problems. She is also Associate Professor of Public Health, Weill Medical College/Cornell University in New York City and a fellow of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. The author of The Making of a Drug Free America: Programs That Work (Times Books, 1994) and numerous academic articles, Dr. Falco comments frequently on drug policy in the media and in public speeches across the country. Until 1993, she was Director of Health Policy, Department of Public Health, Cornell University Medical College in New York City. From 1977 to 1981, Dr. Falco was Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters. In earlier positions, she served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Juvenile Delinquency Subcommittee, Special Assistant to the President of the Drug Abuse Council and Senior Associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr. Falco is a graduate of Radcliffe College and Yale Law School. She currently serves on the Board of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and has also served on the Board of Overseers of Harvard University; the Board of Trustees of Radcliffe College; the national boards of Girl Scouts, U.S.A.; Big Brothers of America; the International Women’s Health Coalition; the International Center for Research on Women; the Ploughshares Fund; and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Dr. Falco is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Angela Glover Blackwell (United States) is founder and CEO of PolicyLink. PolicyLink is a national research and action institute that works with partner organizations and uses communications, capacity building, and advocacy to achieve economic and social equity. Through its work locally and nationally, PolicyLink seeks the realization of an equitable society in which everyone--including low-income people of color--can participate and prosper. The organization is well-known for its work to increase affordable housing, equity in public infrastructure investments, and community strategies to improve health. Prior to founding PolicyLink in 1999, Ms. Blackwell served as senior vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation where she oversaw the Foundation's Domestic and Cultural divisions. She also developed Rockefeller's Building Democracy division, which focused on race and policy, and created the Next Generation Leadership program. A lawyer by training, she founded the Oakland (CA) Urban Strategies Council, where she pioneered new approaches to neighborhood revitalization. From 1977 to 1987, Ms. Blackwell was a partner at Public Advocates, a public interest law firm. She is the co-author of Searching for the Uncommon Common Ground: New Dimensions on Race in America, published in 2002 by W.W. Norton & Co.

Mahnaz Afkhami (United States), President and CEO of Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP), is former Secretary General of the Women's Organization of Iran and Minister of State for Women's Affairs. She is Executive Director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies and has been a leading advocate of women's rights for more than three decades. She has founded and served as director and president of several international non-governmental organizations that focus on advancing women's status. Most recently she was President of Sisterhood is Global Institute. Ms. Afkhami also serves on advisory boards and steering committees of a number of national and international organizations including Commission on Globalization, The Global Fund for Women, International League for Human Rights, Women's Human Rights Net, Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, World Movement for Democracy, and Youth Employment Summit. Her numerous publications have been widely translated and distributed internationally. She has authored numerous publications, among them Muslim Women and the Politics of Participation (1997), Faith and Freedom: Women's Human Rights in the Muslim World (1995), Women in Exile (1994), and Women and the Law in Iran (1993). Among the training manuals she has co-authored are Claiming Our Rights: A Manual for Women's Human Rights Education in Muslim Societies (1996), Safe and Secure: Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls in Muslim Societies (1998), and Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women (2001).

In 1976, along with Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work against violence in her native Northern Ireland. Together, Williams and Maguire founded the Community of Peace People, an organization which is still involved in the betterment of life in Northern Ireland. Ms. Williams serves on the Council of Honor for the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica and is a Patron for the International Peace Foundation in Vienna. She has been honored with the People’s Peace Prize of Norway, the Schweitzer Medallion for Courage, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award and the Frank Foundation Child Care International Oliver Award. In 1992, Governor Ann Richards of Texas appointed Betty to the Texas Commission for Children and Youth. In 1995, she was awarded the Rotary Club International “Paul Harris Fellowship” and the Together for Peace Foundation Peace Building Award. Williams serves currently as President of World Centers of Compassion for Children. She is also Chair of The Institute for Asian Democracy in Washington, DC and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Nova Southeastern University. Ms. Williams lectured extensively in the United States, and the International Platform Association granted her the Eleanor Roosevelt Award and named her Speaker of the Year in 1984. As Visiting Professor in Political Science and History, she taught at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where she worked to unite ethnic and cultural groups on campus and in the local community. Remaining in Huntsville, she heads the Global Children’s Foundation. Ms. Williams received her Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Yale University, U.S.A.

Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai (Kenya) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work with the Green Belt Movement, a broad-based, grassroots organization whose main focus is helping women’s groups plant trees to conserve the environment and improve quality of life. Through the Green Belt Movement, she has helped women plant more than 30 million trees on their farms, on schools, and on church compounds. Dr. Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964). She subsequently earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966). She pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi, where she also taught veterinary anatomy. She became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. She was the first woman in the region to attain those positions. Dr. Maathai served in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman from 1981-87. In 1998, Dr. Maathai joined the campaign of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition. As co-chair of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign, she has played a leading role in seeking the cancellation of the overwhelming and unpayable debts of poor countries in Africa. She also has campaigned tirelessly against land grabbing and the theft of public forests. Dr. Maathai is listed in United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global 500 Hall of Fame and was named one of the 100 Heroines of the World. In June 1997, Dr. Maathai was elected by Earth Times as one of 100 people in the world who have made a difference in the environmental arena. In December 2002, Dr. Maathai was elected to Kenya’s Parliament and was subsequently appointed by Kenya’s president as Assistant Minister for the Environment. In 2005 Dr. Maathai was elected Presiding Officer of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Rt. Honorable Tessa Jowell (United Kingdom) became Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport following the 2005 General Election. Her previous Ministerial appointments were Minister of State for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities at the Department for Education and Employment (1999-2001) and Minister of State for Public Health at the Department of Health (1997-1999). She became a Privy Counselor in 1998. Prior to the General Election of 1997, she was the Spokesperson on Health (1994-1995 and 1996-1997); Opposition Spokesperson for Women (1995-1996); and Opposition Whip (1994-1995). Ms. Jowell has been the MP for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Before her election to Parliament in 1992, Ms. Jowell had a career in psychiatric social work, social policy and public sector management. Ms. Jowell was educated at St Margaret's School in Aberdeen and the universities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Goldsmith's, London. She is a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford.

Since 2007 Joy Phumaphi (Botswana) is Vice President of Human Development Network at the World Bank. Prior to this assignment, she was the Assistant Director-General, Family and Community Health cluster and a Representative on Gender Equality at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. She was the Minister of Health, Botswana and the Member of Parliament for Francistown East until July 2003. She has a B. Com., and a MSc in Financial Accounting and Decision Sciences. Ms. Phumaphi is a distinguished African American Institute Fellow and a Commissioner in the UN Secretary General’s Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa. She is patron of the following organizations: Women’s Shelter Project, Balekane Society, Botswana Widows' Association, Botswana Christian Council AIDS Intervention Programme, Supa Ngwao Museum and Motswedi Rehabilitation Centre. She also serves on the Board of Junior Achievement in Botswana and has served as a member of the UN Reference Group on Economics (URGE), as well as a member of the UNDP Advisory Board for Africa.

Torild Skard (Norway) is a well-known public figure who has built a significant reputation as a writer, researcher and politician in her own country, Norway, as well as internationally. She became a Member of Parliament in 1973 and was the first woman President of the Norwegian Upper House. She also worked for UNESCO as a Director with special responsibility for the status of women and became the first woman Director-General of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1994, UNICEF persuaded her to start a four year job as their Regional Director for West and Central Africa and it was out of this intense experience getting to know some two dozen African countries that she gathered the material for one of her numerous publications, “Continent of Mothers, Continent of Hope: Understanding and Promoting Development in Africa” which is published in five languages. Later she joined the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs where she currently conducts research on development issues, the UN system, women and children. Ms. Skard received her graduate degree in education from the University of Oslo. She is a certified psychologist and a recipient of the Woman of the Year Award from American Biographical Institute and the Commander of the National Lion Order from Senegal.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault (United States) is an award-winning journalist with more than 40 years in the industry. In 2005, she returned to NPR as a Special Correspondent after six years as CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief and correspondent. She joined CNN in April 1999 from National Public Radio, where she worked as the network's chief correspondent in Africa. Ms. Hunter-Gault joined NPR in 1997 after 20 years with PBS, where she worked as a national correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. She began her journalism career as a reporter for The New Yorker; then worked as a local news anchor for WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.; and as the Harlem bureau chief for The New York Times. Her numerous honors include two Emmy awards and two Peabody awards—one for her work on "Apartheid's People," a News Hour series about South African life during apartheid and the other for general coverage of Africa in 1998.. Hunter-Gault also was the recipient of the 1986 Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, the 1990 Sidney Hillman Award, the American Women in Radio and Television award, the Good Housekeeping Broadcast Personality of the Year Award and a 2004 National Association of Black Journalists Award for her CNN series on Zimbabwe. She has also received awards from Amnesty International for her Human Rights reporting, especially her PBS Series, Rights and Wrongs, a Human Rights Television magazine. She is a sought after public speaker, holds some three dozen honorary degrees, is on the board of The Committee to Protect Journalists and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of In My Place, a memoir of the civil rights movement, fashioned around her experiences as the first black woman to attend the University of Georgia. Her latest book, New News Out of Africa: Uncovering the African Renaissance, is being published by Oxford University Press in 2006.

Neema Mgana (Tanzania) was the youngest of 1000 women from around the world jointly nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2000, she co-founded an organization that provides education, health and other services to over 200 children affected by HIV/AIDS in her native Tanzania. During her first year of graduate studies, she founded the African Regional Youth Initiative (ARYI). ARYI presently works directly with over 300 community and youth organizations to jointly develop, implement, and evaluate community, national and regional strategies and programs focusing on development issues in Africa. In an effort to foster innovative thinking on international development, she co-founded the Forum for Global Action in 2006. The leading program within the Forum targets women's leadership. It is implemented in Africa, Asia, and South America. Neema received a Master’s degree in International Health from Loma Linda University of Health Science in the U.S., a BSc. in Health Informatics from the University of Victoria in Canada, and is pursuing a business degree. She also has certificates in Humanitarian Assistance and International Peace Studies.

Varsha Ayyar (India) belongs to the one of the highly marginalized communities in her country. It occupies the lowest rung in India’s caste based social order the Dalits, the “ex-untouchables” or a scheduled caste. Ms. Ayyar is currently completing her PhD in sociology. Her thesis focuses on slum dwellers in Mumbai, particularly Dalit women, their social networks and access to health and education. Ms. Ayyar was a part of the project on “Urban Poverty Issues, Policy Evaluations and Prescriptions.” Her fieldwork helped her establish close contacts with the informal social mechanisms functioning in severely impoverished neighborhoods. With the subjects of her research, Ms. Ayyar initiated a group called Women for the Empowerment of Dalits (WED), which initiates micro finance or saving schemes for Dalit women and promotes girls’ education. Ms. Ayyar has a lifelong commitment to Labor, Education and Research Network, (LEARN), an NGO committed to providing informal education to school dropouts, a large proportion of which are Dalits. She is also a part of Global Right US project on “Amplifying Youth Voices on Rights, Poverty and Discrimination”.

Olena Prykhodko (Ukraine) is a member of the Interregional Young Women Leaders’ Group. This organization unites girls and young women of Ukraine who strive to promote principles of democracy, equality and youth leadership in social and political life. Currently the Group unites more than 2,000 young women from all regions of Ukraine. Among its members are high school and university students and young professionals who are about to gain their first professional experience. Among most significant achievements of this Group is leading an advocacy campaign to promote the adoption of the Law of Ukraine on Prevention of Domestic Violence. Ms Prykhodko is a student at one of the gymnasiums in Kharkiv. She represented the YWLD at the 10th AWID Forum in Thailand in 2005, and at the 4th Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in Turkey in 2006. She served as a co-writer of two TV documentaries on women’s role in environmental protection and democracy development.

Xoliswa Sithole (South Africa) is an independent film producer who has been focusing her film career on the issues of poverty among African women. Ms. Sithole produced documentaries for BBC and CNN. Her one-hour documentary on female AIDS orphans was shown in different countries all over the world. Ms. Sithole is a recipient of the Grand Jury prize for best documentary at the Washington DC Film Festival, best documentary and best children’s rights documentary prize at the One World Media Awards in London and many other international awards. Prior to her film career, she taught at a secondary school in Zimbabwe. Ms. Sithole holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Zimbabwe.

Dr. Rhondee Benjamin-Johnson (United States) is one of our Beat the Odds scholarship winners from 1992. In an award-winning speech entitled “Impact of Violence on the Family,” Dr. Benjamin-Johnson described the murder of her aunt in 1983 and the effect this had on her family. After her parents separated, she assumed a great deal of responsibility for the care of her family. Through it all, she excelled in high school as a National Merit Commended Scholar, Senior Class President, volunteered at the Washington Hospital Center and Howard University’s Therapeutic Childlife Center, and participated in several medical apprenticeships. Dr. Benjamin-Johnson graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor's of Science in chemistry and minor in Women's Studies. Funded by the Thomas Watson Foundation, she completed a 12 month project on women scientists in India and Kenya. Her graduate studies include a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and Master's in anthropology and development from the London School of Economics. Her Master's thesis examined the intersection of family planning programs and cultural constructions of the body among Indian and Japanese women. Currently, she is completing her medical residency in internal medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. Her interests are domestic and international HIV care, substance abuse, and medical needs of incarcerated persons.

Danah Dajani (Jordan) is currently the Director of the External Relations and Youth Advisor in the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD). For the past 5 years she headed the Princess Basma Youth Resource Centre. This part of JOHUD is dedicated to youth-friendly development work. It is widely recognized for its dynamic, innovative and empowering approach. Danah has been working in the field of youth development since 1998, when she led a team in establishing the national youth development program to promote the active role of youth in society through such programs such as Basic life skills, youth advocacy in action, media and development. Danah also designed programs related to gender and development, women and leadership, and living values. Her education includes: MA in Gender and Development, MSc in Social Research and BA in sociology. Dana was also an Eisenhower Fellow and a Chevening Scholar.

Mary Robinson (Ireland) is President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative which brings key stakeholders together in new alliances to integrate concepts of human rights, gender sensitivity, and enhanced accountability into efforts to address global challenges and governance shortcomings. Ms. Robinson served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002 and as President of Ireland from 1990-1997. As President, Ms. Robinson developed a new sense of Ireland's economic, political and cultural links with other countries and cultures. She placed special emphasis on the needs of developing countries, linking the history of the Great Irish Famine to today's nutrition, poverty and policy issues, thus creating a bridge of partnership between developed and developing countries. Ms. Robinson was the first Head of State to visit Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide there and the first Head of State to visit Somalia following the crisis in 1992. Before her election as President, Ms. Robinson served as Senator, holding that office for 20 years. She was called to the bar in 1967, becoming a Senior Counsel in 1980, and a member of the English Bar (Middle Temple) in 1973. She is a Founding Member of the Council of Women World Leaders.

Dr. Eddah Wacheke Gachukia (Kenya) has dedicated more than four decades to the career of an educator and a women’s development/rights activist. After graduation from the Makerere University (then a college of London University) with a degree in teaching, Dr. Gachukia pursued further studies at Leeds University in Britain and at the Curriculum Research and Development Centre in Nairobi. In 1991 she obtained her Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Nairobi. In addition to her 23 year long teaching career, Dr. Gachukia served as National Secretary of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake and later as Chairperson of the National Council of Women of Kenya. Dr. Gachukia also served two terms (1974 - 1983) as a National Member of Parliament representing women’s interests. In 1992 together with African women ministers of education and women vice-chancellors of universities, she founded the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), which she directed in the period of 1992 - 1998. FAWE has provided leadership on issues affecting girls and women in education in Africa focusing on advocacy and linking research with policymaking and national practice. In the year 2003 she was appointed the Chairperson of the University Council of Moi University. Dr. Gacukia is a recipient of the Third Class Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear.

Ann Pettifor (United Kingdom) is Executive Director of Advocacy International. In the 1990s she helped design and lead an international campaign, Jubilee 2000, which succeeded in persuading a large swathe of world public opinion, as well as world leaders, to cancel $100bn of debt owed by 42 countries. Jubilee 2000 became a template for campaigns such as that of Howard Dean in the 2004 US Primaries; and the Make Poverty History campaign of 2005. Ms. Pettifor has served on the Board of the UN’s Human Development Report on the MDGs (2003); as a member of the high level group of the Helsinki Process. In addition to campaigning and advocacy, Ms Pettifor has contributed to academic debates about international finance. She is editor of “the Real World Economic Outlook” published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2003; and is writing another book for Palgrave on the international financial system (to be published in 2006). She is the author of numerous articles and has lectured at the UN, the London Business School and the LSE. Ann Pettifor has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Newcastle; was awarded the Freedom of the City of Callao in Peru in 1999; the 2000 Pax Christi International Peace Prize; and was made a member of the Order of the Niger by President Obasanjo in 2002.

Suhair Al-Ali (Jordan) was appointed Minister of Planning and International Cooperation on April 7, 2005 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Adnan Badran, and reappointed on November 26th, 2005 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Marouf Bakheet. Prior to her ministerial appointment, Ms. Al-Ali held the positions of General Manager and Country Officer of Citigroup in Jordan since 1996, and General Manager of the Saudi American Bank Representative Office in New York since 1993. Ms. Al-Ali joined Citibank in Jordan after obtaining a Master’s degree in Development Economics from Georgetown University in the United States and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Foreign Service also from Georgetown University. She began her career at Citibank as an Executive Trainee and then was entrusted with a number of varied responsibilities in the bank before moving to New York in 1993. Apart from her official memberships as a Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Ms. Al-Ali also assumes a number of eminent memberships on a large number of vocational, business and academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations in Jordan.

In 1997 Jody Williams (United States) became the tenth woman in its almost 100-year history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Organizer and activist, teacher and writer, she is an internationally recognized eloquent and inspirational speaker on the power of individuals to bring about dramatic change in the work. Ms. Williams served as the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which began in early 1992 with two non-governmental organizations and a staff of one Ms. Williams. She oversaw the growth of the coalition to over 1,300 organizations working together from 95 countries to eliminate antipersonnel landmines. Working in an unprecedented cooperative effort with governments, UN bodies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), she served as a chief strategist and spokesperson for the ICBL as it dramatically achieved its goal of an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines during a diplomatic conference held in Oslo in September 1997. Three weeks later, she and the ICBL were awarded the Peace Prize. Since February 1998, Ms. Williams has served as a Campaign Ambassador for the ICBL, speaking on its behalf all over the world. She is also a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Social Work and Global Justice, in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Houston for academic years 2004-2007, having served in a one-year position there in academic year 2003-2004. Prior to beginning the ICBL, Ms. Williams worked for eleven years to build public awareness about U.S. policy toward Central America. From 1986 to 1992, she developed and directed humanitarian relief projects as the deputy director of the Los Angeles-based Medical Aid for El Salvador. From 1984-1986, she co-coordinated the Nicaragua-Honduras Education Project., leading fact-finding delegations to the region. Prior to that, she taught Spanish, as well as English as a Second Language in Mexico, the UK and the US. Ms. Williams continues to be recognized for her contributions to human rights and global security. She is the recipient of thirteen honorary degrees, among other recognitions.

Dr. Shirin Ebadi (Iran), a lawyer and human rights activist, became Iran's first Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2003. Her outspoken campaigns for democracy and greater rights for Iranian women and children have often brought her into conflict with conservatives. She is a driving force behind the reform of family laws in Iran by seeking changes in divorce and inheritance legislation. A graduate of Tehran University, she began to serve officially as a judge in March 1970. While serving as a judge, she continued her education and obtained a doctorate with honors in private law from Tehran University in 1971.

Being one of the first female judges in her country, she started serving as chief judge of the Tehran city court in 1975. With the advent of the Islamic republic in 1979, however, she was forced to resign when it was decided that women were not suitable for such posts. But Dr. Ebadi went on to establish a law practice in 1992, taking on the kind of politically sensitive cases many Iranian lawyers would not dream of touching. She also defended women's rights activists in the courts. Dr. Ebadi found herself in the dock in 2000, accused of distributing the video-taped confession of a hard-line hooligan who claimed that prominent conservative leaders were instigating physical attacks on pro-reform gatherings and figures. That won her a suspended jail sentence and a professional ban. Dr. Ebadi has written books calling for greater legal protection for Iranian children and disclosing alleged human rights violations by the Iranian authorities. Her Nobel Peace Prize came two years after the award of the Rafto Prize for human rights prize in Norway. This year, Dr. Ebadi has published her memoir, Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope, in North America and Europe. It has been translated into fifteen languages around the world.

Carol Bellamy (United States) assumed the leadership of World Learning in May 2005, having completed ten years as Executive Director of UNICEF, the children’s agency of the United Nations. A private, non-profit international organization, World Learning promotes international and intercultural understanding through education, training, exchange and development activities in over 90 countries on five continents around the globe. During her tenure at UNICEF, Ms. Bellamy brought a compassionate yet pragmatic ethic to improving the lives of children. She stepped up UNICEF’s work in emergencies, doubled its funding, put the issues of child exploitation on the global agenda and fought for health, protection and education as fundamental rights of every child. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms. Bellamy was Director of the United States Peace Corps. Having served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 1963 to 1965, she was the first former volunteer to run the organization. Ms. Bellamy has had a distinguished career in the private sector. She was a Managing Director of Bear Stearns & Co. from 1990 to 1993, and a Principal at Morgan Stanley and Co. from 1986 to 1990. Between 1968 and 1971 she was an associate at Cravath, Swaine and Moore. Ms. Bellamy also spent 13 years as an elected public official, including five years in the New York State Senate (1973-1977). In 1978, she became the first woman to be elected President of the New York City Council, a position she held until 1985. Ms. Bellamy earned her law degree from New York University in 1968. She is a former Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and an honorary member of Phi Alpha Alpha, the U.S. National Honor Society for Accomplishment and Scholarship in Public Affairs and Administration.

Ann-Therese N’dong-Jatta (The Gambia) became Director of the Division of Basic Education at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in 2004. Prior to this appointment, Ms. N’dong-Jatta served as the Gambian Minister of Education. During her tenure, she implemented numerous reforms aimed at increasing access to and quality of education, particularly for girls. Ms. N’dong-Jatta paid special attention to decentralization of education services and establishment of an educational trust fund to ensure greater access to education for children from the poorest Gambian families. Ms. N’dong-Jatta has been a keynote speaker at numerous roundtables on Education for All organized by international agencies such as the World Bank, UNESCO, the Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning and the high-level segment of ECOSOC. In 1980, Ms. N’dong-Jatta began her career as a teacher. Later she served as Principal of St Peter’s Technical High School run by the Catholic Mission Education Secretariat (1985-1995), Coordinator of the Educational Management Training (1989-1994), Chief Education Officer responsible for planning (1996-1998) and Director of Secondary and Tertiary Education (1998-1999). Concurrently, she was the Coordinator of the Education Sector Policy Review and Formulation of the Master Plan for The Gambia (1996 -2003). She holds a B.A, (Honours) in Education, English and History from Bayero University (Nigeria) and an M. Sc. in Educational Leadership from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (USA). She also obtained postgraduate certificates in Educational Policy Analysis, Development Studies and Evaluation from Harvard University, Boston (USA).

Nebghouha Mint Mohamed Vall (Mauritania) is an economist and an education specialist. Ms. Nebghouha occupied several important positions in the Mauritanian public administration including the post of the Director of Planning and Cooperation of the National Ministry of Education between 2000 and 2004. During this period among other assignments Ms. Nebghouha worked on the elaboration of a 10-year strategy of education development and the National Education Development Program. She also participated in the application process for the Fast Track Initiative for Mauritania. Since 2004 she has managed an advisory research bureau where she has worked on such issues as a ten-year education plan for Benin and girls’ education in Mauritania.

Esme Chipo Kadzamira (Malawi) is a Research Fellow at the University of Malawi, Centre for Educational Research and Training. Currently she is involved in a USAID funded project on safe schools which addresses the issues of school-related gender-based violence. Ms. Kadzamira is also engaged in a Ministry of Education program on complementary basic education that aims to provide alternative systems of education to out-of-school children and youth and other vulnerable and marginalized groups as part of Malawi EFA program. Prior to her current occupation, Ms. Kadzamira has undertaken a wide range of research in Malawi working with government, various development partners as well as institutions abroad. Between 1994 and 1997 she was involved in various research activities under the Girls’ Attainment in Basic Literacy and Education (GABLE) program, a Malawi government project funded by USAID. Between 1997 and 2002 Ms. Kadzamira served as a member of the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Region Office, Technical Assistance Team for Monitoring and Evaluation of the African Girls Education Initiative (AGEI) a UNICEF project funded by the Norwegian Government. She also worked on the Gender and Primary Schooling in Africa project under the auspices of FAWE in collaboration with national governments and the Institute of Development Studies in England as part of the Partnership for Strategic Resource Planning for Girls' Education in Africa. Ms. Kadzamira holds a Masters degree in Educational Statistics and Psychology of Education obtained from Institute of Education, University of London.

Dr. Naomi Hossain (Bangladesh) is a political sociologist. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Research and Evaluation Division of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). Her research interests include the politics of poverty and social policy, aid and aid relations. She is the author of ‘Elite Perceptions of Poverty in Bangladesh’, published by University Press Limited in Dhaka in 2005. BRAC is a national, private organization which started as an almost entirely donor funded, small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help the country overcome the devastation and trauma of the Liberation War and focused on resettling refugees returning from India. Today, BRAC has emerged as an independent, virtually self-financed paradigm in sustainable human development. It is one of the largest Southern development organizations employing 97,192 people, with 61% women, and working with the twin objectives of poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor. Dr. Hossain received her D.Phil. in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex and her M.Sc. in Social Anthropology from London School of Economics.

Jalila Hamud Shuja’a Al Deen (Yemen) is the Head of Education Unit at the Yemeni Social Fun for Development. Since 1984 she has volunteered for the Yemen Women Association working on the issues of women empowerment and development. In 1992 she co-founded the Association “Child to Child” which worked on the creation of new approaches to learning and active participation of children in their communities.

In 1994 Ms. Shuja’a Al Deen got engaged in the advocacy for the right of women in conflict with the law and violence against women. Ms. Shuja’a Al Deen conducted 25 training workshops on children’s rights and community participation approaches. Ms. Shuja’a Al Deen studied education and education planning at Sana'a University.

Dr. Donna E. Shalala (United States) is Professor of Political Science and President of the University of Miami. President Shalala received her A.B. in history from Western College for Women and her Ph.D. degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. A leading political scientist, she has held professorships at Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), and the University of Wisconsin. She served as President of Hunter College of CUNY, 1980 to 1987, and as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1993. In 1993, President Clinton nominated her Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) where she served for eight years. At the end of her tenure, The Washington Post described her as “one of the most successful government managers of modern times”. In 2001, Dr. Shalala was elected to the board of directors for Gannett Co., Inc., United Health Group, and the Lennar Corporation. She also serves as a Trustee of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. President Shalala has more than three-dozen honorary degrees and a host of other honors, including the 1992 National Public Service Award and the Glamour magazine Woman of the Year Award in 1994, and in 2005 she was named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Dr.Shalala has been a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow and has been elected to the National Academy of Education, the National Academy of Public Administration, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Shalala served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1962-64.

Bertha Pooley (Bolivia) is a sociologist and an experienced public health professional. For the last 20 years she has worked in various NGO’s, international agencies and Bolivian Ministry of Health in a number of education and health projects. She is an activist in the area of women’s and newborns’ health issues. Currently Ms Pooley is a neonatal health advisor for Save the Children in Bolivia. Prior to this position, she served as the Executive Director of a successful network of 24 NGO’s “PROCOSI” and as a Senior Health Analyst for the Ministry of Planning developing health policies. She also worked for PAHO as the National Coordinator for the Reproductive Health Program with the Ministry of Health. She provided consultative assistance to the World Bank, UNFPA, and UNICEF.

Elizabeth Lule (Uganda) is responsible for the overall policy direction and coordination of the Bank’s HIV/AIDS work in Africa and for overseeing the ongoing implementation of its regional HIV/AIDS strategy. Elizabeth leads the ACTAfrica team’s efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program (MAP) for Africa. She leads the development of HIV/AIDS partnerships for the Africa Region and serves as the primary contact on HIV/AIDS with UNAIDS, key cosponsors such as UNICEF and WHO, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, bilateral and multilateral partners, civil society, the private sector, in global and regional fora. Prior to this, she was an Advisor for Population and Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health in the Human Development Presidency working with different regions in policy development and dialogue, conducting analytical work, capacity building and coordinating with global partnerships, UN agencies, donors and civil society. Prior to joining the World Bank, Ms. Lule had gained extensive experience in policy and health reforms, program management, design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation as Africa Regional Vice President for Pathfinder International. She worked with USAID and the Ministry of Health in Nigeria to oversee its Health, Nutrition and Population program and on the Family Health Services. She has taught Statistics and Demography. She completed her graduate studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and London School of Economics in Medical Demography and Epidemiology.

Ms. Jill Sheffield (United States) is an educator with more than three decades of experience in the design and implementation of health and education projects in developing countries. As President of Family Care International, she guides all of FCI’s global and country-level programs. Internationally, she has taken a lead role in FCI’s work to advocate and shape reproductive and sexual health policies. She played a central role in negotiations at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, as well as subsequent UN negotiations that have established the importance of the rights of women and girls. Prior to founding FCI, Ms. Sheffield served as an Executive Officer for the International Program of Carnegie Corporation of New York, where she developed a new grant-making program supporting educational projects. She also worked as an African Regional Representative and Director of Programs for Latin America for World Education, a non-profit organization that provides technical assistance throughout the developing world. Ms. Sheffield also has a long history of pro-bono activity. She is a former Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region and the Central Executive Committee of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. She also served on the Board of Directors of Population Communication International, the Center for Health and Social Policy, and as an Advisor to the Global Fund for Women. She obtained her MA in Comparative and International Education from Columbia University Teacher’s College and graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Education from Glassboro State College.

Dr. Lynn P. Freedman (United States) is Director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD) Program and an Associate Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. She holds a graduate law degree (JD) from Harvard University, a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Columbia University, and a Bachelor's degree (BA) from Yale University. Before joining the faculty at Columbia University in 1990, Professor Freedman worked as a practicing attorney in New York City. As Director of the Law & Policy Project at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health since 1997, she has been a leading figure in the field of health and human rights, working extensively with women's groups, health groups and human rights NGOs internationally. Since the founding of the AMDD Program in 1999, Professor Freedman has led the initiative to integrate rights-based approaches into maternal mortality strategies and programs. Professor Freedman has published widely on issues of maternal mortality and on health and human rights, with a particular focus on gender and women's health. She served as a Senior Adviser to the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Child Health and Maternal Health and was the lead author for the Task Force's report, Who's Got the Power? Transforming Health Systems for Women and Children.

Anne Tinker (United States) has over 30 years of experience in health development, in over 40 countries, with specialized expertise in reproductive and child health. In 2000 she joined Save the Children as Director of Saving Newborn Lives initiative, the world’s major program on newborn health with research and operational programs in 20 developing countries. During the period of 1990-2000 she worked for the World Bank as Lead Health Specialist for the South Asia Region where she advised on women’s health and safe motherhood issues. Prior to the World Bank’s assignment, Ms. Tinker was Division Chief of the Office of Health, USAID, where she was responsible for USAID programs in maternal and child health. Ms Tinker received her Master’s degree from Georgetown University and later her Master’s of Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Ms. Tinker authored numerous publications on mothers’ and newborns’ mortality and safe motherhood.

Sandra L. Thurman (United States) has been a leading advocate in the fight against AIDS for more than two decades. She is the President of the International AIDS Trust (IAT), a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy and leadership development in the global effort to combat HIV/AIDS. In addition to her work with IAT, Ms. Thurman serves as a consultant to foundations and high net worth individuals on the development of investment strategies and programs in the areas of HIV/AIDS, children’s health and women’s issues in the developing world. She is also a lecturer at the Rollins School of Public at Emory University and continues to work as an author. In the period 1997-2001 Ms. Thurman served as the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy at the White House and was appointed by President Clinton to serve as the first Presidential Envoy for AIDS Cooperation. During her tenure in the White House expanded the portfolio of ONAP to include international AIDS programs. In 1999 Ms. Thurman led the first U.S. delegation to look at the impact of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. She created the First Presidential Initiative on AIDS (the LIFE Initiative) which included a multisectoral approach to addressing the epidemic. Before her appointment to the White House, she was the Director of Citizen Exchange Programs at the United States Information Agency, Director of Advocacy Programs for the Task Force on Child Survival and Development at the Carter Center, Executive Director of AID Atlanta, one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based nonprofits providing health and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV prevention programs. Ms. Thurman began her career as a volunteer in a poverty rights office, worked as a counselor and developed employment training programs for ex offenders. She then moved into health care and served as the Director of Public Policy for Georgia’s largest health maintenance organization and began her work in AIDS as a hospice volunteer in 1982. She obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resources Administration and Management with an emphasis in Counseling from Mercer University.

Petra ten Hoope-Bender (Switzerland) is the Executive Officer of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, having managed its development and functioned as its Interim Director over the past year. The Partnership unites countries, donors, NGOs, researchers, health care professionals and the UN family in intensifying and harmonizing efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5 and improve maternal, newborn and child health. Prior to her work with the Partnership, Ms. ten Hoope-Bender was Executive Officer of the Partnership for Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health (2004 - 2005) and Secretary General of the International Confederation of Midwives (1998 - 2003). She is a former midwife who has attended more than 2,500 births and has published extensively in the area of maternal and newborn health.

Vivian Lowery Derryck (United States) returned to the Academy for Educational Development in 2001 to serve as the Senior Vice President and Director of Public Private Partnerships. Prior to this position, she worked for the AED as Senior Vice President and Director of Public Policy and before as Senior Advisor from 1996 to 1998. Between 1998 and 2001 Ms. Derryck served as presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed senior policy adviser to U.S. President and USAID Administrator on foreign assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa. In this capacity she formulated key policies and initiated programs, in conjunction with African senior leadership, targeted on key economic and social issues, including trade liberalization, public-private partnership and HIV/AIDS. Ms. Derryck also occupied senior positions in Africa Leadership Forum, African-American Institute, Washington International Center (WIC) of Meridian International Center, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, National Council of Negro Women and U.S. Department of State. Earlier in her career in the period of 1974-1977, she conducted primary social science research on strategies to introduce Liberian history into secondary school curricula and methods to integrate women into the market economy in the University of Liberia. Ms. Derryck is a recipient of multiple awards including African Partnership Award, U.S. Committee for UNICEF, Martin Luther King Legacy Award for National Service and an Honorary Doctorate from Chatham College.

Lucy Lake (United Kingdom), CAMFED Deputy Executive Director and Director of International Programs, joined CAMFED in 1994 having completed a degree in Human Sciences at Oxford University, and having taught science and mathematics at a rural secondary school in Zimbabwe in 1990-91. Over the past 12 years, Ms. Lake has coordinated the development of CAMFED’s program to become a model of investment in girls’ education. Her responsibilities have included working with girls, parents, school staff and community leaders to develop local initiatives to tackle the obstacles to girls’ school enrolment, achievement and completion; developing a pan African network of young educated women who have become activists within their communities, and who are joining forces with local and national authorities to lead change for the younger generation of girls; liaising with Ministries of Education to promote best practice in girls’ education; organizing, facilitating, chairing and presenting at national, regional and international meetings and conferences on girls’ education. Ms. Lake’s focus has been to bring people from the ‘frontline’ of girls’ education to the table with policymakers. Ms. Lake represents CAMFED on the Global Advisory Committee of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative. Ms. Lake was nominated Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the New Statesman (2002) and featured in ‘Moving On Up’, a publication of testimonies to inspire young people.

Dr. Rowaida Al-Maaitah (Jordan) is Senator in the Upper Parliament and an Advisor to Her Royal Highness Princess Muna El-Hussein for health and community development. She is also Jordan’s representative in the Arab Women Organization of the Arab League. Dr. Al-Maaitah is the first Jordanian woman to serve as university president, university vice-president, Director General of a teaching hospital, and dean at the university. Prior to her current appointment, she served as Minister for Government Performance, Minister of Social Development and President of the Hashemite University. She is a recipient of the Shouman Award for Young Arab Scientists in the field of medical sciences.

Dr. Al-Maaitah received her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Public Health from Tulane University. Later she became a post-doctoral fellow in Health Administration and Management at Louisiana State University.

In 2004 Betty Eileen King (United States) started an independent philanthropic advisory practice through which she advises two large foundations - The Atlantic Philanthropies and The California Endowment and an investment firm Magna Securities. Prior to this, Ms. King served as the Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Ambassador King represented US interests in a wide range of issues including finance for development, population, refugees, HIV/AIDS, the environment, women, children and the aged, and the participation of non-governmental organizations in the UN. She was the principal negotiator for the Millennium Development Goals. From 2001 2003 Ms. King was the Senior Advisor to the President and CEO of the California Endowment, a 3 billion dollar philanthropic organization dedicated to the improvement of the health of all Californians. During her tenure Ms. King developed and implemented a strategic approach to that foundation’s philanthropy that focused on access to healthcare and on disparities in health status and healthcare. From 1990 to 1997 Ms. King was the first Vice President and Director of Operations at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged children and families. From 1986 1990 Ms. King worked in the District of Columbia government. She subsequently served as the Deputy Commissioner for Mental Health Services. In addition, Ms. King worked at the University of Arkansas School of Medical Sciences where she developed gerontology programs. She subsequently served as the Executive Director of the Southwest Society on Aging, a professional organization that operated in Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. From 1979 to 1981 Ms. King served as The Director of the Arkansas Office on Aging. Ms King completed her undergraduate studies in Canada and graduate studies at the State University of New York and at the University of Michigan. She was a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at Harvard University and a Senior Fellow at The University of California Los Angeles School of Public Policy and Social Research.

Sylvia Borren (the Netherlands) joined Novib in 1994 as Director of the Project Department. Since 1999 she is the Executive Director of Novib, Oxfam Netherlands. She chairs the New Dialogue (a Dutch platform of civil society organizations) and co-founded the NSF (Dutch Social Forum). In 1975 she started her career in the Netherlands with a school advisory body in Haarlem, supporting Primary schools with in majority migrant children. She worked on gender based projects on the position of girls, mothers and woman teachers. From 1980-1985 Ms. Borren worked for the Haarlem local government and set up programs on physical and mental health education in schools. She joined the Civil Servants Trade Union and the national board of the COC, the Dutch Lesbian and Gay organization. She helped built the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), founded the International Lesbian Information Service (ILIS) and was active in the global women’s movement. From 1985 till 1994 Sylvia worked as a trainer and organizational consultant at the foundation “De Beuk”, specialized in Civil Society and Government Consultancy in the Netherlands and abroad. In 1984 she joined the National Government Advisory Body on Youth Policy for eight years. She holds a BA degree in Education and Religious Studies and a MA degree in Education.

Joan Walsh (United States) is Editor in Chief at Salon.com, the award-winning website. Her work has appeared in many national newspapers and magazines, from the Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun to Vogue and the Nation. As a columnist for San Francisco Magazine, she won a 2004 Western Magazine Award for her writing about local politics. Before starting at Salon, she worked for many years as a consultant to national and regional foundations, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and California's James Irvine Foundation. She is a member of the board of directors of PolicyLink, an Oakland-based research and advocacy group. An avid baseball fan, she is the author of "Splash Hit: The Pacific Bell Park Story" (Chronicle Books, 2001) as well as "Stories of Renewal: Community Building and the Future of Urban America" (Rockefeller Foundation, 1997). She lives in San Francisco with her daughter, Nora.

Dr. Linda Koch Lorimer (United States) has been Secretary of Yale University (USA) for twelve years and is the Vice President of the University responsible for an array of institutional functions. She also serves as Executive Director of Yale’s Office of International Affairs; over 800 programs or projects are currently being conducted by Yale faculty and schools outside the United States. Dr. Lorimer is Presiding Director of the McGraw-Hill Companies, a global knowledge-based enterprise that includes Business Week, Standard & Poor’s, J.D. Power and some of the world’s leading textbook and tradebook publishers. She is a director of the telecommunications company Sprint Nextel and a trustee of Hollins University. She served as the President of the Board of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, as Vice Chair of the Center for Creative Leadership, and as a trustee of Yale University. Dr. Lorimer is the recipient of four honorary degrees for efforts to advance women. President of the Board of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, as Vice Chair of the Center for Creative Leadership, and as a trustee of Yale University. Dr. Lorimer is the recipient of four honorary degrees for efforts to advance women.