\nIllustrations by Joel Kimmel<\/em><\/p>\n
How do you measure the impact of coeducation at Trinity College? You could look at the facts: Trinity has 11,844 female graduates, constituting a full 42 percent of living alumni. You could consider the difference coeducation has made on all graduates\u2014no matter the gender\u2014who have traversed the Long Walk over the last 50 years. Or you could, as we do in this issue of The Trinity<\/em> Reporter<\/em>, take a slightly different tack, looking at a small sampling of graduates who are working in the women\u2019s empowerment space.<\/p>\n Some focus their efforts on a specific industry or city; others pursue a broader agenda on the global stage. No matter their bailiwick, one and all demonstrate the power of a Trinity education as espoused in the college\u2019s mission statement, that it prepares bold, independent thinkers who lead transformative lives. In the case of these nine graduates, their transformative lives are proving to be game changing worldwide.<\/p>\n Charlotte (Fouch) Fox \u201906<\/strong> Donna Haghighat \u201989<\/strong> Christine Quinn \u201988<\/strong> Mary Kate Morr \u201912<\/strong> Melinda Leonard Reed \u201995<\/strong> Valeria McFarren Piper \u201905<\/strong> Zoraida Lopez-Diago \u201903<\/strong> Rick Zedn\u00edk \u201993<\/strong>
\nDirector of Communications, International Women\u2019s Media Foundation (IWMF); Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2020\/files\/2020\/02\/fox_final.jpg\")
<\/a>A tireless advocate of gender equity with a lifelong passion for the news, Charlotte (Fouch) Fox notes that she is \u201csupremely happy\u201d to have landed at IWMF. \u201cMy professional work is now my life\u2019s work, which is incredibly validating,\u201d she says. The IWMF is an organization that breaks barriers for women journalists, transforming <\/strong>global news media. The IWMF\u2019s fellowship and grant programs support women in media\u2014both freelance and staff journalists\u2014helping them become experts in reporting in underserved regions, generate must-read stories, and bring critical issues affecting women and others to light. The organization is the sole provider of safety training, byline opportunities, and emergency support tailored to female journalists and photographers around the world. In addition to working directly with journalists, the IWMF studies why journalism remains dominated by men and advocates for inclusive practices that help propel women and minorities into leadership roles.<\/p>\n
\nCEO, Women\u2019s Fund of Western Massachusetts; Springfield, Massachusetts<\/p>\n<\/a>The daughter of Iranian immigrants, \u201cI never took education for granted,\u201d Donna Haghighat explains. Her mother, Parvaneh, was married at 16, at which time Haghighat\u2019s grandfather insisted she drop out of high school. Thanks to her persistence (and with help from her mother), Parvaneh finished high school and went on to complete college in the United States while raising four children. Inspired by her example, Haghighat now leads the Women\u2019s Fund of Western Massachusetts, where she strives to elevate local women to take charge. The Women\u2019s Fund does this through fundraising for two initiatives: grant making to area organizations that share the Women\u2019s Fund\u2019s vision and training women through its Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact (LIPPI). To date, more than 250 women have completed LIPPI training, and 3 million women and families have been impacted through its grants. \u201cI love making connections with people who share my passion for advancing women and girls,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n
\nPresident and CEO, Women in Need (WIN); New York, New York<\/p>\n<\/a>What do you do after you\u2019ve served as speaker of the New York City Council\u2014the first woman and openly LGBT person to hold the position? Four years ago, Christine Quinn grappled with that question and decided she wanted to keep doing advocacy work for issues she cared about. WIN, the largest provider of shelter and services to women and families in New York City\u2014with 11 shelters and more than 300 supportive housing units across the city\u2014checked all of her boxes. WIN\u2019s vision is to break the cycle of homelessness by providing safe housing and critical services to help homeless women and their children rebuild their lives. \u201cHomelessness is the significant crisis of our time,\u201d Quinn says. \u201cNew York cannot be the greatest city in the world if 60,000 people have to sleep on the street every night. Our job is to stand with those experiencing homelessness and eradicate the underlying conditions that cause it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nVolunteer Coordinator, Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute (RMMFI); Denver, Colorado<\/p>\n<\/a>Growing up in Denver, Mary Kate Morr watched the gentrification of the Mile High City unfold around her. After earning a master\u2019s degree in social work, Morr decided she \u201cwanted to work in a place where I was pushing back on that gentrification.\u201d Enter RMMFI, an organization that helps people with an idea transform into serious entrepreneurs through personal, business, and financial investments. Through its 12-week business boot camp and mentorship program for under-resourced entrepreneurs, RMMFI builds community wealth by reimagining social and economic inclusion. Start-ups run the gamut from products like candles and soaps, to services like cleaning, as well as graphic design and food carts. \u201cPart of our mission is to build up female business owners along with entrepreneurs of color,\u201d says Morr, who recruits mentors for RMMFI. \u201cOur entrepreneurs are diverse in every sense of the word, and part of my role is to build a pool of mentors with shared life experience reflecting that diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nExecutive Director, Women\u2019s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ); The Hague, the Netherlands<\/p>\n<\/a>After graduating with a B.A. in public policy and a master\u2019s in international affairs from Columbia University, Melinda Leonard Reed worked overseas doing humanitarian aid work for many years. She then moved back to the United States and directed a domestic and sexual violence shelter in Helena, Montana\u2014a position that she described as \u201cdomestic humanitarian aid work.\u201d When the position opened at the WIGJ two years ago, \u201cit was a way to take my slightly divergent career paths and marry them,\u201d Reed says. The WIGJ is a nonprofit international women\u2019s human rights organization that advocates for gender justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC). It also is active in individual countries around the world in peace negotiations and justice processes. The WIGJ works with victims of sexual violence in conflicts under investigation by the ICC and collaborates with more than 6,000 grassroots partners across multiple armed conflicts. \u201cThis work is profoundly important,\u201d Reed says. \u201cSexual violence is the most widely used weapon of war\u2014and it\u2019s perpetrated with total impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCo-founder, TheSheLab; Charlottesville, Virginia<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing what happens when you bring women together from around the world and are able to form relationships built on trust and respect.\u201d So says Valeria McFarren Piper about TheSheLab, a community of practice and women\u2019s network that is committed to female empowerment and equality. Born and raised in Bolivia, Piper started the organization after spending a decade in Washington, D.C. There, she worked at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. foreign aid agency, where she oversaw strategic communications in 24 countries. Piper and a partner tapped into that global network to form TheSheLab; the 13 members on the organizing committee hail from countries ranging from the Dominican Republic to Tanzania. The project is starting small, hosting monthly TED-type talks\u2014for women, by women\u2014in Charlottesville, where she and her co-founder live. \u201cWe now have 400 members and plan to open 10 other chapters in the new year [2020],\u201d Piper notes. \u201cWe are each other\u2019s sounding boards, thought partners, and support system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCo-creator, Women Picturing Revolution (WPR); Beacon, New York<\/p>\n<\/a>When Zoraida Lopez-Diago was growing up, dinner conversations swirled around gender equity, LGBTQ rights, and similar topics. With her mother heading up affirmative action for a Connecticut state agency, she says, \u201cI always knew that I would do something that dealt with shedding light on issues that are overlooked.\u201d Lopez-Diago, a photographer, curator, and consultant, has taught photography to female inmates at a maximum-security prison in Medell\u00edn, Colombia, lectured about her work at Harvard University and other institutions, and co-founded Women Picturing Revolution (WPR), an organization that brings to the forefront the work of female photographers who have documented conflicts, crises, and revolution. She and co-founder Lesly Deschler Canossi lead seminars and curate discussions in locales including New York and the United Kingdom. Lopez-Diago also is the co-editor of Representations of Black Motherhood and Photography<\/em>, a book that gives voice to the intersection of photography, black motherhood, and the ways in which black mothers have navigated gender, race, and class. This edited collection is due to be published in 2021 by Leuven University Press in Belgium and distributed by Cornell Press. <\/p>\n
\nManaging Director, Women Political Leaders (WPL); Brussels, Belgium<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cFor millennia, social networks have helped people get ahead\u2014largely men,\u201d explains Rick Zedn\u00edk. \u201cAt WPL, we\u2019re making our small contribution to changing that.\u201d Headquartered in Iceland, WPL\u2019s mission is to increase both the number and the influence of women in political leadership. An independent, international, and nonpartisan foundation, WPL bills itself as a global champion of equality between women and men. It is the only organization that brings together all female political leaders, seeking to tackle international challenges by harnessing their collective power. Through conferences, a summit, and advocacy, WPL builds communities of knowledge for thousands of women politicians everywhere: members of national legislatures, cabinet ministers, and heads of state and government. In all of its activities, WPL strives to demonstrate the positive impact of more women in positions of political leadership. And to Zedn\u00edk, a feminist \u201cat least since Trinity,\u201d \u201cit\u2019s important to try and rebalance the equation.\u201d<\/p>\n