Zainab Salbi

Zainab Salbi is an Iraqi-American humanitarian, entrepreneur, author, and media commentator that has dedicated herself to women’s rights and freedom. At the age of 23, she founded Women for Women International - a grassroots humanitarian and development organization dedicated to serving women survivors of wars. Under her leadership (1993-2011), Women for Women grew from helping 30 women upon its inception to more than 370,000 in eight conflict areas, leading to a distribution of more than 100 million dollars in aid and loans. Salbi is also the author of a national bestseller Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam (with Laurie Becklund); The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope; and If You Knew Me, You Would Care. Her books received support from iconic women writers such as Alice Walker and from several celebrities including, but not limited to, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, and Annie Lennox.