Womens eNews Announces 21 Leaders for the 21st Century 2012

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President and CEO of the National Foundation for Women Legislators, Robin Read provides support to female public officials, former and current, through the largest and oldest organization for elected women at all levels of government from every state and U.S. territory. Founder and chair of Republicans for Choice, Ann Stone is organizing Republicans around pro-choice issues and actively recruiting like-minded candidates to continue the effort for the party to support a woman's right to choose. Seven Who Leverage Power These seven leaders operate on the knowledge that if women are empowered, then entire communities benefit. Through supporting survivors of domestic violence to providing economic independence for young women in Egypt, they make profound differences in women's lives. Through her work as senior vice president and general counsel general for Prudential Financial, Susan L. Blount founded the Inclusion Initiative, calling on the heads of other legal departments in major corporations to hire women and minority-owned law firms. The result: the creation of a movement among major corporations to diversify their legal teams. Leveling the playing field to ensure equality thrives is the daily work of the National Women's Law Center, headed by two powerful women: Nancy Duff Campbell and Marcia D. Goldberger. Behind many of the country's groundbreaking gender-conscious legislation and enforcement actions, this duo has written and will continue to write women's rights into the legal structure of America. Joe Keefe is founder, president and CEO of Pax World, an investment fund managing more than ${esc.dollar}2 billion in assets. Keefe uses his control over shares in major corporations to press for an increase in the number of women on corporate boards from the current 12 percent.. Yousriya Loza Sawaris is helping young women in Egypt build economically independent futures through the creation of Banat El Ghad: Girls of Tomorrow. Now aiding120 young women who previously lived on the street, the program provides vocational training as a path to paid employment. Natalia Oberti Noguera is the founder of Pipeline Fellowship, which trains women to become angel investors in women-led start-ups. Sue Osthoff's organization, the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, is the first and only organization working solely with women who have been jailed as a result of their responses to partner violence. One of the few women in think tanks, Juhu Thukal is director of law and advocacy at the Opportunity Agenda. Thukal uses her law license and analytical skills as tools to champion for the rights of low-income and immigrant women and the LGBTQ community, as well as to assist sex workers organize to protect their human rights. .