Equality Now, in partnership with The OpEd Project and Senior Advisor Ann MacDougall, are delighted to announce the 2024 cohort of the Public Voices Fellowship on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls.
This US-based fellowship is part of The OpEd Project’s Public Voices initiative to change who writes history and Equality Now’s mission to create a just world for all women and girls.
Selected from an impressive pool of highly qualified applicants residing across the United States, our fellows come from a variety of backgrounds, bringing with them a wealth of experience and unique perspectives encompassing a broad range of disciplines.
During a transformative year-long program, these individuals will receive expert guidance, mentorship, and the tools necessary to effectively communicate their ideas through the influential medium of opinion writing. Through their knowledge and voices, they will advance fresh ideas to strengthen the rights of women and girls.
Francesca Uriri is a gender equality and women empowerment advocate who works at the intersection of equity, social impact, and international development. She is the Founder of Leading Ladies Africa (LLA) — a women-led, women-focused community organization and non-profit, which works to advance gender equality and equity by building capacity and empowering African women and girls.
LLA has directly impacted 30,000 women, and 12,000 girls, and reached over 180 communities in Africa. Through its content and targeted storytelling, the organization is providing its community of over 300,000 African women and girls with the tools and skills required to challenge gender and societal norms in order to advance themselves in their careers, businesses, and leadership roles.
Francesca’s vision is to see a just world where African women and girls have equal opportunities, and access to meaningful and impactful lives unhindered by systemic, cultural, religious, and political barriers.
In addition, Francesca is a corporate and inclusive communications leader with 17 years of demonstrated experience and impact in leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), sustainability, and policy communications. She currently serves as the Communications Lead and Advisor for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Product Equity at Meta (formerly Facebook), where she’s responsible for developing and implementing strategic communications programs and campaigns to advance Meta’s Equity, Diversity, and ESG efforts.
Francesca was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent for her outstanding contributions and service towards the advancement for people of African descent worldwide. She’s also a writer and has published several non-fiction and fiction pieces — published on local and international media platforms.
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