Women of Influence (U)

<p>Céline Cousteau is an internationally recognized explorer, award winning filmmaker, environmental advocate, life fulfillment coach, and transformational speaker working at the intersection of sustainability, leadership, and integral wellness. </p><p>As a third generation explorer carrying forward her family’s legacy, Céline blends field experience from the Amazon to Antarctica, a background in psychology and intercultural relations, award winning storytelling, and a profound understanding and commitment to human and ecological wellbeing.

Donna Brazile is a veteran political strategist, New York Times bestselling author, Senior Advisor at Purple Strategies, former Chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and sought-after Emmy- and Peabody-award-winning media contributor to such outlets as ABC News, USA Today, The Hill and The Grio. 

<p>A Native American activist, Harvard-educated economist and author, Winona LaDuke has devoted her life to advocating for indigenous people’s rights and environmental justice.</p><p>In 1985, LaDuke co-founded and co-chaired the Indigenous Women’s Network (IWN), a coalition dedicated to empowering women to take active roles in tribal politics and culture. In 1989, she founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP), a tribal land re-acquisition and environmental advocacy effort and one of the largest reservation-based nonprofits in the country.

<p>Editor-in-chief of<em> The Economist </em>and named one of the "Most Powerful Women in the World” by <em>Forbes</em>, Zanny Minton Beddoes is a renowned global economics expert, sought-after for her authoritative perspectives on the world economy.</p><p>The first female editor in <em>The Economist’s</em> 170+-year history, Minton Beddoes previously served as the publication’s business affairs editor, economics editor and emerging-markets correspondent.

<p>Over almost two decades, award-winning journalist and web and TV host, Laura Ling has dedicated herself to exposing the world to critical global issues, including slave labor in the Amazon, the drug war in Mexico, Internet censorship in China, and women’s rights in Turkey.</p><p>As the Director of Development for Discovery Digital Networks, Ling oversees the creation and production of original web series.

<p>Bree Newsome rallies your spirit with her impassioned message about racial equality and illustrates how, with courage, zeal and the support of others, ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference. </p><p>This contemporary civil rights icon first garnered national attention for her daring act of peaceful disobedience in June 2015.

<p>Dr. Joan Morgan is an award-winning journalist and author, and a provocative cultural critic. Morgan's passion and commitment to the accurate documentation of hip-hop culture combined with adept cultural criticism placed her at the forefront of music journalism.</p><p>She was one of the original staff writers at <i>Vibe</i> magazine and a contributing editor and columnist for<i> Spin</i>.

<p>With more than two decades of experience in groundbreaking storytelling, Emmy Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Lisa Ling shares stories of her dramatic career to educate and inspire audiences to live without limits.</p><p>Over a twenty-year career in media, journalist Lisa Ling has dedicated herself to shedding light on stories impacting the world in which we live. She joined CBS News in 2023 after 15 years with CNN, where she hosted This Is Life with Lisa Ling.

<p>Susannah Cahalan is an award-winning #1 <em>New York Times</em> best-selling author, journalist, and public speaker.</p><p>Her 2012 memoir <em>Brain on Fire</em>, which has sold over a million copies and was made into a Netflix original movie, one of its most-watched movies of 2016, chronicled her medical misdiagnosis and brief interface with the broken mental health system in America.

<p>An award-winning journalist and executive producer of several critically acclaimed digital series at Vox Media and NBC News, Liz Plank speaks about women’s issues, LGBTQ+ rights, social media, and feminism. </p><p>The CEO of Liz Plank Productions and a columnist for MSNBC, Liz has been named one of<em> Forbes</em>’ 30 Under 30, Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media, <em>Marie Claire</em>’s Most Powerful Women, and was named one of the World’s Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical.