The Women’s Foundation is bringing in Samantha Power, the 28th and youngest-ever U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, as the keynote speaker of its annual event in October.
Now in its 25th year, the Women’s Foundation annual event raises funds to offset the cost of the foundation’s work in funding research, advocating policy solutions that positively impact women and their families and helping women obtain more civic leadership roles.
This year’s event, which will feature a new format, will be held on Tuesday, October 3, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Appetizers, drinks and networking opportunities will follow Power’s keynote on the importance of women’s civic engagement.
Power, who was raised in Ireland until age 9, became a U.S. citizen when she was 23. She’s spent much of her career advocating for principled American engagement in the world. Her ambassadorship to the U.N. ran from 2013 to 2017. A crusader for human rights and democracy, Power has taken a strong stance against Russian aggression in Ukraine and Syria, negotiated tough sanctions against North Korea, lobbied to secure the release of political prisoners and helped mobilize global action against ISIL.
From 2009 to 2013, she served on the National Security Council as special assistant to the President and senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights. The American Academy in Berlin awarded her the 2016 Henry A. Kissinger Prize.
Power has been recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. In 2003, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her book “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide.” She was a war correspondent covering the Yugoslav wars and a Harvard professor. In April 2017 Power returned to teaching, as the Anna Lindh Professor of Practice at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law School. A new book she is writing called “The Education of an Idealist” will chronicle her years of public service and reflect on the role human rights and humanitarian ideals play in contemporary geopolitics.
Sponsorships are available by calling (816) 988-2003. Ticket sales will begin on August 15.
