Good news from a left-wing perspective
Maria Alexe is the owner and curator of ARTCITY Gallery in Bucharest, Romania, and the President of Romanian Soroptimist Union. The events she curates reflect her dedication to promoting social issues.
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Marilyn and Les Widd are the founders of Hearts of Baja Children’s Network, an organization formed to help support children in northern Baja California, Mexico.
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Deena Metzger is a writer, storyteller and healer. She developed therapies (Healing Stories) which creatively address life threatening diseases, spiritual and emotional crises, as well as community, political and environmental disintegration.
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Rick Stoff is a longtime activist for the homeless and co-founder of Volunteer Collective. Rick believes that it is up to each of us to do our part, and to share the responsibility to help our neighbors in need.
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Valeria Aloe is an award-winning author, speaker, and founder of the Rising Together Movement, as well as Board member of LUPE Fund and Vice President of Latina Surge, non-profits that advocate for Latina equal pay, access to education, and civic engagement.
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Russell Bishop is a best-selling author, consultant, and mentor. He is the creator and CEO of Insight Seminars; a change strategy partner at Accenture; and Editorial Director at the Huffington Post.
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Anita Koroma is Founder/Country Director of Girl Child Network Sierra Leone, which supports thousands of girls from all backgrounds, as well as EcoJC Pad Enterprise, which generates funds and creates jobs by producing reusable sanitary pads
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A dedicated midwife, Mrs. Isha Daramy works to improve the lives of pregnant women and young mothers and to reduce natal mortality rate in both urban and rural areas of Sierra Leone.
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Mary Collins is Senior Policy & Advocacy Coordinator for European Women’s Lobby, a membership based organization that brings together the women’s movement in Europe to influence the general public and European Institutions in support of women’s human rights and equality between women and men.
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Laura Lind is a volunteer at Days for Girls (DfG), an award-winning NGO dedicated to ending period poverty. Though her church, she was able to go to Zimbabwe and make a DfG presentation to women in a small village.
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Laurel Airica is an English language linguist/educational entertainer, and creator of WordMagic Global: WordPlay That Unravels Mass Hypnosis –– and Elevates the Frequency of Consciousness.
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Athena Azevedo is Executive Director/Production Director for the International Brazilian Opera Company (IBOC), producing with IBOC since their “Brazilian Opera” debut concerts in 2014. She is currently spearheading the art direction and development of Wildflower, the opera by librettist Nina Smart and composer João MacDowell.
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Vijali Hamilton, a visionary sculptor, poet, musician, performance artist, and author, is the originator of the World Wheel, Global Peace Through the Arts. Her work focuses attention on environmental, spiritual, and social problems.
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Beverly Bucur is the Soroptimist International Director of Advocacy, working with the Soroptimist International UN Representatives, the Advocacy Committee and SI Board to ensure that Soroptimist International is the Global Voice For Women.
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Dr. Nina Smart is a non-violent human rights activist, sociologist, and author who educates people about female genital mutilation (FGM) and works to eradicate the practice in Sierra Leone, West Africa and prevent its spread in the US and Europe.
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Elena Timofticiuc is Executive Secretary of AIDRom–the Ecumenical Association of Churches from Romania. Beginning in 1992, her work has been dedicated to the recognition of human rights in Romania, especially of women, victims of violence and trafficking for sexual or labor exploitation.
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Shuwen Liao, Secretary General of Taiwan Coalition Against Violence (TCAV), has been working for the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence in Taiwan since 1988
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For the past 14 years, Gloria “Ginger” Cole has served in leadership positions at Soroptimist, and in September 2021, she will be installed as board director of Soroptimist International of the Americas.
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Carole Oglesby, Ph.D., first President of WomenSport International, has a career focused on women’s/gender studies in sport and sport psychology that goes back more than fifty years.
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Mariet Verhoef Cohen is Chair/President of Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) and past president of Soroptimist International Europe. She is a dedicated leader, a successful businesswoman, and an expert on water issues.
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Angela Peabody is the Executive Director and Founder of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering women and girls to help end gender-based violence, especially female genital mutilation (FGM).
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After retiring from her 37-year career as a probation officer, Lee Gale became an actress, author, public speaker, and blogger. Having developed her own second career after she retired, Lee Gale became an expert on helping seniors find fulfillment in their retirement.
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Mariya Taher is the US Executive Director and one of the founding members in of Sahiyo, an NGO founded in 2015 that works to bring an end to Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in Asian communities.
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Susan Burton is the founder and president of A New Way of Life, a program that provides reentry services for formerly incarcerated women. She strives to mitigate the effects of, and ultimately eliminate, mass incarceration.
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Maka Chikowero is a junior in high school in Madison, WI and the founder and president of MTC Educate a Girl Inc
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Lamia El Sadek, Ph.D is Managing Director of Dignity and Power Now, overseeing the organization’s operational structure and strategic direction.
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Athia Carrim is the Director of Education and Interfaith at the International Institute of Tolerance (IIT), an organization she and her husband founded in 2006.
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Jodie Evans is a political activist, author, documentary film producer, and co-founder of the women’s anti-war activist organization CODEPINK.
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Pamela Anchang is the founder and president of TIM.TV, The Immigrant Magazine TV, which provides a platform for immigrants in the United States.
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Dr. Saba Tesfayohannes is a founding member and current chair of the board of directors of ERISAT-Eritrean Satellite Television.
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Suzanne Taylor produces stimulating events, projects and experiences for sophisticated audiences with a visionary voice that challenges the status quo and helps people feel inspired to shift us from a worldview based on greed to where caring about each other is as important as caring about ourselves.
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Meymuna Hussein-Cattan and her mother, Owliya Dima, are co-founders of Tiyya Foundation. As refugees, they knew first-hand the challenges refugees face in resettlement.
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Lynda “Sunnye” D. Simpson is Vice President, Resource Development at the Tuskeegee Airmen Scholarship Foundation (TASF.) Working for this organization is a way of keeping a family legacy alive.
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Senait Admassu, MSW is the founder of the African Communities Public Health Coalition (ACPHC), a Los Angeles based non profit organization which was created from her passion and understanding of the complexities of underserved African Communities.
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Roya Adjory was featured in May, 2016 for her work in creating a green hair salon, for which she received a Climate Leader Award and Green Salon Certification. In her search for better and safer salon products, Roya discovered Natulique, a line of products that are organic and free of toxic chemicals. She has become their California distributor, and she has also begun political advocacy work to pass laws requiring safer products and more transparent labeling.
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Giselle Malluche is the founder of Change to Humanity, a charity serving the homeless and food-insecure in Atlanta and Clarkston, GA.
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Annelise Schinzinger is an expert in caregiving for the elderly and dying and the author of The Art and Science of Caregiving: Stories of Inspiring Elders with an End-of-Life Guidebook
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Zebiba Shekhia built a high school for girls in the Eritrean refugee camp in Sudan. Opened in 2010, the school has graduated more than 500 children.
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Amanuel “Aman” Berhe is the founder and president of African Missions Empowering Network, (AMEN), a faith-based-Community organization dedicated to advancing health, education, empowerment and solidarity among Eritrean refugees.
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Rebecca Paida, MPH, CHES is Senior Program Manager at Nile Sisters Development Initiative (NSDI) in San Diego where she provides a wide range of services, including supervision, needs assessment, dialog with the community and with decision makers, and direct service.
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Dr. Gold will receive the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles President’s Award for the Service Unit at the upcoming Annual Girl Scouts Volunteer Ceremony on April 13th for her work to make Santa Monica Girl Scouts exceptional.
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Soula SAAD is a writer, producer, and director whose images and music transcend borders. Since 2010 Soula has been developing a series of films on the feminine voice of the planet.
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Yasmin Kadir is the executive assistant and Program Coordinator for Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV), where she has coordinated and implemented national and local programs. Yasmin is also a 2018-2019 NewGround Change-maker Fellow.
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Stefania Magidson is the founder and president of Blue Heron Foundation, one of the largest non-profit organizations in the Romanian diaspora. Romanian-born, she has lived in the United States since 1983.
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Joanne Manzella is a web developer, photographer, and graphic designer and a lifelong resident of Santa Monica, CA. Because of her...
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Dr. Wen Chen is an activist for Chinese culture and human rights. She was born in China during the Great Cultural Revolution and eventually won a national prize at a science competition when she was 16. She came to the U.S. for graduate school and received a doctorate degree in Biology
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Stephanie LaMotta is the founder of Death Row Dogs Rescue. In addition to dogs, Stephanie has rescued cats, fish, birds, pigs, horses, goats, sheep, and chickens. Over the past 31 years, she has rescued about 3000 animals.
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Monalisa Okojie is the founder and president of Upward African Woman (UAW) to help eliminate the poverty, illiteracy, and hopelessness confronting women and children in Africa and within our own city of Los Angeles.
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Jackie Behling is the founder and executive director of Global One Development Center. She had become aware of the problem of...
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Sheila Laffey, Ph.D. is an award-winning producer/director of documentaries and short dramatic films and Adjunct Professor of Film...
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Cameron Gharabikiou is the co-founder of Justice Law Group and current candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California. Cameron and...
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Carol Rosenstein is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of MusicMendsMinds, Inc. Carol and her husband, Irwin, founded...
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Lila Silvern, pictured with her sons Drew and Eric, is the founder of the Drew Silvern affiliate, a non-profit chapter of Scholarship...
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Juliet Béynon serves as project director for K9 connection, a nonprofit program that re-shapes the lives of teens in at-risk...
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Jay S, Grossman, DDS is the Founder and CEO of Homeless Not Toothless, a 501C(3) non profit program providing free dental care to the...
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Ameeta is an artist living and working in Venice, CA. Born to Indian parents in Nairobi, Kenya, she studied art in London. She has...
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Jack Nordhaus, PhD has been a volunteer with Perfect Pet Rescue (www.perfectpetrescue.com), a West Los Angeles-based dog adoption...
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Janine Jordan is the founder of Green Wave, a non-profit in Costa Rica. In her own words: My name is Janine Jordan. I am an artivist...
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Aziza Hasan, M.A. is Executive Director of NewGround: Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. Aziza has been part of the NewGround team...
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Mary Wright’s ethereal art has always been inspired by nature. Mary is guided by the interrelation between the four elements – air,...
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Ronda Spinak, pictured on the left with Salma Hayek and JWT’s PR consultant, Maureen Rubin, is producer and artistic director of...
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I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1994. I then thought my life was over, but it has carried on quite happily. After...
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Mollie Hogan is the founder and president of Nature of Wildworks. She started out as a professional singer, but switched careers...
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David Sonnenschein’s passions of art, science and communication guide the mission of his company iQsonics. A neuroscientist,...
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Sandra Beckwith is the author of two ebook series teaching civility and ethics to kids: Master Keys for Kids and A Manner for All...
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Mary Ann Webster is a veteran Sierra Club member and environmental activist who has served over 20 years as Chair for the Santa...
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Sita Lozoff is the co-director of the Human Kindness Foundation (HKF), a project she founded with her late husband Bo Lozoff more...
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Dr. Nina Smart was born in communist Romania and spent her teenage years in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Following her own harrowing...
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Danielle Levy’s life goal is to contribute toward the creation of unity among all people. To do this, she uses a framework of higher...
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Bea Ammidown was born in New York, educated in Paris and Switzerland, and has had careers as an editor for Life Magazine and Harper’s...
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Shane Johnson is 15 years old. For the last three years he has been working with an organization that finds adoptive homes for dogs,...
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Anne de la Bouillerie (known as Annie Goeke) has been a noted leader in the Greens and Peace movement worldwide for over a decade...
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Dorothy Reik is founder and President of Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains, and owner of a daily listserve which is...
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Having developed her own second career after she retired, Lee Gale Gruen has become an expert on helping seniors find fulfillment in...
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Our first featured reader is Roya Adjory. I met her when I finished chemotherapy and was desperately looking for a hair salon free...
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