PROUD TO BE WOMAN: ALYSE NELSON

March 27th, 2009

Alyse Bloom

Alyse Bloom

We continue our “Proud to be Woman” conversation series with Alyse Nelson, President, CEO and co-founder of Vital Voices.

What inspires you?
The women leaders around the world that I have the privilege of working with through my organization continuously inspire me. Although it is our mission at Vital Voices to support them and raise them up, I am humbled and inspired everyday by their strength, tenacity and grace. They have taught me important life lessons and have shaped the way I see the world. They have taught me that leadership is not a final destination. It is not about the title you hold, or how many people report to you. Real leadership is about the actions that you take on a daily basis. It is about standing up and leading change from wherever you are, with what little resources you have.

What makes you proud to be a woman?
I think that women have an innate ability to connect and find common ground. We are able to cross the lines that typically divide us - whether they are cultural, religious, generational, socio-economic or geographic divides. I have seen women in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Africa and even in my own country put their differences aside and seek commonalities to bring about positive change in their communities. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing, a better future for our children.

What are you celebrating this month?
On March 19th, my organization honored five extraordinary women leaders from around the world at our annual leadership awards program. This month, I am celebrating each of those women for improving our world: Sadiqa Basiri Saleem, a young woman from Afghanistan who is leading a quiet revolution in her country by building schools and educating thousands of girls; Temituokpe Esisi, a Nigerian entrepreneur who is investing the profits from her business into bettering her community; Somaly Mam, a survivor of human trafficking and fearless activist working to combat this gross human rights violation; and Marceline Kongolo-Bice and Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu, two women from the Democratic Republic of Congo who are standing up and risking their lives by speaking out against rape as a weapon of war in Eastern Congo.

I am also celebrating our new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She has been a tireless advocate for women’s political, social and economic progress around the world for more than fifteen years. I admire her because she took on this cause long before it was deemed popular.

When I was just 21 years old, I heard her speak in Beijing at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. At that gathering of 55,000 women leaders from around the world she declared that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights. Since that memorable day, she has traveled to more the 80 countries around the world to stand by her commitment to women. She has used her powerful voice to speak for those who have no voice, and in doing so she has raised the issues affecting the lives of women and girls to the world stage.

She has inspired me and many others to use what voice and power we have to empower others. I can only imagine what she will do to build on this legacy as Secretary of State.

Read Chiara Clemente’s PTBW…

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