About 20 Women Changemakers
About 20 Women Changemakers
These 20 changemakers are only a few of the hundreds we have spoken to, but they represent the ordinary woman doing what we feel are extraordinary things. We hoped by finding these women and talking to them about their journeys that it would spur us and others to take some kind of action. As Maggie Doyne told us, “We believe that miracles are the result of hard work.
So no matter what you do, never give up.”
We heed her words. We hope her story and advice inspires you as it does us! We learned you can really make a difference. Filmmaker Holly Gordon sums it up well: Don’t wait for someone else. Stand up and do it if something needs changing!
Taking Action Globally
Our changemakers have no international boundaries when it comes to following their passions to make the world a better place. When Jessica Posner saw the squalid conditions in a slum in Kenya, she took action, raised funds and jumped at the chance to do something about it.
She found herself starting from square one and moving into a ten-by-ten room without running water. Jessica is an example of one of the many women we’ve gotten to know around the world who won’t let the difficulty of the task, nor the distance they may have to travel, dissuade them.
Jessica Posner
How do you see yourself making a difference?
Estella Pyfrom
Improving Children’s Lives
Children’s well-being is on the top of the minds of many of the women we speak with in our book. They see despair and the lack of education as a problem to be solved and not to be ignored. Estella Pyfrom was disturbed by the numbers of children without computers who were falling behind in technology and decided that wouldn’t do.
She found a bus, called it “Brilliant” and started a movement in America. Her goal is to beat the educational divide and she’s on her way. Estella is another undaunted changemaker who perseveres through any adversity.
Here’s what it takes to change the world!
- 1. Never give up
- 2. Have an open mind
- 3. Believe in your dreams
- 4. Have an action plan
- 5. Do your research
- 6. Follow your life’s purpose
- 7. Don’t wait for others to do it
- 8. Work through the “what ifs”
- 9. Be super confident
- 10. Listen to your heart
Empowering Women and Girls
Zeroing in on the needs of women and girls is important to our fearless impacters. Jerrie Ueberle’s passion led her to China and to the monumental task of establishing the World Academy for the Future of Women.
With no idea about how she was going to do it or what she faced, she plunged ahead. Now she’s expanding her mission to other countries. Jerrie, like many others we interview, refuses to give up until she has reached her goal.
Jerrie Ueberle
Is there a particular cause that you want to become a champion for?
Tina Hovsepian
Helping the Forgotten
Coming to the aid of the less fortunate is a major cause that motivates our women who are making a difference. Finding housing, providing food and giving medical care are top priorities. Many come up with ingenious ideas like architect Tina Hovsepian who created a portable, fold-out cardboard tent that can be assembled for sheltering the homeless.
Her vision and tents are making their way to China and Nepal. Like other changemakers in this chapter, they see a need they are determined to fill. Whether it takes reconditioning buses or creating a cardboard fold-out, they find a way.
How would it change your life to take on a cause you are passionate about?
Advocating for Special Causes
There are those women we’ve met whose special causes become so important to them that they take them on with great determination and enthusiasm. Patty Chang Anker decided that her battle with her own tremendous fears had to be faced head on. She thought by facing these fears she could help others who were stuck in their own lives.
Not only did she conquer her own situation, she started Team #SomeNerve celebrating ordinary people pushing past their comfort zones. The special causes that the women in this chapter embrace may spark your interest in taking on new challenges in your own lives.
Patty Chang Anker
Sign up for updates from The Women’s Eye Radio Show to get notified about our upcoming shows and inspiring interviews.
