List of 8 items.

• Shabana Basij-Rasikh

  Shabana Basij-Rasikh is the co-founder and president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA). SOLA is the first and only boarding school for Afghan girls, operating in Kabul from 2016 through 2021 and the Taliban’s return to power. In August 2021, Shabana led the evacuation of her entire school community from Afghanistan to Rwanda, where SOLA reestablished its operations and its students resumed their studies; in 2024, SOLA expanded into the digital realm with the launch of SOLAx, a WhatsApp-based online academy with nearly 15,000 students currently enrolled. Shabana is a 2011 magna cum laude graduate of Middlebury College and holds a Master in Public Policy from Oxford University. In 2023, she received the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year award from the National Geographic Society.

• Esmé Bianco

  Esmé Bianco is a dynamic British actress, widely recognized for her standout roles in Game of Thrones, The Magicians, and Supergirl. She studied at Goldsmiths College London, where she nurtured her passion for the arts. Beyond her acting career, Esmé is a committed advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She co-created the groundbreaking Phoenix Act, which has twice extended the statute of limitations on domestic violence crimes in California. Her courageous testimony before the California Assembly and her highly publicized legal battle against her abuser have inspired many, and her story of resilience has been featured on Good Morning America, and in Rolling Stone, LA Times, and New York Magazine. Her latest initiative, Visionary Survivor Creative Fund, focuses on healing through survivor-led artistic projects, underscoring her dedication to amplifying the stories and experiences of those affected by abuse.

• Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox

  Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox is Senator-Elect for Senate District 22 in the Connecticut General Assembly. She currently serves as Chair of the Department of Justice and Law, and Professor of Legal Studies at Quinnipiac University. She is also Executive Director of the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights and a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar. Sujata was earlier appointed by Governor Ned Lamont to serve as a Commissioner on the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities in Connecticut (CHRO). Her appointment was unanimously confirmed by the Connecticut General Assembly in both the House and the Senate. Sujata teaches classes in comparative constitutional law, constitutional law, public international law, human rights law, and introduction to law, among other subjects. Sujata has worked with students to implement principles of community action planning in the local community and has organized human rights workshops at the United Nations and Oxford University. She received her B.A. in Government from Cornell University, her MPhil in Politics from the New School, and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Prior to coming to Quinnipiac, she served as the program director of Juvenile Law, a non-profit legal education program helping students understand their rights and responsibilities under the law, and before that worked as a litigation associate. Sujata has presented papers, given podcasts, and published articles on domestic violence law in India, First Amendment jurisprudence in the United States, and legal pluralism in constitutional discourse. And her work in political engagement is discussed in her Tedx Talk on a politics of the public good. Sujata is interested in understanding how different voices and perspectives came to shape constitutional principles and conceptions of justice in both the United States and Indian Constitutions, and is currently writing a book on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the drafting of the Indian Constitution.

• Catherine Gray

  Catherine Gray is an author, producer of Show Her the Money movie, General Partner of Silicon Valley Women Founders Fund, keynote and TEDx speaker, and host of Invest in Her podcast. Catherine is also the Founder of She Angel Investors and Co-Founder of the She Angels Foundation.

• Kathryn Hahn

  Oakwood parent Kathryn Hahn is a versatile and critically acclaimed actress known for her dynamic performances in both comedy and drama. Hahn gained widespread recognition for her roles in popular TV series such as Parks and Recreation and Transparent, as well as in films like Step Brothers, Bad Moms, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Her ability to seamlessly shift between humor and emotional depth has made her a standout in projects like WandaVision, where she earned acclaim for her role as Agatha Harkness. With her sharp comedic timing and compelling dramatic range, Hahn continues to captivate audiences in diverse roles across Hollywood. As an avid and passionate activist, she is excited to collaborate with the Gender Justice Summit and work towards generational change. 

• María Pacheco

  María Pacheco, a Guatemalan biologist, is dedicated to creating value chains that restore ecosystems, honor ancestral cultures, and transform cycles of poverty into prosperity. She co-founded Wakami, an international lifestyle B-Corp brand that connects rural communities to global markets, empowering artisans and promoting sustainable livelihoods. María also co-founded the Central American and Guatemalan chapters of Vital Voices, championing women's leadership and economic development across the region. Her ventures include Nativos S.A., which generates over $1 million annually with fiber bands for Ron Zacapa rum, and El Conejo de Sacalá, a reforestation initiative improving rural livelihoods. Globally recognized, María has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Vital Voices Global Economic Development Award (2007), the Diane von Furstenberg Foundation Award (2016), the Stephan Schmidheiny Award for Innovation in Latin America (2016), the INCAE Challenge Award (2015), and the Fortune Most Powerful Women Award (2017). She also won third place in the Chivas The Venture global contest (2016). Currently, she’s the president of Wakami and serves as a Fellow and Moderator for the Aspen Institute in Central America.

• Anna Deavere Smith

  Anna Deavere Smith is a writer and actress. She’s credited with having created a new form of theater. Her plays, sometimes called “docudramas,” focus on contemporary issues from multiple points of view and are composed from excerpts of hundreds of interviews. Plays, and films based on them, include Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles, both of which dealt with volatile race events in the 1990s; Let Me Down Easy, about the US healthcare system; and Notes from the Field, which focused on the school-to-prison pipeline. Her work as an actress on television includes Inventing Anna, The West Wing, Nurse Jackie, and Black-ish. Mainstream movies include Philadelphia, The American President, Rachel Getting Married, and Here Today.  President Obama awarded Smith the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. She was the 2015 Jefferson Lecturer. She’s the recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, several Obie awards, two Drama Desk awards, the George Polk Career Award in Journalism, and the Dean’s Medal from the Stanford University School of Medicine. She was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize and nominated for two Tony Awards. She’s a University Professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has several honorary doctorate degrees including those from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Spelman College, Prairie View University, Juilliard, and Oxford.

• Candace Clark Trinchieri

  Candace Clark Trinchieri is an award-winning author, advocate, and leader in menstrual equity, reproductive care, infertility, and family-building access. A survivor of four and a half years of assisted reproductive technology—including nine rounds of IVF, two major surgeries, multiple miscarriages, a failed surrogacy attempt, an egg donor, and a life-saving D&C—Candace’s journey ultimately led to parenthood through open adoption. Her lifelong battle with endometriosis and fibroids ignited her early advocacy for menstrual health, raising awareness about its impact on young women’s opportunities. Featured in the documentary One More Shot, which chronicles the raw realities of infertility, her story has resonated with audiences worldwide. As a Board Member of The Pad Project, Candace uses her voice to combat period poverty, end stigmas and ensure sustainable access to menstrual products and education. A former RESOLVE Ambassador and Vice Chair of Policy and Education, she has lobbied Congress on reproductive rights and equitable care, becoming a steadfast champion for women and reproductive health. She is also the best-selling author of Dream, Redefined: The Struggle and Success Through Infertility as a Woman of Color, which amplifies the voices of BIPOC women and the LGBTQIA+ community. Through her tireless advocacy, Candace empowers others to reclaim their health, redefine their dreams, and build their futures with resilience and hope.