Considered a pioneer in the field of empowerment, Gail Straub co-founded Empowerment Training Programs in 1981 and has offered her work to tens of thousands of people throughout America, Europe, Russia, China, Asia, and Africa. She co-directs the Empowerment Institute, a school for transformative leadership whose certified graduates are implementing the empowerment model in education, business, health, hip-hop, and social change. Gail co-authored the best seller Empowerment: The Art of Creating Your Life As You Want It. In its twelfth printing, the book has been translated into eight languages and is used worldwide as the basis for empowerment life coaching and support groups.

Gail’s empowerment work has had an impact on women all over the world. She trained Russian activists in the empowerment methodology, helping them build a visionary leadership model for social change. She has done similar work in China where the Chinese Women’s Federation adopted the empowerment framework. Currently the Empowerment Institute’s International Women’s Empowerment Initiative is helping women in Afghanistan, Darfur, Nigeria, and South Africa to heal from violence and to build strong empowered lives. She has also consulted to many other organizations committed to women’s empowerment including the Women’s Leadership Center at Omega, World Pulse and Feminist.com.

Taking her empowerment work to a global platform early in her career, Gail served as the International Director for the historic First Earth Run, a global initiative co-sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and ABC Television. During the height of the Cold War, a torch of peace was passed around the world, mobilizing the participation of 25 million people, 62 countries and 45 heads of state. The event raised several million dollars for UNICEF that was used to help the neediest children in the world.

In 1992, when her students requested more in-depth training, Gail created “Grace: A Spiritual Growth Training Program.” Designed to integrate spiritual development with social and ecological responsibility, the year-long program has been completed by hundreds of students throughout North America, Europe, and Russia. Based on its success, she wrote the critically acclaimed The Rhythm of Compassion: Caring for Self, Connecting with Society, and Circle of Compassion: Meditations for Caring for the Self and the World. In 2008 she published her awarding winning feminist memoir Returning to My Mother’s House: Taking Back the Wisdom of the Feminine. She is also a contributor to the groundbreaking anthology Enlightened Power: How Women Are Transforming the Practice of Leadership.

Gail received her B.A. with honors in political science from Skidmore College. She has served in the Peace Corps in West Africa, and on many Boards including the Omega Institute, the Russian American Humanitarian Initiative, and The Next Wave of Women and Power. She is a faculty member at The Edge International School for Leadership and Spirituality in the Netherlands.

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