We cannot leave girls out of the equation. Why? Because adolescent girls are uniquely disadvantaged, yet they have the most potential to make the greatest change.
In formally establishing the Green Belt Movement in 1977, Wangari was wise enough to see that for the disempowered, planting trees was in fact a radical act of self-assertion, a method of laying claim to the life-giving power of one small corner of the Earth.
On a learning trip to Ethiopia, where 49 percent of girls are married before they are 18, I came face to face with one of the biggest challenges that holds back the world's female population and keeps countries mired in poverty: child marriage.
Maria Eitel is the founding President and CEO of the Nike Foundation where she works to unleash the girl effect, the unique potential of 600 million adolescent girls.
Pamela Shifman, Director of Initiatives for Women and Girls at the NoVo Foundation, discusses the status of women, philanthropic investment, her advice to President Obama, and much more.
After 14 years of civil war, Liberia's democracy is just beginning to turn a new page, and a group of strategic international philanthropists are hoping to play a role in catalyzing that process.