MEET THE EXPERTS

PHUMZILE MLAMBO-NGCUKA

United nations under-secretary-general

executive director, un women

Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka has worked in government and civil society, and with the private sector, and was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in her home country of South Africa. From 2005 to 2008, she served as Deputy President of South Africa, overseeing programmes to combat poverty and bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor, with a particular focus on women. Prior to this, she served as Minister of Minerals and Energy from 1999 to 2005 and Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry from 1996 to 1999. She was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 1996 as part of South Africa’s first democratic government.

ALYSE NELSON

president & chief executive officer, vital voices 

A cofounder of Vital Voices, Alyse has worked for the organization for 17 years, serving as vice president and senior director of programs before assuming her current role in 2009. Alyse has worked with women leaders to develop training programs and international forums in over 140 countries and has interviewed more than 200 international leaders, including Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former presidents Mary Robinson and Bill Clinton, as well as Nobel Peace Prize laureates Aung San Suu Kyi, Wangari Maathai, and Muhammad Yunus. Under her leadership, Vital Voices has tripled in size and expanded its global reach to serve a network of over 15,000 women leaders in 144 countries. Alyse is the author of the best-selling book "Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World," which shares the stories of remarkable, world-changing women, as well as the story of how Vital Voices was founded, crossing lines that typically divide. 

JENI KLUGMAN

SENIOR ADVISOR, WORLD BANK

FELLOW, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL'S WOMEN & PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM

Jeni Klugman has over 20 years of development experience working with the World Bank and major United Nations agencies in the spheres of gender, poverty, inequality, human development, labour markets, governance and institutions.  She serves on several advisory boards, including that of the World Economic Forum's on Sustainability and Competitiveness, the International Civil Society Network, and the Global Forum on Women in Parliaments, as well as a European Union research program on GDP and beyond.  Until August 2014, she was Director of Gender and Development at the World Bank Group, and was responsible for developing and supporting strategic directions to promote the institution's gender agenda.  She served as the director and lead author of three global Human Development Reports published by the United Nations Development Programme.

MUSIMBI KANYORO

President & CEO, Global Fund for Women

Born in Kenya, Musimbi traces her passion for human rights, peace, and justice to her Quaker family and community. She is one of 10 children – every daughter given the same educational opportunities as the sons. “I want the same for every girl and woman, no exceptions,” Musimbi has said. Musimbi’s early work focused on the self-determination of African peoples and the abolition of apartheid in South Africa. In 1998, Musimbi was appointed general secretary (CEO) of the World YWCA, the first non-white woman to hold the role. She made the organization a go-to organization for young women’s leadership and for HIV prevention and care. She also transformed the World YWCA into a young-women-led organization, with young women under 30 making up 55% of the Global Board of trustees. Before joining Global Fund for Women as CEO, Musimbi was Director for Population and Reproductive Health at David and Lucile Packard Foundation, managing the $30 million grant-making portfolio.

Education EXPERTS

GLYNDA A. HULL

PROFESSOR, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY

ELIZABETH MOJE

interim dean, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

CATHY FLEISCHER

PROFESSOR, ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

DARIN STOCKDIL

CENTER FOR EDUCATION DESIGN, EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

VICTORIA HAVILAND

CENTER FOR EDUCATION DESIGN, EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN