Profiles in Women's Leadership

Dr. Jalal holds the Minister of Women's Affairs position in the Afghan government. A leader in women’s rights, Dr. Jalal may be best known for her bid for the presidency of Afghanistan against Hamid Karzai in the country's last two presidential elections. During her 2005 visit to the U.S. she met with government officials and served as head of her country's delegation at a major UN meeting. Dr. Jalal was featured in the 2005 documentary Still Fighting: An Afghan Woman Runs for President.

Cesaltina Nunda largely grew up in Jamba—an encampment of Jonas Savimbi’s UNITA force in the southeastern part of Angola. The 30 year-long civil war in Angola eventually took her father and brother-in-law, but Cesaltina survived and went to live and study in South Africa for six years. An opportunity to work at the Angolan Embassy in South Africa led her to become familiar with a non-governmental organization called Angola 2000, which was started by Angolan refugee youth in South Africa. For her, the organization’s focus on disarmament and peace building was a natural fit. She volunteered and, eventually, became a paid staff member, working on a peace education and conflict resolution project within communities. Seeking improvement of her management skills, Cesaltina came to Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2008 for CEDPA's one-month Global Women in Management program. She says she is especially proud that during the CEDPA training she was given the opportunity to speak before the U.S. Congress about her conflict resolution work. (September 2008)

One of Antonia Sousa's goals while attending the 2007 Global Women in Management workshop was to increase her abilities and capacity as a consultant for women's empowerment NGOs. Antonia has not only achieved this goal, but is continuously working to increase her skills and abilities as a consultant. She has already advised more than 10 national NGOs, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of Health in Angola. She is currently working with the Center for Consulting and Project Management (CECOP) implementing projects to improve the living conditions of women in the informal market. Women who are currently working in these informal sectors have no state mandated protection and are frequently subject to violence and unhygienic working conditions. Antonia is working with the government to ensure that the conditions are improved and more women are incorporated into income generating programs. (April 2011)

Coralie Anne Davies de Rivero is one of the founders of the Fundación Cruzada Patagónica. The project was initiated 25 years ago as a school for boys over 14 in rural Patagonia, where children lack schooling opportunities. The school was opened to girls in 1995, and combines primary and secondary education with job training. Today, Coralie continues her work with the foundation in a counseling position working directly with the students, teachers and directors of the school. Coralie, a CEDPA alumna from the 2000 Institution Building workshop, puts her counseling skills to use as a coach in CEDPA’s new coaching program. (Sept. 2007)

After attending CEDPA's Global Women in Management workshop last June, Enriqueta Garat has combined her work in women's economic empowerment with environmental sustainability. Enriqueta works throughout rural Patagonia on income generating projects for women and their families. Recently, she began integrating solar energy projects into their programs. In each community, Enriqueta and her team are installing solar panels in houses and teaching families about environmental sustainability. They work with the families to create micro credit loan plans, so they are able to pay for the panels. The installations are enough for families to have four lights, and the panels will pay for themselves in one year due to decreases in electricity bills. Enriqueta continues to explore and integrate sustainable living practices to improve the lives of the people of rural Patagonia. (May 2011)

As a fieldwork coordinator for her organization, Asociación Civil Mujers 2010, María Mérola saw her organization’s potential for expansion and opportunities for program development. After she attended the Global Women in Management Workshop in the summer of 2010, Maria put the skills she learned at the workshop towards expansion efforts within her organization. María applied for and received a small grant from CEDPA, offered to a select number of alumni, to form small women's groups and provide them with training and small loans for sustainable business ventures. The project was a tremendous success. Her organization recognized the efforts she put forth in running the project, and this past December María was promoted to the Executive Director of her organization where she will continue drawing on the skills she learned at CEDPA. "The CEDPA training was very useful as a personal preparation to take on this new responsibility," says Maria.

Parvi, Executive Director of Nari Unnayan Shakti (Women’s Power for Development) in Bangladesh presided over International Women’s Day 2006 activities, including several workshops and a mass campaign meeting on “Combating Psychological and Physical Violence against Girls and Women” in Chittagong, Barisal Division. In addition, Parvi, an HIV/AIDS expert, presented at the Asia Regional Consultation on Youth, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in Pune, India in February. The meeting addressed the special needs of the Asian youth, especially to ensure their social security. Nari Unnayan Shakti (NUS) has run an HIV prevention and sexually-transmitted infection program for nearly 13 years. Providing services for nearly two million families, the organization has recently started advocating for human rights and supporting Bangladeshi women living with HIV/AIDS. In 2005, the organization conducted 160 workshops with 383 police officers, 159 procecutors, 154 media people, 303 community elite and other target groups. And NUS has rescued and socially reintegrated 40 trafficked girls and provided legal aid to 29 sexually abused girls. At present, NUS provides support for 150,000 people through 115 service outlets in nine districts in Bangladesh.

Parvin Afroja has become a true leader in the development of her community since she attended the Women in Management workshop in 2003. Impressed with her performance, CEDPA asked her to attend the first coaching workshop in 2007. She has successfully coached numerous women leaders in her region since then. Afroja continues in her role as Executive Director of NUS (Women's Power for Development), but was also recently elected president of the Voluntary Health Services Society, a network of 116 NGOs in Bangladesh. Somehow in her spare time, Afroja was able to publish a book called, Angela, about a trafficked sex worker in Bangladesh. Parvin will use the book to raise awareness about sex trafficking in Bangladesh, and raise funds for NUS. The book has been published in both English and Bengali. (September 2011)

Since graduating from CEDPA’s 2005 Global Women in Management workshop, Andreia Rabetim has been working at Companhia Vale do Rio Doce Fundacao to promote corporate social responsibility and sustainable development throughout Brazil. Most recently, her foundation partnered with a local government to build the local government’s capacity in fundraising and proposal-writing, both areas in which Andreia strengthened her skills during the 2005 workshop. As a result, the local government was able to raise $140 million in funding from the federal government. Andreia credits the CEDPA workshop with giving her the capacity to bridge the communication gap between the corporate and social sectors. Andreia wanted to share her experience and wisdom with others, so she came back to Washington for the 2009 CEDPA Alumni Coaching workshop. (February 2009)

An alumna of the 2009 Global Women in Management Workshop in Rio de Janeiro, Valeria Moreno put her skills to use in the leadership and management of the many programs she supervises at Centro de Integração Empresa-Escola (CIEE). One of those programs is Programa Mais (Program More), which since 2004 has graduated 51 underprivileged students who went on to attend college. The program helps the youth develop career paths, provides them with communication techniques and teaches them tips about professionalism and business etiquette. Programa Mais was recently featured in two Brazilian newspapers who interviewed program staff, students and some very proud parents. (March 2011)

When Eny Nye Bunyui Tamnjong attended the Global Women in Management Workshop in August of 2011, she came with a deep passion to learn everything she could. Already an accomplished trainer within her organization, Eny wanted to expand her skill set so she could do even more to serve her community. As a coordinator with the Jamoh Women’s Common Initiative Group, she facilitated trainings on agriculture techniques, but wanted to expand the areas she trained in to better serve the needs of women in her community. After learning numerous new techniques at the workshop, Eny left with a goal of training a group of women on how to develop a small business plan. Not only did she facilitate this training, but the women who participated added other activities and now plan to increase their maize yields by 5,600 kg within the year. Eny's reputation as a master trainer is growing and she has already been asked to facilitate a training for Bafukum Women on choosing and developing a career and making a business plan.

In four short months, Yuan Peng, GWIM Alumni, began making a lasting change in her community. At the October 2010 Global Women in Management workshop in Indonesia, Peng learned some of the fundamental concepts of Appreciative Planning and Action (APA), a technique that involves value chain analysis and negotiations. Peng shared what she learned by training over 500 Chinese cooperative members in these methods. She plans to adapt her training for her Web site so that she's able to share it with a greater number of cooperative members. Peng also recently participated in the annual meeting of Chinese Agricultural Cooperatives and presented on APA methods and product branding. As a result of the presentation, she is in negotiations with and has been hired by several of the cooperatives to conduct APA trainings. "I feel excited to spread APA which I found practical and very easy to use," says Peng. (February 2011)

Yan Liang has been working nonstop since attending the Global Women in Management workshop in October. A project coordinator for the Global Village of Beijing, an environmental NGO, Yan has started their Life of Harmony (LOHO) Community project in two new villages. With this model, the organization aims to build healthy communities by incorporating sustainable living practices into the community. Part of their efforts include installing energy saving stoves in houses and constructing sewage systems to increase the health of the village as a whole. In addition to physical aspects of health, LOHO encourages education amongst youth in the community, and encourages family health administration so that everyone in the village has the ability to care for one another. While Yan has already started LOHO in two new villages, she is about to start the project in a third village and plans to use tools learned at CEDPA to facilitate the process. To achieve this, Yan is going to live in the village for a year so that she can incorporate participatory development and the Appreciative Planning and Action process into the project. (April 2011)

Conchita Matabanchoy grew up in a farming family in southern Colombia, in a rural town near the border with Ecuador. Like many girls in her community, she stopped her formal schooling at age 12 to help out at home. She says though she never considered herself to be a leader, she gained the confidence to become active in her mostly indigenous community because of social and economic issues that were making it more difficult for farmers to earn a living and for women and girls to have a voice in their lives. Today, Conchita is a recognized leader with the Association for Peasant Development, where she works to increase community income through improved farming practices and economic development initiatives. She also dedicates herself to ensuring that girls and youth have access to the educational opportunities that she never had. Conchita feels she learned a great deal from CEDPA’s Global Women in Management training program, which she joined in October 2008 with support from the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls Initiative. “The program has been very meaningful for me as a woman and a leader,” she says. Conchita is now back home, where her new skills will allow her to “train other people how to envision their dreams and how to work towards those dreams, little-by-little and step-by-step.” (November 2008)

Dr. Said El Ashmawy enrolled in the CEDPA workshop at the urging of the Secretary General of the National Council. Expecting to learn more specific strategies for youth development and reproductive health, she expressed how much she enjoyed sharing experiences with the other participants. “I have learned many things here, especially how to see children as assets. They are assets we can use, even if they’re young,” she explained. Dr. Said El Ashmawy is a health planner for the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. She works as a medical supervisor for children in vulnerable areas of Egypt, teaches health education in order to raise awareness around childhood and motherhood issues, and also performs research in the field. Her organization is currently employing a program that works to provide services to underprivileged youth, improve working conditions, and educate youth and their parents.

Communication strategies are one of the skills participants learn in CEDPA's Global Women in Management workshops. Basant Montaser, who attended this workshop in Washington, D.C. this summer didn't wait until she returned home to start applying this skill. Before she returned home, Basant made several contacts in Washington, D.C. that have business relations in Egypt. Using the skills she learned in the workshop, she had a message prepared about her work, her organization and the Ishraq project, a literacy program that works with vulnerable out of school girls in Upper Egypt. Through these discussions, Basant was able to share Ishraq's vision, strengthen their reputation and receive additional support to continue working with girls in Upper Egypt. The training paid off. This September, on International Literacy Day, ExxonMobil Egypt announced their support for a new project, Ishraq Plus that will continue providing adolescent girls with educational opportunities for the next three years.

Over the past year, the social and political landscape of Egypt has undergone historic change. These changes have brought new ideas and struggles to people living and working in Egypt. However, even in the face of change and struggle, CEDPA alumna, Hoda Yacoub found a way to encourage the growth and development of young girls in the Bedouin community in Egypt. When Hoda applied to the Global Women in Management Workshop in 2010, she had problems in her organization with how men treated women who were working, and she was often excluded from senior positions on the belief that she was unqualified. Having constant negative reinforcement impacted Hoda's job satisfaction. However all of that changed after her experience at GWIM. After learning leadership skills and gaining confidence in herself, she is now the director of two projects helping girls learn to read and write, one of which is funded through one of a few small, competitive grants offered by CEDPA. As further recognition for her work, Hoda was recently selected to be the director for the Wadi Allaqi Biosphere Reserve.

Alvarado is a Mayan educator, nurse and women right’s activist who tirelessly advocates for human rights in Guatemala. Among her many achievements is founding PRODEM, a women’s rights organizations focused on community health. Alvarado is one of the first indigenous women elected to the post-war government of Guatemala. Among her many achievements is being a founder of PRODEM, a women’s rights organization that focuses on community and women’s health. She challenges status quo by declaring, “How can we deny that raising children, making food, selling goods, sharing and teaching religion, isn’t the exercise of leadership in the home, in the family, in the church? We want the women to recognize this and value their innate ability and channel this ability to bring about change.” CEDPA has worked with PRODEM to “exchange views and meet with other groups confronting similar challenges. Our collective responsibility is to improve the situation of women. Through CEDPA, we have been able to exchange ideas, techniques, approaches, explore new ways to move this shared agenda forward.”

After completing the GWIM workshop last June, Edna Lima de Morales took some of her new found skills and applied for a small grant that CEDPA offered workshop participants. Upon receiving the grant, Edna’s organization, Asociación Puente, held a workshop that helped rural women participate in income generating activities. Bringing together 238 women from the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala, Asociación Puente helped the participants identify potential start-up businesses. The workshop allowed these women to develop business plans and put a network in place to succeed in implementing them. The women were also able to share their fears with each other and developed strategies to overcome those fears. (June 2011)

Arunachalam, President of the Working Women’s Forum, was featured in a May 2005 Washington Post column. A 1980 CEDPA alumna, Arunachalam has worked for 30 years to tap the leadership potential of working women to improve their lives and lift up their families and communities. The Working Women’s Forum has grown to include 700,000 women throughout India. Arunachalam also recently received an award from the Vital Voices Global Partnership for her work to advance women's rights and economic development.

Savitri Sharma is the Director of Find Your Feet-India, an organization assisting marginalized people such as the landless, the disabled and women to gain economic independenc. She works with communities in remote rural India to end their poverty. She says "I've witnessed many changes since we started our India office. We are dedicated to working with communities living in remote parts of rural India to end their poverty. But our experience of working with the most vulnerable groups - dalits, tribals and women - has taught us that in addition to creating opportunities to build a stable livelihood, we also need to support them to access their rights."

Singh passed away September 21, 2004 after a brief illness. Ananta worked for the past eight years at the State Innovations in Family Planning Services Agency (SIFPSA) project in India, sponsored by the US Agency for International Development. SIFPSA, a longtime CEDPA partner organization, works in the areas of family planning, reproductive health, and maternal and child healthcare. Prior to working at SIFPSA, Singh gained valuable work experience in many related areas. She started out training teachers in rural parts of India, and then worked to combat water scarcity in villages by installing hand pumps and training women in basic plumbing skills. She also worked for a UNICEF project on rural women's self-employment, as well as for a CARE-India project on slum dwellers' health and hygiene.

Nominated as a steering committee member for the Indian government’s planning commission on women’s empowerment and child development, Agrawal will help develop a campaign focusing on promoting the health and safety of Indian girls. She also advocates against domestic violence in Uttar Pradesh and serves as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Voluntary Action Network. And Agrawal belongs to Oxfam International’s State Education Management Committee. Agrawal currently heads the Amity Institute of Behavioral and Allied Sciences and teaches at Amity University in Uttar Pradesh. Agrawal's book The World of Adolescent Girls was recently published in Hindi and English and is available at major booksellers in India.

Arora joined CEDPA/India as its program officer in 2002, where she’s responsible for managing, implementing, and evaluating adolescent projects. Arora remodeled the training department of the reproductive health division and transformed it into an open, interactive group. At the moment, she is working in partnership with many agencies to implement training and establish a network of NGOs throughout India. Arora came to the Youth Development and Reproductive Health workshop wanting to learn about more than just training methods and approaches to development. She explains, “The Youth workshop has opened my eyes. Whatever I saw in the past, I used to see with blinders on. Now, I have a broader perspective.”

Dr. Sudomo is Chief of the Health Foundation Sinar Wijaya Indonesia. There she is working on a health program that includes family planning and women’s empowerment programs in cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, and Malang. In May 2001, she finished her first five-year program at the Health Foundation and soon after started her second five-year program. As part of this second program, she plans to set up facilities for a more permanent family planning clinic and other programs in Malang. In 2001, Dr. Sudomo also conducted a one-day women’s empowerment seminar for 100 people at the National Family Planning Coordinating Board headquarters in East Jakarta. At the seminar they worked on a module for integrating democracy and welfare through the family with women’s empowerment.

A teacher by profession, Bahrul gives a great deal of her time and energy as a volunteer with Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia—a non-profit organization that focuses on women’s empowerment. The organization coordinates several different programs for women, but abolishing illiteracy is one of its main activities. Bahrul says she gained from the information sharing and interactions with others at CEDPA’s Summer 2008 Global Women in Management training program, which was supported through the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls Initiative. She says she has valued “know[ing] leaders from other countries, shar[ing] experience, and adapt[ing] experience for my organization.” Bahrul hopes to transfer the knowledge she learned at CEDPA’s training to the capacity building she is doing in local communities. “I have to transform my new knowledge to my members and to beneficiaries,” she says. (August 2008)

Only a few months after attending the October 2010 workshop in Indonesia, Bernadette Widiandayani is transferring the skills she learned to her co-workers. As president of Kaluwarna, a community development organization in Indonesia, Bernadette understood the value of the lessons she learned at the workshop. When she returned, she organized and conducted an internal workshop for her staff that focused on appreciative planning and action, motivation, leadership and communication. Now with their new skills, her staff is ready to begin to implement their new programs in public health education, women's empowerment and the environment. (January 2011)

Armed with new information, tools and a rejuvenated spirit; Mariana Nikna and other Indonesian alumni from the October 2010 Global Women in Management workshop formed a new NGO, Women Activities for Development and Empowerment, WADON. In Indonesian, Wadon means women, which helps further distinguish their organization and characterize the work they will be doing. Focusing on empowerment, in February the NGO began a program on developing entrepreneurship skills in youth. The goal of the program is to foster opportunities and improve life options for the youth through these skills. Though the programming has begun, Mariana and her fellow team members at WADON are still mapping out their plan for the year using the skills they learned during the workshop. (March 2011)

When Ari attended the Global Women in Management workshop in 2009, she was a microfinance leader within her organization, CARE International. Based on the success of her microfinance program, she was able to expand and replicate it in other regions of Indonesia. After attending the GWIM workshop, and the subsequent coaching and advocacy workshops, Ari has been promoted to program leader of CARE's Small Economic Activity Development (SEAD) program because of her leadership and management skills. In this role Ari is going to focus on the technical side of economic development and will use lessons learned at each CEDPA workshop she's attended. (July 2011)

Cut Hasniati, an alumna from 2005 Global Women in Management workshop, recently founded The Legal Aid for Children Foundation. This NGO ensures that children in Indonesia have legal aid, counseling and training to guarantee their development. When Cut came to the GWIM workshop, she had just joined the Executing Body for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Aceh (BRR), an organization established to help rebuild Aceh after the tsunami hit Indonesia. Cut acted in several different capacities to encourage growth for survivors from the tsunami. Unwilling to stay idle for too long, Cut applied the skills she learned at the GWIM workshop and branched into the government sector, venturing into the realm of children's rights. She was recently appointed as Head of the Culture Department in the Office of Culture and Tourism in Aceh Singkil.

CEDPA board member Asiyo worked with Cecilia Kimemia and Litha Musyimi, with the support of the Kenya’s Minister of Health Charity Nguilu who is also a CEDPA alumna, to organize two events to bring Kenyan alumni together. These Kenyan alumni have now formed a working network of women leaders from Kenya and other East African countries to advocate for critical issues for women and girls including HIV/AIDS, poverty alleviation and capacity building for groups at the community level.

In 2002, Ngilu was appointed Minister of Health, one of only three women currently holding cabinet posts in Kenya. As health minister, Ngilu has made it one of her priorities to address women’s reproductive rights. Since 1989, she has been a leader of the Maenbeleo ya Wanawake organization, the national women’s movement. This is just the second time in Kenyan history that women have even been appointed to a cabinet post.

Kairu is a prime example of an empowered woman leading the way for change. She describes herself before participating over 20 years ago in a Women in Management workshop as “a timid, reserved and inexperienced woman wanting to be empowered.” After a series of moves to positions in the national and international organizations, including serving as a program coordinator for CEDPA’s East Africa regional office, Kairu consults for international agencies on advocacy issues from women’s health to legal rights and policy issues. She attributes her career successes “to CEDPA’s unique way of building my management and leadership skills.”

Kenya native Musyimi-Ogana lives and works in South Africa for the The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which among other priorities, focuses on empowering African women. An economist by training, Musyimi-Ogana advises gender and civil society organizations on women’s issues. She points out, “It’s important that the African continent is engendered. Women have suffered the most from conflict, and they comprise the highest number of refugees.” Previously, Musyimi-Ogana headed the Africa Center in Kenya, which has trained over 500 women and produced training manuals and other publications in ten African countries. She feels that the skills she learned in her WIM workshop helped her advocate for women. A part of CEDPA’s delegation to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, she developed lobbying skills which have proven useful in her career.

Inviolata Mmbwavi addressed the World Bank’s Africa Region Task Team Leaders at a March 2007 workshop on Operationalizing the Fight Against HIV/AIDS in the Workplace. The 31 workshop participants from 27 African countries were team leaders responsible for ensuring that their staff and dependents are knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS policies. Inviolata, CEO of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya, presented on many key issues faced by people living with HIV and AIDS. She is an alumna of CEDPA’s 2005 WomenLead in the Fight Against AIDS workshop. (Mar. 2007)

Hubbie Hussein Al-Haji is no stranger to taking charge when there are people in need. In 1989, she co-founded the organization, Womankind Kenya, with the mission of making a difference in the lives of Somali women living in northeast Kenya. WomanKind Kenya works to address core problems focusing on women, children and the most vulnerable members of society. After attending CEDPA's Womenlead in Peace and Stability workshop in 2006, Hubbie continued to grow and strengthen her organization. Hubbie and her organizaation are providing support to refugees who have been turned away from the refugee camps as the famine persists in Somalia. Once they have been turned away from camps, refugees travel to local villages in search of assistance. As the villages are quickly being overwhelmed with people, women are disproportionately turned away when receiving aid. With the help of the US based organization, MADRE, Hubbie and Womankind Kenya are coordinating efforts to facilitate food distribution and ensuring those who are being excluded from receiving aid get all the resources they need. (August 2011)

Jane Godia is committed to telling the stories of women and children who are voiceless. As the editor of African Woman and Child Features Services, an organization focused on securing reproductive health rights for women and girls, Jane shares these stories to bring them to the forefront of her country's consciousness. When Jane attended the Packard-sponsored Strengthening the Voices of Women Champions for Family Planning and Reproductive Health workshop this September, she gained knowledge about effective advocacy and program implementation, and shared her years of experiences in journalism to help other participants craft effective advocacy messages. Recently Jane's efforts to get women and children's stories out into the world were recognized when she was honored with a Millennium Development Goal Award on Maternal Health for her publication, Strength of a Woman: The Untold Stories of Maternal Health and Deaths.

Mian recently returned from a two-week mission to Southern Sudan. Working for the Malayasian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia), she spent her time in the regional capital of Juba assessing the needs for hospital reproductive health care unit. She writes, “I am still affected by what I witnessed in Juba—and my visit was only confined to the tertiary hospital—a teaching hospital, mind you, so I can imagine how much worse it is in the outlying and rural areas.” On staff with MERCY Malaysia for nearly two years now, Mian heads the planning and development team, developing funding programs and pursuing partnerships. MERCY Malaysia comprises medical relief teams dedicated to providing humanitarian aid in crisis and non-crisis situations. Mian is featured in CEDPA’s training video, Voices of Women Leaders.

Madame Traoré has spent the more than 30 years in the service of women and their families, transforming their lives by implementing the first family planning programs in rural Mali. Over ten years ago, Traoré established the first and largest organization in Mali specializing in family planning and adolescent reproductive health care. The Association for Development and Population Activities is now one of Mali's great success stories in the privatization of family planning information and service delivery and a model for sustainability. After attending her first CEDPA workshop, she immediately mobilized other alumni in Mali to launch the groundbreaking Women's Committee for Population and Development Activities, using her position as a government health worker to leverage its attachment to the Ministry of Health and Social Services. The committee was able to propose and launch Mali's first corps of community health extension workers. Two years later, Katibougou found itself firmly embarked on an informal experiment in community-based distribution of contraceptives, responding to a tremendous unmet need. Madame Traoré also participated in CEDPA’s 1991 Supervision and Evaluation Workshop.

Martínez was recently featured in the article “Modern-Day Heroes and Pioneers” in the March 2005 issue of the online magazine, Living at Lake Chapala. Martinez is co-founder of the Centro de Desarrollo (Center for Development) in Lake Chapala, Mexico, a local organization committed to women’s health. In Mexico, health is traditionally a very private issue, and for many years women have suffered from a severe lack of information about their bodies, particularly related to sexuality and family planning. Through her organization, Sylvia and her colleagues educate communities through workshoips on nutrition, prenatal care, family planning and other prevalent health issues. Martínez also participated in CEDPA’s Insitution-Building-Spanish Workshop in 1995.

Former CEDPA board member Castro is working to bring youth voices to international meetings in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Mexico City. As part of the Youth Coalition, a global network of youth activists, she provides advocacy training to youth attending regional meetings held to review progress in development. Her goal is to help build a common agenda for youth in the region, and educate youth on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) process and how they can use their voices to influence the deliberations and outcomes. Castro also participated in CEDPA’s 2002 Institution-Building-Spanish Workshop as well as a Training of Trainers Workshop in 2001.

In Nov. 2006, Human Rights Watch honored Verónica Cruz at an awards ceremony for her activism for women’s rights in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. As founder and head of Las Libres, Cruz advocates for women who are victims of domestic violence or rape. She is especially passionate about helping women attain abortions in cases of rape. Though abortion due to rape is legal, women have struggled to gain access to abortion services. Founded in 2000, Las Libres has full time staff of four people, and volunteers pull their resources together to push women’s rights issues forward and provide free legal and psychological counseling.

Marcela Martinez Roaro recently published the second edition of Derechos Y Delitos Sexuales y Reproductivos (Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Crimes). The book officially will be released May 31 in Mexico City. The launch will include comments by President Emilio Alvarez Icaza of the Distrito Federal Human Rights Commission, and Paola Sesia from the National Safe Motherhood Committee. Marcela, who participated in the 1995 CEDPA Institution Building workhop, is the President of the Superior Institute for Sexual Education in Aguascalientes and is a committed human rights activist. (May 2007)

Andrea Saldaña was recently awarded the “Una Gran Mujer” (One Great Woman) prize from the Instituto de las Mujeres (the Women's Institute) and the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The award is in recognition of her research and field work in the civil and governmental arenas of Mexico and Latin America advocating for women’s health and legal rights. Andrea’s work and publications promote a more equitable relationship between the genders, which translates to better laws and quality programs for women. She is also a member of the board of the National Safe Motherhood Committee of Mexico. One of the goals of this interagency group is to confront gender-based violence, especially against pregnant women. Andrea is an alumna of the Spanish Supervision and Evaluation workshop in 1990 and the 2007. (December 2008)

When Maritza Morales was just 22 years old, she had already founded and was leading an environmental conservation organization, HUNAB Proyecto de Vida. In 2006 she attended a Global Women in Management workshop to further develop her leadership skills and help grow her organization. HUNAB was already recognized for their creative approach to environmental conservation by engaging children in the dissemination of information about environmental issues in the Yucatan Peninsula. Since the workshop, Maritza has continued her extensive work on environmental conservationism and has recently been honored with a distinguished citizen award for her work with HUNAB and her dedication to the environment. Maritza and HUNAB are working with adolescents and the environment, most recently with an interactive conservation project in Ceiba Park in the Yucatan. (July 2011)

Karla Saenz is promoting public art throughout Mexico, focusing especially on indigenous crafts. Since she graduated from the Global Women in Management workshop in 2009, she has become a superstar in her organization Kopalli Arte Publico. As general manager at Kopalli, Karla recruits artists to work on projects that raise awareness about current social issues. Recently Karla was featured in the Mexican magazine, MujerES, for her work at Kopalli. The magazine featured four Mexican women under the age of 33, who have all achieved success in their professional lives, and are changing the traditional view of what it means to be a woman in Mexico. In her interview with MujerES, Karla stressed the importance of working with and supporting indigenous women, as they are the ones who provide an important voice in developing alternative community development activities and have a fundamental role in preserving and transferring the knowledge of each community to the next generation. (September 2011)

Before attending CEDPA's Global Women in Management Workshop, Margarita Guille Tamayo was already a successful activist. She started the first women's shelter for abused women in Mexico, and then created a network of shelters that lobby the government on advocacy efforts for domestic violence laws. After attending the CEDPA workshop in 2007, Margarita continued her path fighting for women's rights in Mexico. She was recently appointed as the executive coordinator for the Inter-American Network of Women Shelters and was just honored with Soroptimist International's Ruby Award. This award honors women who work to improve the lives of other women and girls. Not only was Margarita honored with the Ruby award for Mexico, Central America and Latin America, she was honored as the international recipient as well.

When Kaythi Win attended CEDPA's Asia Regional Workshop in 2009 on Women Leaders in HIV/AIDS, her goal was to learn leadership skills so she could become an effective advocate for sex workers. In just three years Kaythi has become a well known advocate and a much acclaimed speaker. She spoke at a panel for CEDPA at the 2010 International AIDS conference in Vienna. Most recently, Kaythi gave a rousing presentation at the AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development. She spoke out about the discrimination of sex workers and the need for their voices at the table. Using advocacy strategies learned at CEDPA, Kaythi knows she is making a difference in the lives of people who are typically voiceless, "I feel that today I'm working for my community and to develop our program better."

Shrestha is currently working as Honorable Member of the Public Service Commission (PSC). She is only the third woman to serve as Secretary of Civil Service and the second woman to serve in this capacity. With her nearly forty years of experience working on development issues in Nepal, Shrestha is now focusing her attention on increasing the number of women in civil service positions in Nepal. She explained that the CEDPA workshop she attended provided her with new ideas and tools for strong leadership and institutional growth.

Mahdi works for the rights of women through the implementation of programs and services at the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), a Nigerian non-governmental organization focusing on the legal rights of women and the actualization of those rights at individual and collective levels. Mahdi helped expand WRAPA to a settlement outside Abuja to provide legal aid and counseling, adult literacy, civic education programs and skills training for women’s economic empowerment. In other parts of Nigeria, Mahdi supervises the WRAPA state focal persons executing the mission of WRAPA at those levels. She also coordinates the law reform advocacy program of WRAPA. CEDPA awarded her with the Ralph Stone Award for her inspirational leadership. Upon receiving the award, she said, “I have a dream for the women in Nigeria to a life free from discrimination, abuse and one full with opportunities. I share a hope and trust in our collective determination that our best future will happen.”

Chief Ogunleye was a visible participant at the 2002 United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. As part of the event’s debate on the world’s economic progress, delegates discussed how gender issues affect poverty. Chief Ogunleye’s participation on this topic was highlighted in an article by the Associated Press on the issues affecting women farmers at the Summit. She stated, “African women in Nigeria, we have no right to land, we can only access [land] through our husbands and sons. It means injustice because if women are the ones planting, working and producing food and have no right to land, they have no right to work in their full capacity.” Chief Ogunleye is a longtime CEDPA partner through her work at the Country Women Association of Nigeria.

Ismail is currently the National Minister of Women Affairs in Nigeria. During her administration, she published and released the National Policy on Women, and her ministry selected CEDPA/Nigeria as an NGO representative on the National Consultative Committee (NCC) for the Advancement of Women. The NCC was inaugurated last year by the Minister Aisha Ismail combined with a technical team of experts drawn from several ministries, with the goal of ensuring gender mainstreaming in all areas of government. The NCC will work with the technical team to ensure that all aspects of governance are gender sensitive. Minister Aisha Ismail was also actively involved in the CEDPA and Johns Hopkins University-funded affirmative action lobby to the Constitutional Review Committee in 1998, seeking more equitable representation of women in decision-making.

Anenih is the National Woman Leader of the People’s Democratic Party in Nigeria. She also co-founded Women Foundation Nigeria (WFN) with two women representing the other political parties in Nigeria. WFN creates opportunities for Nigerian women to network on global women’s issues and works to empower women for increased participation in the political process. They also monitor women’s contributions to the political landscape and encourage women’s activism. Anenih and her colleagues attended a workshop on “The Internet and Women’s Democratic Organizing” at Michigan State University with a group of eight women from Africa. The program provided an opportunity to learn Internet-based skills, attend sessions on women’s advocacy issues, and meet staff from related organizations in the U.S., including CEDPA, the National Organization for Women, and the League of Women Voters.

Yolah, a native of Kano located in northern Nigeria, currently heads the commercial lending department at Bank of the North. The only women in management, she’s found that the leadership skills she developed at the WIM workshop have helped her in negotiating daily challenges while working in the male-dominated banking world. She’s found that subtlety is often the best approach in her work relationships, and having developed more confidence during the workshop has helped her present ideas to her male colleagues without feeling intimidated. At the time of the CEDPA workshop, Yolah worked as a journalist covering women’s issues for the local newspaper. She met the then-CEDPA/Nigeria director who convinced her to enroll in the training. She considers the WIM workshop as the equivalent to “a degree in living in the real world.”

Margaret Ebokpo, a lawyer and nurse, is Executive Director of the Women in Detention Rights Initiative in Cross River, Nigeria. She says that the intersection of poverty and gender inequality is fueling the AIDS epidemic in Cross River, and that “we need to address gender inequality urgently.” She urges increased efforts to educate women and give them a voice so that “they can decide what they want from their lives” and lead efforts to improve their communities. Ebokpo was a participant in the 2001 Women in Management program. She applied to gain more skills in management and leadership, she says.

Olayinka "Yinka" Jegende-Ekpe was recently featured in the March 2007 issue of Nigeria’s Genevieve magazine. In the article, Yinka discusses her life in Nigeria after contracting HIV. She was one of the first Nigerian women to publically declare her status. The article explores the challenges she encountered after declaring her status, the changes in her life since, the decision to become a mother and the fears she had about the health of her beautiful baby girl. She completed CEDPA's Youth and Reproductive Health workshop in 2001. (May 2007)

CEDPA alumna Assumpta Reginald recently received the prestigious Red Ribbon Award 2008 on behalf of her organization, Womankind Nigeria. The award, bestowed by Journalists Against AIDS Nigeria, recognizes the work civil society groups, HIV/AIDS activists and journalists do to improve discourse nationwide on the epidemic. Womankind Nigeria aspires to break the stigma and discrimination related to people living with HIV/AIDS in communities throughout Nigeria. Assumpta attended the WomenLead in Promoting Peace and Stability Workshop in 2006. (January 2009)

Working for Journalists Against AIDS Nigeria, Jesam Nwaigbo helps provide communications interventions that facilitate positive behavior change to help reduce the spread of HIV. She was a graduate of CEDPA's Women Leadership in HIV/AIDS workshop back in 2008. Because of the impact of her work, Jessam was chosen to be a representative for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) at the upcoming UNGASS meeting. Jesam will give voice to those living wtih HIV and AIDS. She continues to volunteer her time to combating the spread of HIV and serves as a community delegate for the Global Fund. Jesam is ensuring there are effective projects, appropriate media representation and quality educational materials to improve the lives of those affected and infected by HIV. (May 2011)

Chief Imo Isemin, a 2007 GWIM graduate and coach, is currently working with women in the Ifa Ikot Akpan communities. The women, who process food for sale, lacked any sort of modern equipment to help with production. The lack of tools meant slow productivity, quick spoilage of inventory and, as a result, little income. Using the fundraising skills she learned in the GWIM workshop, Chief Imo was able to work with the community and obtain a grant to pay for new equipment. “The management training I received at GWIM has given me a lot of confidence and emboldened my steps,” says Chief Imo. “We train these women to replace the native methods with simple low technology machines and tools; in the process, they learn some aspects of entrepreneurship through hands-on experience.” Though the new equipment is low tech, it changed the lives of these women by increasing productivity, reducing the amount of spoilage and increasing their income. Because of these new tools and technologies, the women of the Ifa Ikot Akpan communities now have surpluses that can be put towards improvements in the community. (February 2011)

Mercy Chioma Chido-Amajuoyi completed the Global Women in Management Workshop in 2008. As the executive director of her organization, the Elyon Kias Foundation, she had been implementing numerous projects for widows and disabled persons, but was struggling to keep her projects funded. At the workshop, she learned how to write a proposal, and put this new skill into practice as soon as she left the workshop. Continuing with her vision to expand her organization, Mercy wrote a proposal to ExxonMobil to fund a program for cataract surgeries in her community. A simple fix that has made a giant difference in the lives of community members. This surgery has allowed community members to receive an education and engage in economic activities. By expanding her organization's work into the health sector, Mercy has enabled her organization to provide more integrated services that better meet emerging needs and contribute to more holistic change in her community. (August 2011)

Ikenna Obusi has long been a champion for women and youth rights, and, even though he attended a Youth Leadership and Reproductive Health workshop at CEDPA almost twenty years ago, he is still using the skills he learned to advocate for women's rights in Nigeria. After the workshop in 1992, Ikenna ran a youth-focused television show in Enugu. Ikenna ensured the programming focused on gender and HIV/AIDS to publicize vital information. In 2005, he was appointed as a political aide to the Commissioner for Women Affairs. In this role, he works with the Commissioner to steer government and political decisions in favor of women's empowerment and development. Ikenna contributed to the country’s Woman’s Affairs and Social Development Strategy, which was developed in conjunction with the British Department for International Development. Though Ikenna recognizes there is still a lot of work to be done, he remains committed to the advancement of women and development.

"It has always been my desire to transfer the knowledge and experience I got from the unforgettable program, to women leaders at community level and women leaders of CBOs and women-based NGOs in my state," wrote Evelyn Urhobo earlier this month. An alumna of the Global Women in Management workshop held in Washington, D.C. in 2009, Evelyn was forever changed by the training she recieved in the workshop and wanted to bring the principles of adult learning and appreciative inquiry to her organization, so the women in her community could be impacted in a similar way that she was. Evelyn has finally achieved her dream, and has begun organizing a series of workshops that will begin in April to train women leaders.

Margaret Rombuk was raised in a rural community in Papua New Guinea where her church addressed healthcare needs by setting up hospitals and a nursing college. This work inspired Margaret to train as a nurse and she has devoted herself to public health ever since. Margaret saw the need for access to health information, so she joined forces with Susa Mamas Inc., a non-profit organization in Port Moresby whose “vision is to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality by promoting mother and baby friendly practices through education.” In 2007, Susu Mamas and its cadre of five nurses saw nearly 106,000 women and 22,000 babies. As a newly-appointed clinical manager, Margaret hopes eventually to run small clinics that are financially independent. Her dream is “to get the message to the rural people in the villages so they can have a healthier life.” Margaret says she learned a great deal from CEDPA’s Global Women in Management training program, which she joined in the summer of 2008 with support from the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls Initiative. “I’ve learned a lot from the women who have come from different countries, organizations and backgrounds,” Margaret adds. “This has motivated me to … think of other ways to help women.” (October 2008)

Anyone familiar with Papua New Guinea, or PNG, knows the challenges faced there. When a natural gas project came to her village, Veronica Payawi helped form a women’s organization, hoping to improve the situation for rural women. Frustrated by the lack of support from the PNG government, the organization's achievements were less than stellar. In the summer of 2010, Veronica, along with three other women leaders from PNG, participated in an Alumni Advocacy workshop held in Washington, D.C. Here, she and her fellow countrywomen, devised an advocacy plan. When Veronica returned to PNG, she formed a new organization, Hela Women's Upstream Limited. The organization was comprised of 200 women members from local communities addressing social and economic needs. With advocacy and fundraising efforts, they bought a semi-truck, which they contract out. The profits from the use of the truck fund projects such as the development of a chicken factory. Thanks to the communications skills Veronica developed in the workshop, she knew she had to publicize their success, so Hela Women’s Upstream Limited launched a Web site that highlights the work and mission of the organization. “It took me a year to achieve what we have achieved,” explained Veronica. “I personally feel, that is not enough.” Veronica continues working to ensure that the Hela women of PNG are not forgotten.

Turiza Tandago entered the Global Women in Management (GWIM) program from a rural village in Papua New Guinea where few women wear pants or know how to drive. At the workshop, Turiza's eyes were opened to concepts she'd never considered before, and she felt inspired to begin applying her new skills before she even left the workshop. As an outstanding participant, she was selected to speak at a reception representing her GWIM class. Turiza demonstrated poise and elegance as she talked about what economic empowerment means for women in her community and how she was going to implement the skills she recieved from the CEDPA training back home. Since returning to Papua New Guinea, Turiza has been focusing on her career and recentely joined Joint ExxonMobil where she will be a Business Development Advisor focusing on empowering women and youth with sustainable economic projects.

Carmela Chung became part of the CEDPA family in 1995 when she attended the first Spanish Institution Building and Advocacy Workshop. Recently she was invited to be the “Fuerza Social” party's candidate for Cuzco city government. Although a new endeavor for Carmela, she is excited and feels prepared for what lies ahead. After registering as a candidate, she will begin her campaign that will run until the April 10 elections. Carmela has been in leadership positions before as she has served as both president and vice president of the National Network for the Promotion of Women in Peru. The network promotes the political participation of women and campaigns against violence and femicide. (January 2011)

Granado patiently waited nearly 12 years to participate in a CEDPA workshop. In 1991, she visited a CEDPA office and immediately knew that the YDRH workshop “was the course for me.” Granado finally made it to the workshop in 2003. She had heard a lot about the asset-based approach, but was unsure how to implement it. “The workshop synthesized what I’ve been doing back home,” she explained. “It helped put everything into place, giving direction to my work.” Granado oversees the day-to-day operations of the University of Bohol Family Care and Lying-In Center in the Philippines. Grace works on establishing youth-friendly health and other services for youth aged 13–24. She plans to raise consciousness around gender and adolescent issues through education and training. The workshop spurred Granado to see young people as assets who can help her achieve these goals. “The Filipino culture highly values child development,” notes Granado. “We even have a law where we uphold youth participation. Up to the highest level of the government, the legislative body, we have youth representatives. But we haven’t prepared the young people to really participate.” She wants to “take the culture’s value of youth participation and use it to harness the leadership potential of young people.” As a hobby, Granado occasionally writes and has recently produced a musical act dubbed “For Young Girls Only.”

Annabelle Cabagnot-Jayco has always held a role helping people. When she came to CEDPA in 2006, she was working as a counselor for women in conflict areas in the Philippines. With Annabelle's help, the women she worked with learned how to advocate the government to ensure their needs were being met. Annabelle was chosen to attend CEDPA's WomenLead in Peace and Stability workshop in 2006 to contribute her knowledge of working in areas of conflict. When she left the workshop, Annabelle had a more holistic view of how to build peace in her country. She was asked back to CEDPA in 2008 to participate in a coaching workshop. Annabelle learned about various adult learning techniques and how to increase her already prolific reach as a counselor. Since the coaching workshop Annabelle has been working on a Conditional Cash Transfer project for indigenous households across six provinces in the Philippines. Each month, Annabelle holds Family Development Sessions for the households participating, where she implements many of the skills she honed at CEDPA; adult learning, gender, peace building and many more.

Draghici is currently working for Ipas as a Policy and Program Consultant. In this capacity, she conducted a reproductive health needs assessment in Tbilisi, Georgia, and promoted the latest Ipas uterine evacuation instrument, the MVA Plus, at the first International Medical Exhibition in Georgia. Draghici also held talks on reproductive health at the Ministry of Health and organized meetings with key nongovernmental organizations working for women's reproductive health and rights. In addition, she worked with UNFPA and the head Ministry of Health official in Abkhazia, a recently independent region, on reproductive health for refugees.

As businesswomen active in their community, Gritsenko and Zvereva volunteer in the Youth Palace (Junior Chamber). Currently, they’re designing what is possibly Russia’s first Leadership School for Girls, adapted from the Russia School for Leadership. They both agree on how valuable the CEDPA’s training workshop was in promoting leadership development for women.

Lo completed her master’s degree in May 2005 at the School of International Training in Vermont. As part of the master’s program, she had an internship with the Millennium Project in New York, an independent advisory body commissioned by the Secretary-General to advise the United Nations (UN) on strategies for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In this role, Aminata Lo had the opportunity to contribute to the Millennium Project’s report: “Investing in Development.” She also assisted in writing a guidebook for women’s constituencies working on the MDGs and during the 49th session of the Commission of the Status of Women, held in March 2005 at the UN in New York. At that meeting, she also organized a panel discussion on “Women and the MDGs.”

CEDPA board member Mabele carried the Olympic torch in June 2004 as part of an international torch relay for the Olympics held in Athens, Greece. As part of the South African relay team, Mabele ran with the torch through the streets of Cape Town. She was selected because of her inspirational work as an outspoken HIV/AIDS activist in South Africa. Mabele was the first black woman in South Africa to publicly reveal her HIV status at a time when such declarations were unheard of due to stigmatization and discrimination. Since that time, she has worked tirelessly, founding the Positive Women’s Network, a nongovernmental organization that provides support to women living with the disease.

Rasha Almadhi works for Sudan's National Population Council, helping to set social and family policy in the country. She says she began using the skills she learned during the CEDPA workshop as soon as she returned to Sudan. Her newly obtained skills in fundraising helped her to win two major grants. She also reports that she impressed her supervisors with her monitoring and evaluation skills so much that this last year they increased the funding for training, allowing four of her colleagues to gain new skills in monitoring and evaluation. Rasha was recently promoted to the Head of the Policy and Programs department, and she attributes the promotion to the new skills she gained during last year's workshop. (Nov. 2007)

When Siphiwe Hlophe attended the inaugural WomenLead workshop in 2005, she hoped that she would strengthen her advocacy and management abilities. As a co-founder of Swaziland Positive Living, an organization dedicated to supporting people living with HIV and AIDS, Siphiwe wanted to increase her capabilities. The workshop not only made her a better manager and advocate, but invigorated her drive. Since she graduated, Siphiwe continues to work and advocate for positive women, providing them with support, and income generating activities. In 2007, she won the Freedom of Expression Award for using her journalist skills to advocate for the cause. Siphiwe's work and tireless spirit were highlighted in a piece by Gary Nunn on the Guardian's Web site last month. The article stressed the importance of Siphiwe's work and the need to continue funding these grassroots organizations to combat the spread of HIV in communities.

Jovita Mlay left the Global Women in Management workshop last August in Abuja with a plan of how she was going to apply the tools she learned and grow her grassroots organization, SASA Foundation. Originally formed to help vulnerable children access education opportunities, Jovita expanded the reach and mission of the organization. With lessons learned from the workshop, Jovita improved SASA’s marketing publications and hired two employees to help with their programming needs. Recently, the organization hosted the Women Tribunal on Climate Change to discuss how climate change has affected the economic and social activities of women in Africa. In the upcoming months, Jovita and the SASA foundation will be working on resource mobilization for the women they work with, strengthening their economic activities and integrating reproductive health education into their programming.

Kaddu-Serwadda currently works as the East Africa Representative for Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs. Kaddu-Serwadda works to influence local and international policy related to gender-based violence against children and women. Her active involvement in human rights advocacy against the violation of children and women's rights led to the establishment of a local network of child protection activists and practitioners (Empower Children & Communities Against Abuse - ECCAA), and she currently serves as chairperson of this group. Kaddu-Serwadda explains that "ECCAA is my life," and although she is not as involved in the day-to-day work of the group, she continues to play a strong role in their activities, partnering with local governments and organizations on issues related to HIV/AIDS, domestic violence and other important issues.

Since attending CEDPA’s WomenLead Promoting Peace and Stability workshop in 2007, Beatrice continues working towards peace and stability in her region. As a Member of Parliament in 2007, Beatrice worked to promote fair laws and policies for women in her country. She contributed as the Shadow Minister of Water and the Environment, participating in the environmental movement and lobbying the Sudanese government to engage in peace talks. Recently, Beatrice was re-elected as a Member of Parliament for Kitgum and was appointed as Shadow Minister for Energy and Minerals. In her new role, Beatrice continues to ensure just and equitable laws are passed in regards to women and the environment in Uganda. (June 2011)

Ensuring government accountability is no easy job, but Svetlana Moroz works daily to guarantee that her government gives people living with HIV and AIDS the resources they need. Svetlana recently represented her organization, the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, at this summer's International AIDS Society conference. Speaking on a panel with Professor Wafaa El-Sadr and Dr. Eric Goosby, Svetlana stressed the importance of recognizing what governments promised to do for people living with HIV and AIDS, and what they are actually doing. Svetlana's comments fed into a greater discussion of how important civil society is in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and what we can do to support these organizations. Svetlana participated in both CEDPA's WomenLead in the fight Against HIV and AIDS workshop in 2005, and a Planning and Design Workshop for Master Trainers in 2007.