Women of Influence (U)

<p>American history is in Gayle Jessup White’s blood. A direct descendant of both Thomas Jefferson and those enslaved at his famous Monticello estate, her story is a real-life version of <i>Roots</i> – a 40-year struggle to prove that her family’s belief about its links to the author of the Declaration of Independence were true. Along the way, she unearthed not only a fascinating family saga, but sharp and searing insights into America’s conflicted past and the unsettled future.

<p>Jessica Pressler is a contributing editor at <i>Vanity Fai</i>r.

<p>Autumn Rose *Miskweminanocsqua (Raspberry Star Woman)* Williams was born and raised on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton, New York. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications and a Minor in Business.

<p>Michelle Gielan has spent the past decade researching the link between happiness and success. She is the bestselling author of <i>Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change</i> and was named one of the Top 10 authors on resilience by the <i>Harvard Business Review</i>. </p><p>Michelle holds an advanced degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is an Executive Producer of <i>The Happiness Advantage </i>on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness course.

<p>Weijia Jiang is CBS News&#39; senior White House correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Jiang&#39;s reporting is featured across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms, including the "<i>CBS Evening News with Norah O&#39;Donnell</i>," "<i>CBS Mornings</i>" and <i>CBSN</i>, CBS News&#39; 24/7 streaming news service.</p><p> Jiang has covered the White House beat since 2018, including the transition between the Trump and Biden administrations.

<p>Ginger Kerrick shares her roadmap for building the teams that helped transform NASA’s culture, driving innovation and resilience.</p><p>During her 30-year tenure at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Ginger Kerrick led teams through waves of challenge and change during NASA’s most innovative decades since the Apollo missions, creating better cross-organizational collaboration and supporting NASA’s highly successful industry partnerships with SpaceX and others.

<p>Dr. Bernice Albertine King is the youngest daughter to the late civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was five years old when her father was assassinated in 1968. </p><p>King answered the call to ministry at the age of seventeen when she gave an address advocating against the South African apartheid to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In 1985 and again in 1986, she was arrested with her siblings while protesting against apartheid.

<p>Owner of the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academies, Dominique opened the gyms to continue her commitment to developing a healthy and compassionate culture in the sport of gymnastics. Her first academy opened in the midst of a global pandemic, in July 2020, her second location opened in 2023, and she will be opening her third Academy in 2024 located in Columbia, MD. Dawes holds minority ownership of the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League, and she also became part of the Atlanta Falcons ownership group as a Limited Partner in 2024.

<p>After bringing home the gold and silver medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Laurie Hernandez went on to win the coveted mirror ball trophy on <em>Dancing with the Stars</em>, and to publish two books:<em> I Got This: To Gold</em> <em>and Beyond</em>, in 2017, and a picture book for children,<em> She’s Got This</em>, in 2018. Both were <em>New York Times </em>bestsellers.

<p>Becca is a 3x Paralympic Gold Medalist, 6x World Champion Gold Medalist, and holds 23 American Records, and 10 World Records. </p><p>Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Becca has Usher Syndrome and has been deaf since she was born. She could not hear anything for the first few years before she began using a cochlear implant, an electronic device that allows her to hear. Becca began to swim at the age of six in 2000.</p><p>In 2012, Becca was the only deaf athlete on the U.S.