women shaping

our future

2024 campaign unveiled

“We created the Women for Change initiative for this reason: driving attention to these amazing Women changemakers, giving them concrete opportunities to connect with those who can bring significant value to their projects.We reveal the portraits of 25 women who we believe will have a massive positive impact not just on their communities but also on the world in the next ten years.“

Garance Aulagne
Women for Change Leader

25 women shaping the future

Meet 25 women who will have a massive positive impact on the world in the next ten years. Discover those women’s unique and powerful stories. They push boundaries and are a powerful call to action for a better future, where humanity must address pressing challenges such as climate, resources, biodiversity, and the human factor.

Climate

Carine de Meyere

President & Founder, Public Speaker

Venture Partner, Impact Investor

Bio

Carine de Meyere, a global visionary humanitarian and human rights activist, is renowned for her dedication to financial and digital female empowerment. Recognized as one of the Top 50 Global Inspiring Women to Watch in 2022, an inspiring female leader in 2023, and a Woman of the Future Top 100 in 2024, she currently serves as President of the global women's platform 'Women of the World.'

Impact

In 2021, Carine initiated the Hurry Up Group, uniting 225 changemakers to address the slow progress in climate solutions. The group's mission is to expedite funding for innovation, fostering a sense of community and support for individuals actively contributing to the climate cause.

Elise Buckle

Co-Founder

SHE Changes Climate

Bio

Elise Buckle is a globally recognized climate leader. She is CEO of Climate & Sustainability, SHE Changes Climate Co-Founder, International Gender Champions Climate Impact Group Co-Chair.

Impact

With a talented and diverse global team, we grew a network of 300+ partners, advocating for inclusion and diversity at all levels of decision-making, uniting for climate solutions. The online Summit we hosted with Project Dandelion and the COP28 Presidency triggered a butterfly effect, reaching 12 million views, 60+ media outlets, showcasing the power of women leaders uniting for the phase out of fossil fuels. The COP29 Presidency responded to our call for gender balance and appointed 12 women on its organizing committee which originally had none.

Flavia Neves Maia

President

Filha do Sol

Bio

Dr. Flavia Neves Maia, a globally recognized speaker, writer, and consultant in leadership, climate justice, and gender equity, holds prestigious titles such as Obama Scholar and Dalai Lama Fellow. As the President of Filha do Sol, a Brazilian non-profit advocating for frontline women's leadership in nature regeneration and climate resilience, she is actively fundraising for Brazil's inaugural Women-led Climate School.

Impact

Living in the frontlines and with a 13-years journey, Dr. Maia integrates political action with a profound love for humanity and the Earth. Engaged in diverse networks (4,000+ leaders worldwide), her mission is to help build the next generation of climate leaders, people who, according to her, will care about emotions as much as about emissions.

Happy Itros Sanga

Co-Founder and Project Lead

Green Craft Academy

Bio

Happy is a Tanzanian Women@Dior Alumni championing women's education and climate action through her organization, Green Craft Academy. She trains Tanzanian girls who are school dropouts to design eco-crafts by upcycling clothes and recycling plastics. In 2023, she won the Dream for Change Award organized by UNESCO and Dior.

Impact

In Tanzania, 1 out of 5 girls drops out of school to become a domestic worker for financial stability. Each year Happy supports 10-15 school dropout girls to start their eco-businesses through her organization. The goal is to improve their living standards and even get back to school.

Nasha A.C Cuvelier

Co-founder,

Sustentabilidad Sin Fronteras (SSF)

Bio

Environmental Scientist and Climate Change Action specialist. Co-founder of SSF (Sustainability Without Borders) in Argentina, an organization dedicated to climate justice in Latin America. With over a decade of experience, she leads socio-environmental impact projects.

Impact

Over the past 10 years, Nasha has led projects that include organizing local (with +600 empowered youth) and regional climate change conferences. By now we've connected over 350 organizations, reaching over 10,000 members in Latin America. The resulting advocacy document in 2023 garnered over 55,000 supporting signatures and was presented to various authorities at COP29.

Rumee Singh

CEO & Co-Founder

Rumsan

Bio

Rumee, CEO of a UNICEF Innovation Fund portfolio startup, leads Rahat - a financial access platform addressing climate impact and fostering inclusion for the most vulnerable. A 2023 MIT Solver, Rumee's commitment extends to building financial resilience for small-holder farmers. With over 20 years of global leadership, she is celebrated among Nepal's leading women in tech.

Impact

Rahat has positively impacted 18,000+ beneficiaries and built access to 100+ communities. As a GSMA Innovation Fund grantee, her team is currently working to streamline efforts for timely humanitarian responses for vulnerable households in flood-prone regions. Rumee also founded a non-profit addressing the stress of blood management in Nepal, and her initiative has saved over 23,000 lives.

Sandrine Dixson-Declève

Co-President

Club of Rome

Bio

Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, a humanitarian and planetary solutionist, has spent 35 years improving lives within planetary boundaries. Through the UN, governments, business leaders, and civil society, she addresses complex challenges, facilitates conversations, and advocates transformative policies. She is a globally recognized author, TED speaker, and award winner.

Impact

Sandrine shaped EU/global legislation on air quality, auto emissions, fuel quality, chemicals, environmental management, sustainable finance, food systems, and energy. Achievements include founding the WTO Environment Committee (1995), implementing the first Environmental Management System on a nuclear facility (1997), and establishing the Green Growth Platform with EU Ministers (2013). In 2019, she founded WECAN to empower women in European institutions and co-authored Earth4All (2022), translated into 10 languages.

Victoria Herrmann

Geographer & storyteller

Preserving Legacy Initiative

Bio

Victoria Herrmann is a National Geographic Explorer that works to support communities to adapt to the climate crisis. She is a Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute and the Executive Director of Preserving Legacies, an initiative that empowers communities worldwide with scientific knowledge and technical training to safeguard their cultural heritage.

Impact

Climate change is the fastest growing threat to historic sites and the greatest danger to our planet’s most spectacular natural heritage. I’m on a mission to empower every community to safeguard the places they love by increasing access to heritage adaptation and transforming conservation as a field to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.

biodiversity

Anne Sophie Roux

Founder

tēnaka

Bio

Anne-Sophie Roux is a French activist who advocates for the preservation of the ocean. In 2019, she founded tēnaka, a social business dedicated to restore coastal ecosystems by committing companies to multi-year regeneration programmes. Tēnaka enables companies to invest in coral and mangrove restoration operations, which are incredible carbon sinks.

Impact

She leads the European campaign against deep sea mining for the Sustainable Ocean Alliance and participates in the negotiations to prevent this industry from starting in international waters. Together with this NGO, she is working more than 4,000 meters under the sea, in the abyss, to preserve the ocean ecosystem.

Diana Donlon

Co-Founder & Executive Director

Soil Centric

Bio

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Diana Donlon has spent 30+ years on Team Mother Nature. As Co-Founder and Executive Director of the public interest organization Soil Centric, she works across generations to connect people to climate solutions grounded in regenerative agriculture and ecosystem restoration.

Impact

" A passionate advocate for healthy soil, Diana highlights the many ways we have more agency to act on climate than we realize. She created Soil Centric to connect people to emerging opportunities to heal the earth via reviving ecosystems and farming in alignment with nature. "

Elise Van Middelem

Founder and CEO

SUGi

Bio

Elise Van Middelem is a mission-driven leader known for fostering public engagement and collective action. Elise has built powerful coalitions amongst diverse groups to deliver on a common purpose. She created SUGi as a catalyzing network of expert forest makers and community keepers dedicated to greening cities & reimagining urban life.

Impact

Elise has grown SUGi from a grassroots movement to a leading voice for Nature-based Solutions; planting over 184 pocket forests in 40 cities worldwide. SUGi makes biodiversity, restoration, climate resilience, and community wellbeing visible, accessible, and measurable. Moreover, SUGi chronicles the impact of each forest & community as they thrive together.

Farwiza Farhan

Chairperson

Forest Nature and Environment Aceh Foundation / Yayasan HAkA

Bio

Farwiza Farhan is a forest conservationist working to protect, conserve, and restore the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra, Indonesia. Farhan holds a firm belief that conservation should not be an exclusive club, rather, a network of stakeholders – from indigenous communities to ecologists, lawyers and policy makers, international nonprofits and private sectors – sharing this planet together.

Impact

The organization Forest, Nature and Environment Aceh have led multiple successful campaigns to prevent exploitative activities from destroying the forest of the Leuser Ecosystem. We have trained hundreds of community paralegal, supported Community Patrol Team, Engage government to reform development and planning policies as well as build a broad coalition of actors to engage in forest protection.

Nathalie Aue Obregón

Co-founder

Oceanmar Project e.V.

Bio

Nathalie Aue, a Venezuelan, transitioned from a corporate career to a pioneering role in ocean conservation. Pursuing a Master's in Marine Biology at the University College of Cork, she co-founded the Oceanmar Project, focusing on empowering people in ocean conservation, educating children and adults on environmental stewardship, and working in research in three continents.

Impact

Nathalie's impact resonates profoundly within ocean conservation and education. Through Oceanmar Project, she has facilitated transformative experiences, fostering a deeper understanding of environmental stewardship. Her advocacy efforts as a speaker have amplified awareness about the vital role oceans play in our lives, inspiring action and engagement in conservation efforts globally. Nathalie's commitment to research and collaboration underscores her dedication to addressing pressing environmental challenges.

Valy Phommachak

CEO and Co-founder

Econox Laos

Bio

Valy Phommachak is an ecologist and environmental journalist specializing in Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation who has founded Econox Laos. Under Econox Laos, she founded Econews Laos, an environmental news platform in Laos to help amplify youth voices on environmental and social issues.

Impact

She has led projects to protect about 200 hectares of watershed forest and wetland in Laos, estimated to contribute to 1,600 tons of carbon sequestration per year. Plastic Free Laos has engaged hospitality businesses across Laos and their regular customers in single-use plastics reduction. Leading young environmental journalists of the country under Econews Laos to voice out about environmental impacts, sustainability and equality.

Resources

Anne & Johanna Lamp & Baare

Founders

traceless materials GmbH

Bio

"Founded in 2020 in Hamburg by Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare, traceless materials GmbH is revolutionizing the circular bioeconomy. Their innovative technology converts plant leftovers into traceless®, a sustainable plastic alternative. With a mission to replace plastics on a large scale, the company is currently scaling-up their production capacities. "

Impact

Driven by a holistic approach, traceless aims to combat global plastic pollution as well as climate change, resource scarcity, and biodiversity loss. Their life-cycle assessment demonstrates traceless®'s positive impact across various indicators, reinforcing their commitment to a sustainable future.

Karishma Swali

Creative Director of Chanakya International, Founder of Chanakya School of Craft

Chanakya International and Chanakya School of Craft

Bio

Karishma Swali helms Chanakya International, a global textile house established in 1984, committed to the preservation, conservation, and revival of India's cultural heritage. Karishma collaborates with generations of art aficionados, preservers, and advocates towards a singular aim: to ensure that the magic of artisans lives forever.

Impact

The Chanakya School of Craft has taught over 1000 women to-date, across all ages and socio-economic backgrounds forming a strong community of skilled, autonomous women. Upskilling underprivileged women, through education, is a critical step towards breaking the cycle of poverty and enabling them and their communities to achieve a sense of self-sufficiency and empowerment.

Shomy Hasan Chowdhury

Co-Founder

Awareness 360

Bio

Shomy Hasan Chowdhury, a prominent WASH activist from Bangladesh, co-founded Awareness 360, empowering youths globally for the UN Global Goals. With over a decade of community development experience, she's honored by Samsung Global and UNDP, named Forbes 30 Under 30, McCain Global Leader, and received prestigious awards, including from President Obama and The Diana Legacy Award.

Impact

Following her mother's untimely passing due to diarrhea in 2014, Shomy committed herself to ensuring universal access to clean water and sanitation, especially for marginalized communities. Through her global nonprofit, Awareness 360, she has engaged thousands of youths across 40+ nations, positively impacting over 2.1 million people. Renowned for her compelling speeches worldwide, Shomy catalyzes policy transformations and ignites inspiration among millions.

Talash Huijbers

CEO

InsectiPro

Bio

Talash Huijbers is the founder and CEO of InsectiPro, an insect-rearing farm producing insect-based food, feed and fertilizer products for communities across East Africa. Her vision is to transform food systems across Africa driven by a passion to create fair, circular and sustainable local food value chains.

Impact

Talash's work drives positive environmental and nutritional benefits across East Africa. By upcycling >20,000T of organic waste that would otherwise go into landfills, her work has provided >5,000 farmers with affordable, high quality, locally sourced inputs, and off-setting >17,000T of carbon. Her work is an inspiration to many young people across East Africa to lead in developing local solutions to address the challenges of climate change.

Human Factor

Alice de Maximy

Founder

HKIND / Femmes de Santé

Bio

Alice is a specialist in public health. She worked at Public Health France, the Regional Health Agency and the European Commission before founding the Femmes de Santé (“Women in Health”) collective, which works for fairer, more equitable and more egalitarian health, through collective, multidisciplinary intelligence and sisterhood.

Impact

"The work of the 2600 Femmes de Santé (Women in Health) has advanced the cause of women's health. Many of their proposals have been included in the 2023-2024 national equality plan. The collective has also put in place a whole series of initiatives to promote the (little-recognised) expertise of women in the health sector"

Ashu Martha Agbornyenty

Founder & Executive Director

For Mom and Baby Foundation

Bio

Ashu Martha Agbornyenty is an award winning Midwife|Reproductive Health Specialist, author, blogger via Marthie’s Midwifery DIARY, and passionate advocate for maternal and child health in Cameroon. She is the Executive Director of "For Mom and Baby" Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Cameroon.

Impact

My mission is to ensure women or children do not die during birth. In 2 years, my team and I, at the For Mom and Baby Foundation, have engaged 1,200+ pregnant women across 22 crisis-stricken communities and hospitals distributing 300+ emergency kits in the fight against postpartum haemorrhage in Cameroon.

Emtithal Mahmoud

Senior Growth Manager

Speetar

Bio

Emtithal Mahmoud continuously raises awareness about the ongoing violences in Darfur and uses her poetry to advocate for the cause of refugees in general. Emtithal became the youngest World Poetry Slam Champion, one of BBC’s 100 Most Inspirational Women, and the 2016 Women of the World co-champion.

Impact

In 2017, she organized the first completely inclusive civilian peace talks across Sudan as part of her One Girl Walk and Dreams for Peace Initiative. In 2018, she walked 1000 km in 30 days from Darfur to Khartoum, mobilizing thousands of people along the way. Her first collection of poetry and first publication, Sisters’ Entrance reached across diasporas, languages, and barriers, amplifying women and girls’ voices.

Hafsat Abiola

President

Women in Africa

Bio

Hafsat Abiola, a Harvard and Tsinghua-educated economist and humanist, leads the Women in Africa Initiative, co-founded Connected Women Leaders, and co-leads Project Dandelion, focusing on women's global mobilization for sustainable development. Witnessing both her parents lead her country's democracy struggle, which led to their deaths, and serving in government, reinforces her conviction that women have a crucial role in improving the state of the world.

Impact

Under Hafsat Abiola's leadership, the Women in Africa Initiative has impacted 54 countries by assisting 15,000+ startups, mentoring 1,200+ women and girls, providing digital training to 400+ girls, and building a 194K+ member community. Additionally, Project Dandelion has engaged 485 million people through its campaigns.

Kristina Lunz

Entrepreneur, Author, Activist

Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy

Bio

Kristina Lunz, a dedicated advocate for women's and human rights, co-founded the world's first non-profit fully committed to feminist foreign policy. Her 2022 bestseller, "The Future of Foreign Policy is Feminist" led to global engagements at NYC, Harvard, and Oxford. Recognized in Forbes' "30 under 30" in Europe (2019), she represented Germany in Giorgio Armani's 2022 Female Empowerment Campaign, "Crossroads".

Impact

Kristina advises countries on feminist foreign policies. In 2014, her campaign against sexism in Europe’s largest newspaper, "Bild," resulted in the drop of topless, sexualized women models. Launching the 2016 "No Means No" campaign for UN Women in Germany, she contributed to a legal change addressing sexualized violence in her country that same year.

Maria Ressa

CEO

Rappler

Bio

Maria Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist who became known for detailing the weaponization of social media and for exposing government corruption and human rights violations. She co-founded Rappler, a Manila-based digital only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines.

Impact

Her reportage provoked a reaction from the Philippine government and she became an international symbol of the struggle for press freedom in hostile circumstances. She was on of the two journalists awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence, and growing authoritarianism in her native country.

Racha Haffar

Founder

Youth Against Slavery Movement

Bio

Racha Haffar is an Arab-American award-winning gender justice and anti-human trafficking activist and modern slavery activist. At the age of 24, Racha decided to dedicate her life to combating human trafficking and modern slavery after realizing she almost got trafficked while looking for jobs abroad to support her education.

Impact

I founded Not 4 Trade Organization as the first local anti-human trafficking NGO in Tunisia. Then in 2021, I co-founded the Youth Against Slavery Movement and the Anti Slavery Collective for Generation Equality Forum to prevent other youth from becoming victims and to ensure everyone learns about these crimes.