The ONE #AYASummit

Tomorrow I head to DC for the #AYASummit and I couldn’t be more excited.

Hosted by ONE and Google, the #AYA Summit will focus on issues facing women and girls in the developing world, with a particular emphasis on what it means to be born female in Africa and what we, along with girls and women in Africa, can do to help people meet their full potential.

The agenda for the three days looks terrific. Included are Nick Kristof, Patricia Amira, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Fast Company, the Centers for Disease Control, and many others.  As a side note, Patricia Amira is sometimes called “the Oprah of Africa” and she’s wonderful – she hosted a dinner for the ONE Moms when we traveled to Kenya in 2011 and I’m beyond thrilled to get to see her again.

I’m leading a panel called “Change Through Health” with Paul Zeitz, a senior advisor in the office of the Global AIDS Coordinator at the U.S. State Department, and Rye Barcott, co-founder of Carolina for Kibera.  We’ll look at micro and macro programs for developing better health systems for poor communities.  If you have any questions you’d like me to ask either Paul or Rye, please be in touch or leave a comment!

A big highlight of the conference will be getting to see a lot of old friends and the ONE Girls and Women Advisory Board members.

A big shout-out to ONE and Google for organizing the Summit.  Can’t wait!