Autumn is off to a busy and productive start. This week marks the one-year anniversary of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and its ambitious agenda to end extreme poverty and tackle climate change by 2030. At the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting last week, Vital Voices joined 30 partners and signed on to one of the most comprehensive commitments to addressing goal 5 of the SDGs – gender equality and empowering all women and girls. The landmark commitment will invest $70 million to reach 900,000 individuals in 60 countries across six continents.
Our flagship mentoring effort, the Global Ambassadors Program, is a Vital Voices and Bank of America partnership committed to advancing women’s leadership and economic empowerment. Next week, we return to the Asia Pacific region for our 13th global mentoring initiative, convening women leaders from across the region, including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand, for a week of one-on-one mentoring sessions and strategic workshops focused on building organizational management, financial acumen and leadership skills.
This trip is centered on the theme Empowering Women Leaders to Advance Sustainable Development and I can’t wait to get started. We’ve accepted some of the best and brightest women in business and social enterprise to pair up with Global Ambassadors from a range of industries, including banking and finance, retail, media, and government and security, to work together on strategic plans to strengthen their businesses and organizations as they navigate myriad challenges associated with growing economies in the APAC region.
Here are the names and faces you’ll get to know next week. Follow #GlobalAmbassadors on Twitter for updates and join the conversation here and on Facebook and Instagram as we watch their stories unfold:
Meet the participants
GLOBAL AMBASSADORS |
MENTEES |
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Adi Tafuna’i Co-Founder & Executive Director, Women in Business Development, Inc. |
Moale ‘Mo’ Vagikapi Director, IM Associates |
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Amanda Ellis Senior Advisor for International Programs and Partnerships, Office of the President, East-West Center |
Nguyen Van Anh Director, Center for Studies & Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women & Adolescents |
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Stacey Kelly Egide Founder & CEO, Andalou Naturals |
Brianne West Founder, Ethique |
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Janet Lamkin California State President, Bank of America |
Maria Ronna Luna Pastorizo-Sekiguchi Managing & Creative Director, The Greenhouse Studio |
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Joanna Doolan Director, EY |
Linh Phuong Nguyen Executive Director, Research Center for Management & Sustainable Development |
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Kim Kingsley Co-Founder & Former COO, POLITICO |
Nguyen Thu Hue Founder & CEO, Center for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development |
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Kitty Yung Former Executive Officer & President of Asia, American Eagle Outfitters |
Khin Chaw Su Win Founder & CEO, Max Square Enterprises |
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Lauren C. Anderson Founder & CEO, LC Anderson International |
Gladeys Jill A. Santos-Cua Founder & CEO, Jill Santos-Cua & Company CPAs |
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Margaret Lyng SVP – Regional Head of HR Asia-Pacific, Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
Nguyen Thi Le Hoa Deputy Country Director, Oxfam Vietnam |
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Raegan Moya-Jones Co-Founder & CEO, aden + anais |
Kia Dowell CEO, Codeswitch |
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