Gail Straub is co-founder and executive director of the Empowerment Institute and one of the world’s leading authorities on women’s empowerment who co-directs the Institute’s School for Transformative Social Change, empowering change agents worldwide to design and implement cutting-edge social innovations. Co-founder of IMAGINE: A Global Initiative for the Empowerment of Women, Straub helps women heal from violence, build strong lives, and contribute to their communities through initiatives underway throughout Africa, Afghanistan, India, and the Middle East, while serving as consultant to organizations including the Chinese Women’s Federation, Women for Women International, World Pulse, and the Omega Women’s Leadership Center. Author of five books including the bestselling “Empowerment: The Art of Creating Your Life As You Want It” (co-authored with husband David Gershon), the critically acclaimed “The Rhythm of Compassion: Caring for Self, Connecting with Society,” and the award-winning feminist memoir “Returning to My Mother’s House: Taking Back the Wisdom of the Feminine,” plus contributor to “Enlightened Power: How Women Are Transforming the Practice of Leadership.” Early in her career, Straub served as international director for the First Earth Run, a historic planetwide peace initiative cosponsored by UNICEF and ABC Television in 1986 during the Cold War, where 25 million people in sixty-two countries participated as a torch of peace was passed around the world, garnering recognition from forty-five heads of state and raising millions for the world’s neediest children. Having served in the Peace Corps in West Africa and on boards including Omega Institute and the Russian American Initiative, Straub demonstrates how women’s empowerment and global peace initiatives are interconnected aspects of planetary healing.
Why their voice matters: Straub demonstrates that women’s empowerment is not just a gender issue but a critical component of global transformation, showing how supporting women to heal from trauma and develop their leadership capacities creates ripple effects that strengthen families, communities, and peace-building efforts worldwide while proving that personal empowerment and social change are inseparable processes.