- Women`s Refugee Commission

WOMEN’S REFUGEE COMMISSION
2012 VOICES
OF
COURAGE
AWARDS
PROTECTING & EMPOWERING DISPLACED ADOLESCENT GIRLS
CONGRATULATIONS
AND THANK YOU!
TO SARAH COSTA,
FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP
TO OLGA CANTARERO
AND
RIM TEKIE SOLOMON,
FOR YOUR COURAGE AND DETERMINATION
TO MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS,
SUPPORTERS OF THE WORK OF
THE WOMEN’S REFUGEE COMMISSION
Dina Dublon
Voices of Courage Awards Luncheon
Friday, May 4, 2012
Welcome
Liv Ullmann, Honorary Chair
Remarks
Sarah Costa, Executive Director
Video
“Protecting and Empowering Displaced Adolescent Girls”
Honoree
Olga Cantarero
Presented by Maria Hinojosa
Remarks
Jocelyn Cunningham, Board Co-chair
Luncheon Service
Remarks
Robin Fray Carey, Board Co-chair
“Nzamuye Amashimwe” (“I Raise My Thanks”)
Sandra Uwiringiyi’mana & Adele Kibasumba
Honoree
Rim Tekie Solomon
Presented by Sakena Yacoobi
Video
“A Tribute to Dina Dublon”
Presented by Jeffrey C. Walker
Honoree
Dina Dublon
Presented by Indra Nooyi
Closing
Welcome and a Special Thank You
It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to the Women’s Refugee
Commission’s 2012 Voices of Courage Awards Luncheon.
Today we gather to honor and celebrate three extraordinary women who
work with great passion and purpose to improve the lives of displaced
women and girls. They are courageous leaders in their communities, and
they are leveraging their unique experiences to bring hope and healing to
refugees and asylum seekers around the world.
Olga Cantarero, originally from Nicaragua, works with immigrant and
asylum-seeking girls in Texas, many of whom have suffered terrifying
experiences during their journeys to the United States. Rim Tekie Solmon,
who fled Sudan with her mother and five younger siblings, helps pregnant
adolescent girls from Africa adjust to life in Israel. Dina Dublon, one of
the first women leaders on Wall Street, is a passionate advocate for the
advancement of women and girls and has mobilized countless people to
support this cause.
The tireless efforts of these remarkable women are bringing about positive
changes for displaced women and girls, and we are thrilled to honor them
for their contributions.
We are also delighted that so many distinguished leaders are able to
participate in our program today, including, of course, our Founding Chair,
Liv Ullmann.
Sarah Costa
Executive Director
Robin Fray Carey
Board Co-Chair
We’re especially excited to welcome sisters Sandra Uwiringiyi’mana and
Adele Kibasumba, and we can’t wait to hear their beautiful voices today.
In addition, we are tremendously grateful for our incredible staff, board
members, commissioners and volunteers: they inspire us every day with
their unwavering commitment to rethinking and resolving problems.
Finally, we sincerely thank all of you—our host committee, sponsors
and supporters—for your generosity and partnership. It is our hope that,
through our collective efforts, the women and girls that we serve around
the world will one day become remarkable leaders like those we honor
onstage today.
Jocelyn Cunningham
Board Co-Chair
Olga Cantarero
Honoree
“I want to be the voice for women and girls
in immigration detention. I want them to
know that people care about them, that we
are listening and that we can help them.”
Olga Cantarero was raised to believe in the importance of helping people. But her work as a volunteer
for the Red Cross was seen as subversive and, with her life at risk, she was forced to flee her native
Nicaragua at age 19. For months, Olga endured a harrowing journey through Central America and
Mexico at the hands of smugglers. At times she walked throughout the night with no food or water,
passing the bodies of women and children who had died on the treacherous journey.
Once she reached the United States, she was forced to work seven days a week as a house maid
to pay off the debt she owed her smuggler. When she was released, Olga found jobs cleaning
and babysitting. She took English classes at the Refugees of Peace Program, and later became a
volunteer with that organization. One thing led to another, and soon she was volunteering at two
agencies that helped detained asylum seekers.
Olga currently works at the International Emergency Shelter in Los Fresnos, Texas, with 13- to
17-year-olds who faced persecution in their home countries or suffered traumas similar to those she
herself faced during their journeys to the United States. The shelter helps children reunite with their
families in the United States, or places them in foster care until their legal cases are finalized.
“We try to keep them focused on the future,” says Olga. “I tell them, ‘I know so many young women
who were once in your shoes and who now lead successful, happy lives.’”
Rim Tekie Solomon
Honoree
“Everything I learned, I learned by myself.
It’s difficult not having any friends or anybody to help you. I just want to help the girls
so they don’t feel alone.”
Born in a refugee camp in Sudan to Eritrean parents, Rim Tekie Solomon moved to the capital city,
Khartoum, with her family when she was still a baby. Her happy childhood was disrupted when she
was 15; her family was in danger and had to leave the country immediately to avoid being deported.
Rim, her five younger siblings and her mother set out on a terrifying journey. Leaving all their
belongings behind, they fled first to Cairo and then crossed the Sinai Desert on foot to reach Israel.
When they arrived in Israel, they were held in a detention center for five months, under the constant
watch of guards. Although there was no school, Rim was able to teach herself Hebrew by talking
with the Israeli student volunteers who came to play with the children in the shelter. Soon she began
translating for women and children so they could talk to the judge and explain their asylum claims.
After her family was released from the shelter, Rim graduated from high school and now works at the
UN refugee agency and for the African Refugee Development Center, translating for asylum seekers.
She also volunteers with Hagar & Miriam—African and Israeli Women in Friendship and Motherhood,
helping young African asylum seekers who are pregnant or new mothers. Hagar & Miriam is a program
of two Israeli NGOs, Topaz—Leading Social Innovations, and Brit Olam—International Volunteering
and Development. Rim teaches Sudanese and Eritrean girls how to stay safe and prepare for life in
Israel. “At that age [9 –13], they don’t know what’s right and wrong,” says Rim. “The girls need to know
more about the culture to be able to protect themselves.”
She is planning to apply for university next year so she can fulfill her dream to study medicine and
become a pediatrician.
Dina Dublon
Honoree
“Going to Rwanda after the genocide and
meeting with women was so inspiring.
Wherever we went, the recurring theme
was ‘We’re not hopeless, we’re not helpless and we’re not just victims.’”
Dina Dublon is a pioneer in advancing women and promoting gender equity in both the corporate and
nonprofit worlds. Born and raised in Brazil, she got her bachelor’s degree in Israel and her master’s
degree at Carnegie Mellon University. She began her corporate career with Chemical Bank as a
management trainee on the trading floor in 1981, rising to become the first (and to date the only)
female chief financial officer and executive vice president of JPMorgan Chase in 1998.
In 2000, Dina traveled from the boardrooms of Wall Street to postwar Rwanda, participating in a
10-day trip with the Women’s Refugee Commission to talk to women and girls who had survived the
genocide and were helping to rebuild their shattered country.
She came back determined to use her leadership role to advocate for refugee women’s rights. She
joined World Links, a spinoff of the World Bank that helped provide programs and technology to schools
in Africa. She personally funded scholarships for girls in Rwanda to attend and finish high school, some
of whom are now in college. Today she is funding several secondary school students in Ghana.
Dina is currently a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a member of the boards of directors
of Microsoft, PepsiCo, Accenture and the Global Fund for Women. She is also a trustee of Carnegie
Mellon University and chair emerita of the Women’s Refugee Commission.
“The ultimate responsibility for driving change is ours, as individuals,” she says. “Getting involved in
issues larger than your own advancement is a right, a privilege and an obligation. It is an obligation we
have for ourselves and our children.”
Maria Hinojosa
Award Presenter
“I spent this last year of my life going deep
into the detention and deportation story in
our country. All of humanity should know the
stories of women who choose only to live a life
with no fear yet oftentimes face the harshest
treatment as a result.”
For 25 years, Maria Hinojosa has helped tell America’s untold stories and brought to light unsung
heroes in America and abroad. In April 2010, she launched The Futuro Media Group with the mission
to produce multi-platform, community-based journalism that respects and celebrates the cultural
richness of the American experience. She is the first Latina to anchor a Frontline report; “Lost in
Detention,” about deportation and immigration detention, aired in October 2011 and sparked public
engagement and conversation from Capitol Hill to mainstream media to the Spanish language media.
Hinojosa is the anchor and executive producer of her own long-running weekly NPR show, Latino USA,
and anchor of the Emmy Award-winning talk show Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One. Previously, a senior
correspondent for NOW on PBS, and currently, a rotating anchor for Need to Know, she has reported
hundreds of important stories—from the immigrant work camps in New Orleans after Katrina to teen
girl victims of sexual harassment on the job. Hinojosa has won multiple awards, including two Emmy’s,
the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Reporting on the Disadvantaged and the Edward R. Murrow Award
from the Overseas Press Club for best documentary for her groundbreaking Child Brides: Stolen Lives.
Hinojosa has a weekly syndicated column for King Features/Hearst and is the author of two books
including a motherhood memoir, Raising Raul: Adventures Raising Myself and My Son. She was born
in Mexico City, raised in Chicago and received her B.A. from Barnard College.
Indra Nooyi
Award Presenter
“The key to economic progress lies in
unleashing women’s potential. Throughout
much of the world, the greatest unexploited
economic resource is the female half of the
population. We have seen time and time
again that when we give women the chance
to live in a way that they value and that they
choose, all of society greatly benefits.”
Indra Nooyi is Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, the largest food and beverage business in North
America and the second largest worldwide, with 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in
retail sales annually. She is the chief architect of Performance with Purpose, PepsiCo’s promise to do
what’s right for the business by doing what’s right for people and the planet. Mrs. Nooyi was named
President and CEO in 2006 and Chairman in 2007. She has directed the company’s global strategy for
more than a decade and led its restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants, the acquisition
of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats. Prior to becoming CEO, she served as President and
CFO and as SVP of Corporate Strategy and Development. Before joining PepsiCo, she spent time with
Asea Brown Boveri, Motorola and The Boston Consulting Group.
Mrs. Nooyi is a member of numerous boards, including the U.S.-China Business Council, the
Peterson Institute for International Economics, Tsinghua University, the Foundation Board of the World
Economic Forum and the U.S.-India CEO Forum.
She holds degrees from Madras Christian College, the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and
Yale University. Mrs. Nooyi is married with two daughters.
Jeffrey C. Walker
Presenter
“It is clear to me that empowering and
protecting the rights of women and girls
is not only the right thing to do, but it also
ensures a better future for everyone.”
Jeff Walker currently serves on the boards of New Profit, Berklee College of Music, theMorgan Library,
the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Millennium Development Goals Health Alliance, the Miller Center
and University of Virginia’s Undergraduate Business School, where he was president for 10 years.
Jeff is co-founder and co-chairman of The Quincy Jones Musiq Consortium, chairman of the Council
of Foundations at University of Virginia, serves on the Visiting Committee at Harvard Business School
and is on the advisory boards of MIT Media Lab, Blue School, the Tibetan Village Project and Ideo.org.
He is president of the 15 Central Park West Board.
Previously, Jeff was executive-in-residence at Harvard Business School, focusing on social enterprises
and collaboration, and a lecturer at the Kennedy School. At Harvard, he also helped to develop and
launch a course in exponential fundraising for nonprofit leaders at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit
Organizations. He served as the chairman of Millennium Promise, with the United Nations and
Columbia University, an incubator to eliminate extreme poverty, and was the long-time chairman
of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (Monticello), where he still serves as an emeritus trustee. Jeff
cofounded and was chairman of Npower, an organization that provides shared technology services to
nonprofits.
Jeff was CEO and co-founder of CCMP Capital, the $12 billion successor to JPMorgan Partners,
JPMorgan Chase & Co’s global private equity, vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co, and chairman
of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. He has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. from
the University of Virginia, is a certified management accountant and a certified public accountant.
Sakena Yacoobi
Award Presenter
“I believe that the refugees in camps are
very talented; but they are displaced and
often in pain and, for the moment, need
to depend on others. Because of this, it
is very important that they be treated with
respect, dignity and trust when responding
to their needs.”
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi is executive director and founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL).
Established in 1996 to provide education and health services to women and children, AIL works at the
grassroots level and has served more than nine million Afghans. AIL was the first organization to offer
human rights and leadership training to Afghan women, as well as the first to open Women’s Learning
Centers—a concept now replicated by many organizations throughout Afghanistan.
Dr. Yacoobi has received multiple awards and honors, including becoming an Ashoka Fellow and Skoll
Social Entrepreneur. She has received the Henry R. Kravis Award for Leadership, the Democracy
Award from the National Endowment of Democracy and the Women’s Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber
Foundation, as well as the Americans for UNFPA Board of Advocates Award for the Health and Dignity
of Women, the 2010 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights and the Asia Social
Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Schwab Foundation. In 2011, she was awarded the National
Peace Award by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of
Fame. In February 2012, Dr. Yacoobi was presented with the German Media Award.
Sakena Yacoobi has received three honorary doctorates for her distinguished contributions to
society. She is a member of the board of the Global Fund for Women, serves as an advisor to the
Fetzer Institute and is a member of the Women’s Learning Partnership. She is a commissioner of the
Women’s Refugee Commission.
Liv Ullmann
Presenter
“I am proud of how the Women’s Refugee
Commission rallies the world to action while
giving voice to the millions of women and
children who have been uprooted from their
homes by armed conflict.”
Liv Ullmann is co-founder and honorary chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission and a passionate
advocate for the rights of refugee women and children worldwide. She is also Vice Chair, International,
of the International Rescue Committee.
Liv was born in Japan to Norwegian parents but spent most of her childhood in Norway. Originally a
stage actress, she has starred in four plays on Broadway. Her portrayal of a mute actress in Ingmar
Bergman’s 1966 movie Persona brought her to the world’s attention. Her collaboration with Bergman
lasted for more than 40 years, and she received two Best Actress Oscar nominations for her roles in
the films The Emigrants and Face to Face.
More recently Liv has moved to the other side of the camera to a successful directing career. Her
movie Faithless received international acclaim and was a contender for the Golden Palm at the 2000
Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, she directed A Streetcar Named Desire, featuring Cate Blanchett in
the lead role. The play ran in Sydney, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music. This year she is directing Michelle Williams in an adaptation of August Strindberg’s
play Miss Julie.
In addition, Liv is the author of two books, Changing and Choices, which have been printed in more
than 30 languages.
Sandra Uwiringiyi’mana and Adele Kibasumba
Performers
Sisters Sandra Uwiringiyi’mana and Adele Kibasumba grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Banyamulenge tribe they belonged to was never accepted as citizens, although they have lived in
Congo for three centuries. Recognized by their language and their facial features, members of the tribe
were constantly targeted. In 2004, when violence against their people increased, Sandra, Adele and
their family fled to neighboring Burundi.
On the night of August 13, rebels attacked and killed 166 people; many more were left injured, with no
place to go. Sandra and Adele’s family started Foundation of Hope Ministries to help the many orphans
left by the massacre.
In 2007, the family resettled in the United States and restarted the ministry. Using a camera borrowed
from a friend, Sandra started taking pictures of fellow survivors and recording their stories. “I wanted to
let the world know that the Gatumba Genocide had happened to real people,” she says. “Photography
has been part of my healing process and a way for me to fight for justice of my people.” Sandra is a
junior in high school and plans to go to university to study international relations and photography. She
hopes someday to work with the United Nations.
Adele is studying nursing at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York.
Sandra and Adele will sing “Nzamuye Amashimwe” (“I Raise My Thanks”), written by Foundation of
Hope members.
Sarah Costa
Executive Director
“Our work is just one small piece of a complex
global mosaic. All of us have a responsibility to
create a better world for the next generation,
and by investing in girls today we are investing
in the women of tomorrow.”
Sarah Costa has more than 25 years of experience in the fields of women’s rights, reproductive health,
and gender and youth development, as well as global philanthropy.
Previously, Sarah was regional director of the Global Fund for Women, a grantmaking organization
that supports women’s rights organizations working on economic security, health, education and
leadership. She established the organization’s New York office and represented the organization in
programmatic and fundraising activities on the East Coast.
From 1994 to 2006, she worked as a program officer for the Ford Foundation in Brazil and New York,
developing and managing international and national programs on gender, sexuality and reproductive
health, women’s rights, HIV/AIDS and health policy.
Sarah was Professor of Women’s Health at the National School of Public Health, Brazil, from 1980 to
1994. She was active in the women’s movement in Brazil, where she was a member of the Advisory
Committee to the National Council on Women’s Rights, served on the boards of several women’s
organizations and was a technical advisor on women’s health to the state government of Rio de Janeiro.
She currently serves on the executive committee of the board of the Association of Women’s Rights
in Development and the advisory board of the National Centers on Sexuality at San Francisco State
University.
Sarah earned a master’s degree in Demography from London University and a Ph.D. in Social
Medicine from Oxford University.
About the Women’s Refugee Commission
Mission
The Women’s Refugee Commission identifies needs, researches solutions and advocates for change
to improve the lives of crisis-affected women and children.
Vision
A world in which crisis-affected women and children:
• are safe, healthy and self-reliant;
• are engaged in making the decisions that affect their lives; and in which
• government and humanitarian practice is responsive, community-driven and builds on local
capacity.
How We Work
Through research and fact-finding field missions, the Women’s Refugee Commission identifies critical
problems that affect crisis-affected women and children, including gaps in lifesaving reproductive
health care, the lack of dignified livelihoods and, in the United States, the treatment of asylum seekers.
We document best practices, propose solutions and develop innovative tools to improve the way
humanitarian assistance is delivered in emergency settings. On Capitol Hill, at the United Nations
and with humanitarian organizations, governments and donors, we push for improvements in refugee
policy and practice until measurable, long-term change is realized.
A Snapshot of Our Programs and Impact
Promoting Fairness in Detention and Asylum
We make sure that women and children who seek asylum in the United States are treated with justice
and compassion.
• W
hen immigrant parents are detained or deported, they may lose custody of their children,
sometimes permanently. Our Detention and Asylum program has developed a first-of-its-kind
handbook to give detained parents the information they need to prevent this from happening.
Improving Econonomic Opportunities
We work to improve economic opportunities for refugees that enable them to live in dignity and achieve
economic self-reliance.
• Our livelihoods program is helping refugees in urban settings gain critical skills and training
necessary to earn a living. We have developed guidance for the UN refugee agency, its
nongovernmental partners and the U.S. State Department to help urban refugees build new skills
and find sustainable work.
Ensuring Access to Reproductive Health
We ensure that refugee women and girls have access to family planning, maternal health and other
reproductive health services.
• W
e recently visited five refugee settings to get a better understanding of how refugees view and
practice family planning. The UN refugee agency is using recommendations from our research
to ensure adolescent refugees have access to age-appropriate family planning information and
services in three urban and two camp settings.
Preventing Gender-Based Violence through Our Fuel and
Firewood Initiative
We are leading a global effort to ensure that displaced women and girls have safe access to
cooking fuel, which will mitigate the risk of rape and assault during firewood collection, and reduce
environmental degradation and respiratory and other illnesses caused by indoor fires.
• Thanks in large part to our efforts, the U.S. government is supporting a World Food Program
initiative to provide thousands of fuel-efficient stoves for refugees in the Horn of Africa.
Empowering Displaced Out-of-School Youth
We work to ensure that displaced children and youth have opportunities to learn and grow so they
can contribute to their communities and will ultimately be able to support themselves and their own
families.
• After talking to young women and men in 14 countries as part of a three-year research initiative,
we issued guidance for helping refugee and displaced youth reach their economic potential.
We also partnered with Columbia University and a host of humanitarian agencies to document
the impacts of livelihood programs on children. Based on this knowledge, we have produced an
innovative guidance document for protecting children in emergency livelihoods programs.
Advocating for Refugees with Disabilities
We promote community inclusion of refugees with disabilities and advocate for improved services,
policies and practices for this overlooked population.
• Over the past year, we have trained some 100 staff from the UN refugee agency and partner
nongovernmental organizations in Uganda, India and Bangladesh on ways to include refugees
with disabilities in their programs. As a result, they are now providing better protection and
improved services to more than 25,000 refugees with disabilities.
© Peter Biro/IRC
Displaced Adolescent Girls
In communities around the world, it is often difficult for adolescent girls to realize their rights to
education and decent work and to protect themselves from psychological and bodily harm. Many girls
lack opportunities to build the self-confidence and negotiating skills they need to assert themselves
and make decisions critical for their futures.
In crisis and postcrisis settings, the risks to girls’ well-being, safety and personal development are
even greater as their family and peer networks often become severely fragmented. In a crisis, whether
war, famine or natural disaster, lives are turned upside down. Families are uprooted or torn apart.
Access to education declines. Safety and security disappear. In the midst of this chaos, displaced
adolescent girls are often overlooked, neglected and vulnerable. Displaced girls ages 10-16 are
more exposed to exploitation and abuse; sexual and gender-based violence; early pregnancy; forced
marriage; and forced labor.
For displaced girls to be safe and to have a chance at the future they deserve, they need security and
education, health care, social supports and adult mentors. And they need opportunities to develop the
confidence, critical thinking and support networks to make good decisions for their lives.
What the Women’s Refugee Commission is doing
The Women’s Refugee Commission’s Protecting and Empowering Displaced Girls project illuminates
and addresses the critical needs of adolescent girls in crisis settings to ensure that they stay safe and
make positive changes in their lives. We are working in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia with girls—and
the groups that support them—to identify and promote ways that girls can protect themselves, access
health care, complete school, develop leadership skills and be seen as a valued part of their families
and communities.
The project will help displaced girls build the skills they need to protect themselves from exploitation
and abuse, forced marriage, early pregnancy, physical and sexual assault and other traumas
widespread in crisis settings. We learn from the girls themselves what works and what doesn’t and
then we partner with local organizations to design unique projects to meet these needs.
Local partners will provide safe spaces and help displaced adolescent girls build skills through
workshops, peer support networks and mentorship. The project will also engage and educate families
and community leaders about the importance of protecting and empowering adolescent girls.
As a result of our work, displaced girls will learn how to live safer lives and, with the support of adults,
build brighter futures.
Take Action to Protect and Empower
Displaced Adolescent Girls
Elizabeth Cafferty, the Women’s Refugee Commission’s senior advocacy officer, recently visited
Ethiopia. While there she wrote:
Before leaving for a Women’s Refugee Commission delegation to Ethiopia last week, I ran errands
around Manhattan and couldn’t help but admire the array of gorgeous dresses in store windows.
April is an exciting month for American girls: they dream about their proms and where they will attend
college.
Prom dresses seem embarrassingly frivolous as I sit in a camp outside the city of Jijiga with
adolescent girls as young as 10 who face hardships unimaginable to Americans. In Ethiopia, tens of
thousands of Somali girls in refugee camps try desperately just to stay safe, avoid sexual assault and
attend school. They face tremendous pressure to drop out of school to care for siblings, work illegally
and become child brides. But as I listen to these girls, I realize that, ultimately, girls everywhere want
the same things: to attend school and to live safe and fulfilling lives. It’s what every mother, aunt, sister
and friend wants for the young girls in their lives.
So perhaps the dreams of refugee girls are not so different after all.
Here are three ways that you can help:
1. You can make a donation to the Women’s Refugee Commission at womensrefugeecommission.org/
donate.
2. You can host an event at your workplace featuring our experts sharing stories of their work. Contact
us at [email protected].
3. You can promote the Women’s Refugee Commission on Facebook and Twitter by sharing our posts
and tweets with your friends (facebook.com/wrcommission, @wrcommission).
Visit our website to learn more. www.womensrefugeecommission.org.
We Gratefully
Acknowledge
Our Supporters
Voices of Courage
Awards Luncheon
Leadership
Co-Chairs
Robin Fray Carey
Jocelyn Cunningham
Host Committee
Jewelle W. Bickford
Pamela J. Craig
Kathy Crost
Julie Daum
Michael Feller
Martha Gallo
Valarie A. Gelb
Kiki and David Gindler
Chris McConnell
David L. Phillips
Romy Riddick
Bradford L. Smith
David Spears
Linda Verba
Jeffrey C. Walker
Debra Walton
Marissa Wesely
Leading Sponsors
Dina Dublon
Microsoft
Principal Sponsors
Pamela J. Craig
Deloitte
Martha Gallo
Global Fund for Women
PepsiCo
Spears & Imes LLP
Thomson Reuters
Jeffrey C. Walker
Major Sponsors
Accenture
Steven and Connie Ballmer
Ann D. Borowiec, CEO,
J.P. Morgan Private Wealth
Management
Robin Fray Carey
Sarah Costa and
David L. Phillips
Kathy Crost
Jocelyn Cunningham
Julie Daum
Abigail E. Disney
Ina R. Drew, CIO,
JPMorgan Chase & Co
Mimi Frankel
Kiki and David Gindler
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Clay and Garrett Kirk
KPMG LLP
Sandra H. Kwon
Blythe S. Masters, Head of
Global Commodities,
J.P. Morgan
Pearson Foundation
Katherine Renfrew
Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP
Faye Richardson
TD Bank
Helen Torelli and
Rob Sedgwick
Shannon Warren
Patrons
Kay Allaire
Johanna and Laurent Alpert
Jane and Alan Batkin
Dorrit Bern
Annabelle Bexiga
Jewelle W. Bickford
Mitchell J. Blutt, MD
Lisa Brummel
Steven and Joy Bunson
Martin Cole
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Elizabeth Colton and
Melvin Honowitz
David A. Coulter
Patricia Cowan
Mary S. Cross
Gerard J. Cunningham
Elizabeth Learson Daniels
Ambassador Paula J.
Dobriansky
Jodie and John Eastman
Cindy and David Edelson
Peggi Einhorn
Eve Ensler
Alan H. Fishman
Lawton Wehle Fitt
Liz Flynn
Valarie A. Gelb
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women
Sian Hansen
Janet T. Hanson
Susan Jonas
Judith Fields Jurney
Jurate Kazickas
Susan Kotcher
Sheila Labrecque
Kate Lavagnino
Donald H. Layton
Ruth Lazarus and
Michael Feldberg
Ruchi Madan
Marjorie Magner
Meena Mansharamani
Judith Mayotte, Ph.D.
Chris McConnell
Donna McKay
Jack D. McSpadden, Jr.
Virginia A. Millhiser
Charles H. Noski
Jane Olson
Frank Osborn
Terry Peigh
Debra Perry
Regina Peruggi
Steven Reinemund
Julie Richardson
Sheri Sandler
Marc Shapiro
Rony and Catherine Shimony
Margaret Smith
Lavinia B. Snyder
Joseph G. Sponholz
The Steptoe Foundation
Claudia Wagner
Christine Wasserstein
John C. Whitehead
Kathryn Wylde
Benefactors
Sheppie Abramowitz
Cathy Abrams
Robert and Pauline Bach
Annette Beshar
Joan Bingham
Stacy Brandom
Andrew Brimmer
Robby Browne
Glenda Burkhart
Frank Burnes
Dawn Calabia
Julie Casesa
Karen Chaplin
Kim Christiansen
Gwen Darien
Shauna Denkensohn
Ellen Dickson
Terence Dougherty
Janice Ellig
Yasmine Ergas
Diane V. Eshleman
Jackie Esquivel
Michael Feller
Thomas Ferguson
Mary Flannery
Ted Francavilla
Susan Fulwiler
Joan Gambro
George Grandison
Leith Greenslade
Barbara Hack
Birgitta Hanan
Beatrice Harris, Ph.D.
Susan Taylor Harris
Angelica Harter
Paula Hawkins
Lucile Herbert
Lori Hricik
James D. Hutter
Morrene Hubbard Jacobs
Susan Roth Katzke
Sara Kelsey
Betsy Ann Kovacs
Mara Kurka
Yong Kwok
Nancy Laird
Alexandra Lebenthal
Francine LeFrak
Winston and Bette Bao Lord
Susan MacEachron
Charles Maikish
Dr. Carolyn Makinson
Donna Matheson
Kelly Mathieson
Mary B. Moran
Cristina M. Morgan
Emily Morgan
Louis M. Morrell
Bess Morrison
Anna Msowoya-Keys
Rena Nigam
Susan Patricof
Deborah Razzano
Hazel Reitz
Stephen Rohleder
Angelica Zander Rudenstine
Edmond Sannini
William Schwalbe
Diane Sinti
Indira Kajosevic Skoric
Isabel Sloane
Mark G. Solow
Leza Tellam
Kate S. Tomlinson
Lloyd Trotter
Sandra Sennett Tully
Luis A. Ubiñas
Bob Van Dyk
Cynthia Wainwright
Debbie Welch
Roger M. Widmann
Marilyn L. Wilkie
Friends
Joan Almond
Frank Angello
Rachael Barrett
Subha and Jim Barry
Philippe A. Bigar
Dale Buscher
Leigh F. Butler
Ken Clinchy
Sudanë Del Valle
Marion Dino
Linda D’Onofrio
Kristie Fischer
Mary E. Fogarty
Robert Fogelson and
Victoria Voytek
Jackson Fray
Preston Fray
Susan Geisenheimer
James and Cordelia Gelly
Elisabeth Gitter
Maureen Grant
Carol B. Grossman
Tom Haas
Lisa Hamilton
Susan Heller
Teri Karole
Alton Kastner
Priscilla F. Kauff
Mark Kaufmann
Ernestine Kuhn
Alison Lankenau
Mrs. Wilbur A. Levin
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Martarano
Judy McLendon
Laura Nardelli
Sharon T. Poole
Diana Quick
Bonnie B. Quigley
Elinor Redington
Anne Rogin
Barbara B. Rosin
Jill Schuker
Hildy J. Simmons
Elissavet StamatopoulouRobbins
Anthea C. Stratigos
Nicki Newman Tanner
Vivien C. Tartter
Caroline A. Wamsler
David Weisbrod
Elizabeth Woodward
List as of April 23, 2012
© Melissa Winkler/IRC
Women’s Refugee Commission Leadership
Honorary Chair
Ambassador
Board of Directors
Commissioners
Liv Ullmann
Robin Fray Carey, Co-Chair
Jocelyn Cunningham, Co-Chair
Sarah Costa, Executive
Director
Thao Huu Van Do
Paula J. Dobriansky
Martha Gallo
Kiki Ramos Gindler
Sian Hansen
Aster Kidane
Donna McKay
Terry Peigh
Hazel Reitz
Indira Kajosevic Skoric
Emily Sloboh
David Spears
Helen Torelli
Linda Verba
Debra Walton
Kristin Wells
Samuel M. Witten
Founding Chair
Catherine O’Neill
Chairs Emeritae
Glenda Burkhart
Dina Dublon
Jurate Kazickas
Judy Mayotte
Kathleen Newland
Regina S. Peruggi
Mamie Gummer
Sheppie Abramowitz
Susan Stark Alberti
Wendy Beer
Betty Bigombe
Joan Bingham
Natasha Boissier
Trish Malloch Brown
Lisa Opoku Busumbru
Dawn Calabia
Katharine I. Crost
Elizabeth L. Daniels
Julie Daum
Jacqueline de Chollet
Valentino Achak Deng
Terence Dougherty
Helen R. DuBois
Grace Dunbar
Jodie Eastman
Maryam Elahi
Eve Ensler
Elizabeth Ferris
Mimi Frankel
Maureen Grant
Barbara Hack
Janet T. Hanson
Susan Jonas
Elizabeth J. Keefer
Sarah Kovner
Ria Kulenovic
Katherine LaGuardia
Ruth Lazarus
Susan F. Martin
Margaret Mathews
Christine A. McConnell
Rukshan Mistry
Holly E. Myers
Eileen O’Connor
Jane Olson
Carmen O’Shea
Stephanie Peters
Molly Raiser
Susan F. Rice
Faye Richardson
Romy Riddick
Nancy Rubin
Dora B. Schriro
Jill Schuker
Pippa Scott
Priscilla Shanks
Catherine Shimony
Anne Tatlock
Deborah Tolman
Sandra Sennett Tully
Chris Wasserstein
Debbie Welch
Melanie Wyler
Sakena Yacoobi
Women’s Refugee Commission Staff
Executive Office
Sarah Costa
Executive Director
Sudanë Del Valle
Erin Oglesby
Event Coordinator
Finance
Eldar Kekic
Assistant to the
Executive Director
Finance Controller
Advocacy
Grants Manager
Joan Timoney
Director of Advocacy and
External Relations
Elizabeth Cafferty
Senior Advocacy Officer
Rachael Reilly
Senior Advocacy Officer/
Geneva Representative
Communications
Diana Quick
Director of Communications
Nicole Rajani
Communications Officer
Frederick Hamerman
Editor/Writer
Development
Rachael Barrett
Deputy Director, Foundation &
Government Relations
Jonathan Aronoff
Development Coordinator
Solange Ondende
Programs
Dale Buscher
Senior Director for Programs
Detention and Asylum
Michelle Brané
Director
Emily Butera
Senior Program Officer
Jennifer Podkul
Program Officer
Protection
Josh Chaffin
Senior Program Officer,
Economic Strengthening and
Child Protection
Zehra Rizvi
Senior Program Officer,
Livelihoods
Emma Pearce
Program Officer, Disabilities
Jennifer Schulte
Program Officer, Youth and
Livelihoods
Dhana Lama
Program Coordinator
Reproductive Health
Sandra Krause
Director
Erin Patrick
Katharina Obser
Program Specialist, Advocacy
Senior Program Officer,
Fuel and Firewood Initiative
Jessica Jones
Jennifer Schlecht
Equal Justice Works Fellow
Senior Program Officer
Mihoko Tanabe
Program Officer
Special Thanks
We gratefully acknowledge everyone who contributed
to ensuring the success of the luncheon:
Our Host Committee
Our Honorees
Our Award Presenters
Tina Allen
Wendy Beer and
Credit Suisse
Jacqueline Cappello
Amy Elmgren
Jeannette Fleary
Jennifer Hartley
Nora Jennison
Kate Lavagnino
Suzi Parrasch
Iris Puerto
Jenny Raymond
Molly Sanford
Priscilla Shanks
Anita Sharma
Catherine Shimony
Kim Stawicki
Aya Tawffeq
Deborah E. Williams
Dina Dublon tribute film credits:
Film footage: AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC; Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of
Business; Dublon family
Narrator: Debbie Irwin
Photos: Peter Biro/IRC
Special thanks to: Amalle Dublon; Maha Muna
Thanks to our vendors:
Ashley Chapman
Clifton Cloud, Star Group Productions
Joel Fendelman
Joe Fox, Fly on the Wall Productions
Global Goods Partners
Peter Kirkel, Beehive Press
James Lester Films
Cathy McNamara and Jaclyn Schlichting, CMI Event Planning + Fundraising
Deborah Mella and the staff at Cipriani 42nd Street
James Nubile, Fly on the Wall Productions
Don Pollard
Gini Reticker, Fork Films
Zuno Studios
And last but not least, a special thanks to the Women’s Refugee Commission staff, interns, Board and
Commissioners.
Trim 6.5”
CLEAR SPACE
REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
THOMSON REUTERS IS PROUD
TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE
WOMEN’S REFUGEE COMMISSION
We salute Dina Dublon for her tireless commitment to
making our world a better place.
© Thomson Reuters 2012. All rights reserved.000843 0312
Proud to support.
Deloitte proudly supports the Women’s Refugee
Commission and joins in honoring Olga Cantarero,
Dina Dublon and Rim Tekie Soloman for their
ongoing leadership and support of refugees
throughout the world.
www.deloitte.com
As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.
Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal
structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be
available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.
Copyright © 2012 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.
Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
is proud to support
the Women’s Refugee Commission
in its work to protect the rights of
refugee and displaced women, children and young people
We celebrate Dina Dublon’s
leadership, advocacy and humanity
as she receives the Voices of Courage Award
www.pepsico.com
Thank you, Dina, for all
you have given to the
Women’s Refugee Commission
Martha Gallo
“We make a living by what
we get, but we make a life
by what we give.”
Winston Churchill
Learning from each other
By partnering for the common good we can achieve
uncommon results. We proudly support the Women’s
Refugee Commission. Congratulations to Dina Dublon.
© 2012 JPMorgan Chase & Co.
jpmorgan.com
The Lawyers of Spears & Imes LLP
Congratulate the Women’s Refugee Commission and the 2012 Honorees,
Olga Cantarero, Rim Tekie Solomon, and Dina Dublon.
We proudly salute Dina Dublon’s commitment to the work of the Women’s Refugee
Commission and her tireless efforts promoting rights and leadership for women and girls.
51 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.spearsimes.com
Congratulations Dina Dublon
A Real Voice of Courage
– Barbara and Eric Dobkin
Global Fund for Women
salutes our board member,
advocate and friend,
Dina Dublon
for her service to the Women’s Refugee
Commission and women’s human rights.
Stand with Women
Stand with Us
advancing women’s
human rights since 1987
proud to support
Women’s refugee
Commission
TD Bank proudly recognizes
women and their leadership,
dedication and achievements.
Thank you to Dina Dublon and
the Women’s Refugee Commission
for all of your good work
Julie Hembrock Daum
@socialmedia2day
Social Media Today and Robin Fray Carey
Salute
Sarah Costa for her leadership as Executive Director
and the
2012 Voices of Courage Honorees
Clay & Garrett Kirk congratulate
the Voices of Courage Honorees
“Our lives begin & end the day
we become silent about things that matter.”
Thank You!!
Bob DeVecchi
President and CEO of the
International Rescue Committee
1985 – 1997
for saying YES
to the Women’s Refugee Commission
We honor you for recognizing the urgency of giving voice to the millions of refugee and
displaced women and children around the world and, in 1989, making a home for the Women’s
Refugee Commission in the International Rescue Committee. Your passionate and dedicated
support, which continues to this day, has changed the face of refugee advocacy forever.
Your friends and staff from the old days.
Congratulations Dina on your leadership and
assiduous commitment to women’s rights
around the world. Like everything you’ve
accomplished in your professional life, you
are setting a new standard for volunteerism
and community service for the next generation.
Your many friends from JP Morgan Chase
Mom:
You’re an inspiration.
We join you in the fight for women’s rights.
Love,
The Pearson Foundation celebrates the
Women’s Refugee Commission for its innovative work,
and congratulates the 2012 Voices of Courage Honorees:
Dina Dublon, Olga Cantarero, Rim Tekie Solomon.
www.pearsonfoundation.org
KPMG is proud to support the
Women’s Refugee Commission,
and we congratulate this year’s honoree,
Dina Dublon for her dedication
and commitment in support of
refugee women’s rights.
kpmg.com
Thank You for Your Support and Partnership
Your partnership enables us to advocate for laws, policies and programs to improve the lives and protect
the rights of crisis-affected women and children—bringing about lasting, measurable change.
Together, we will continue to create a world in which women and children are safe, healthy and self-reliant. We invite you to get more involved.
For more information about our programs and ways to get involved, please
contact Rachael Barrett, deputy director, foundation and government relations, at
212.551.3042 or [email protected].
To make a donation, go to: womensrefugeecommission.org/donate.
Or send via mail:
Women’s Refugee Commission
122 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10168
© 2012 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG
network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG
International”), a Swiss entity. 78502NYO
Women’s Refugee
Commission
Microsoft is proud to support the
Women’s Refugee Commission
for taking others by the hand and
helping them achieve their full potential.
We congratulate the
2012 Voices of Courage Award recipients
Dina Dublon, Olga Cantarero and Rim Tekie Solomon
for their extraordinary courage and
commitment in protecting and empowering
displaced adolescent girls.