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2010 - Seven Who Build Autonomy

Tuesday, January 5, 2010
By WeNews correspondents

Profiles of seven outstanding leaders dedicated to improving women’s lives: Nell Merlino, Oraia Reid, Edit Schlaffer, Pernessa Seele, Eveline Shen, Jennifer Blei Stockman and Jen Taylor Friedman.

Nell Merlino, Connector for Capital Ideas

“Think big.” Nell Merlino has been telling women that for two decades—big enough to grow your business to $1 million in revenue, and big enough to join the 71 million people who have participated in Take Our Daughters to Work Day.
Oraia Reid, Driver of Women’s Safety

Oraia Reid took note of an increase in assaults of women in the Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Being a survivor of sexual assault herself, she started offering free late-night rides home in her car to help lower the risk of being attacked.

Edit Schalffer, Tranformer Across National Boundaries

The concept of social justice motivated Edit Schlaffer to use her skills as a social scientist to collect evidence about women in countries of crisis and transition. In 2002, the former sociology lecturer founded Women without Borders, an action-oriented global think tank, to empower women as agents of change.

Dr. Pernessa C. Seele, Ambassador for Communities with AIDS

Pernessa Seele knows that for the HIV-AIDS rates to drop in African American communities, a wide-ranging discussion must sweep through the neighborhoods at a rate far faster than the virus can spread. As the founder of the Balm in Gilead, she wants to help jump-start the conversation.

Eveline Shen, Pusher of the Health Envelope

Climate change, toxic work environments and immigrant women workers are just some of the issues that Eveline Shen links to women’s reproductive health. Going beyond the issues of access to appropriate health care or even nutrition, Shen’s mission is to improve women’s health—particularly those of color—by interjecting the concept of justice throughout her work.

Jennifer Stockman, Standard-Bearer for Choice

Jennifer Blei Stockman still remembers how she was one of the few female managers at IBM in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s. She says she encountered a glass ceiling while carving a path in the male-dominated management sector. She was expected to bond with male colleagues on the golf course and wear bowties as part of her wardrobe.

Jen Taylor Friedman, Rewriter of Gender Roles

In 2007, Jen Taylor Friedman became the first female Jewish ritual scribe in modern times to complete a Torah scroll. The aftermath of her achievement earned her a spot on the Forward’s Top 50 Jew list as well as some notoriety, but she never wanted to make a statement—she just wanted to write a Torah and make a decent living.

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