Women of Influence (U)

<p>Weijia Jiang is CBS News' senior White House correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Jiang's reporting is featured across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms, including the "<i>CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell</i>," "<i>CBS Mornings</i>" and <i>CBSN</i>, CBS News' 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 is Chief Strategy Officer for Barrios Technology, a small woman-owned human spaceflight company in Houston, Texas.  </p><p>Prior to joining the Barrios executive team, Ginger served in multiple senior leadership roles at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) before retiring in 2021 including Deputy Director of the Exploration Integration and Science Directorate and JSC Assistant Center Director for Vision and Strategy. She spent the majority of her 30-year NASA career supporting JSC’s Flight Operations Directorate (FOD) in leadership roles, including Assistan

<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>Dominique Dawes is a three-time Olympian, Olympic gold medalist, and trailblazer in American gymnastics. </p><p>A member of the legendary “Magnificent Seven,” she made history at the 1996 Atlanta Games as the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics. Today, she is the founder and brand ambassador of the Dominique Dawes Academy, creating safe, empowering spaces for young athletes in gymnastics, ninja, and more, with a growing national footprint.

<p>Since bringing home the Gold and Silver medals from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Laurie has won the coveted Mirror ball trophy on <em>Dancing with the Stars </em>Season 23 and published her first <em>NYT</em> Best Selling book titled<em> I Got This: To Gold and Beyond</em></p><p> In 2018, she released a <em>NYT </em>Best Seller children’s picture book<em> She’s Got This,</em> and Mattel created a Laurie Hernandez <em>Shero </em>Barbie to honor her and her Latina heritage.

<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.

<p>Fredrika Newton, the daughter of activists and former member of the Black Panther Party, says she learned how to march before she learned how to walk. Activism has always been in her blood, but no one was more surprised than her the day that Black Panther Party co-founder, Huey P. Newton, showed up at her parents’ home for lunch.</p><p>Her mother, a Jewish housing activist and real estate agent for the Party, invited Huey over when Fredrika was home from college.

<p>Captain Sandy is a leader, hero and businesswoman whose exceptional leadership style has helped her to break through every obstacle in her path – from the glass ceilings and near-fatal accidents on land to pirates and fires at sea!</p>

<p>Alex Morgan is a World Champion and co-captain of the US Women’s National Team. A blur on the pitch, Alex overwhelms defenders with her graceful yet attacking style, bringing defenses to their knees and fans to their feet.</p><p>A FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, UEFA Women’s Champions League Champion, and NWSL Champion, Alex is a proven winner at all levels.

<p>After 17 years, two World Championships, two Olympic Gold Medals, and near unparalleled success as a marketing icon, Mia Hamm retired from professional soccer in 2004 as not only the best women’s soccer player in history but also as one of the most important and recognizable female figures in the history of sport.