What would Happen if We Truly Trusted Women? Localizing Leadership to End Violence Against Women and Girls

Edith Ruguru Mwenda is a Senior Counsel at the World Bank, she joined the World Bank in 2001 and has worked as an operational lawyer in Africa and in the Caribbean. She has been for many years the Gender Advisor for the Legal Department and the Gender Group at the World Bank and has a passion for Gender Based Violence related issues, including GBV and development, codes of conduct to prevent GBV as well as the operationalization of GBV issues in World Bank operations. 

Edith holds a LMB from the university of Nairobi, a LMM in Banking and finance from the University of London (Queen Mary College) and a LMM in International Environmental Law from the George Washington University. She is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya.

Dr. Susan M. Blaustein is Founder/Director of WomenStrong International, a global NGO that finds, funds, nurtures, and shares women-driven solutions that will transform lives in urban communities. Prior to establishing WomenStrong, Dr. Blaustein was the Co-Founder/Director of The Millennium Cities Initiative, a 12-year project of Columbia University’s Earth Institute advancing sustainable urban development across the sub-Saharan region. Now teaching at The Earth Institute, Dr. Blaustein earned her doctorate at Yale University, has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a Harvard Junior Fellow in The Society of Fellows at Harvard University, and the recipient of multiple awards.

Mary  Balikungeri  is  the  Founder  and  Director  of  Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN), a non-governmental organisation (NGO)  dedicated  to  promoting  a healthy,  empowered,  and peaceful  Rwandan  society  all  through  the  promotion  and improvement  of  the  socio-economic  welfare  of  women  in Rwanda  through  enhancing  their  efforts  to  meet  their  basic needs. Prior to this, Mary worked in Geneva for the UN with UNV, Economic Commission for Europe, WHO and later joined  the World Council of Churches as the Liaison officer in the Program to Combat Racism (PCR), with a special focus then to South Africa and the Front Line States towards the release of Nelson Mandela. Linking Church Groups and Anti Apartheid Movements was the major focus.

Dr.  Monica Jasis  is  a    physician  graduated  from  Universidad  Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico)  with  a  Master in Public  Health  from  San  Diego  State  University  (Mate rnal  andChild Health)  and  a  Ph(D)  in  Psychological  Research  from  Universidad  Iberoamericana(Mexico).   She also holds a   Post doc in Reproductive Health Policy Research by U.C. SanFrancisco  (Institute  for Health  Policy  Studies)  and  is  a  graduate from the  Center  for  theStudies of   Human  Rights at Columbia University. Dr. Jasis is co-founder and co-directorof   Centro Mujeres, the only non-governmental organization in the state of Baja CaliforniaSur working for sexual   and reproductive health and rights for women, adolescents, youth and migrant populations. Prior  to  founding  Centro  Mujeres,  Dr.  Jasis  was  the  Director  of    Preventive  Medicine  at La  Paz General Hospital in Baja California Sur. She also  worked in the non-profit  worldsince  1988,  in  community  health,  pioneering  organizations  in  the  U.S.-Mexico  border.

June holds a Post Graduate Diploma and a Bachelor'sdegree in Law and is a member of the Project Management Institute. Having worked in diverse roles as an experienced education administrator, projects manager, mentor, and knowledge manager, her areas of expertise are project planning, social justice, strategic planning, human rights, community development, and training. June enjoys working in innovative environments which maximize her intellectual curiosity, intuitive thinking, and imagination. Her work ethic is driven by the values of humanity, empathy, and compassion. At The Action Foundation, her role is to coordinate the projects team and lead organization learning and impact management