Global Management Team
We could not run an efficient and life-changing organization without the tireless efforts of our Global Management Team. Since the introduction of this team over a year ago, we have been able to expand our mission and goals by overseeing the expansion of programs in the field, laboriously researching and reporting findings on progress of the women in the countries we work, while keeping the vision of Women for Women close to the surface.
Zainab Salbi
President and Chief Executive Officer
Zainab Salbi is the Founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a non-profit organization that helps women survivors of wars and civil strife gain necessary skills and resources to rebuild their lives. In doing so, the women contribute to the political and economic health of their societies. Salbi has dedicated her life to the belief that stronger women build stronger nations.
Since its founding in 1993, Women for Women International has focused its work on socially excluded women. Under her leadership, Women for Women International has distributed more than $32 million through direct aid and microcredit loans to more than 93,000 women survivors of war.
For her social entrepreneurial work, Salbi was asked to speak on numerous panels at the 2006 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She received the 2005 Human Security Award presented by the University of California, Irvine. She was also honored with the 2005 Forbes Trailblazer Award. TIME Magazine named Salbi “Innovator of the Month” in March 2005 for her pioneering work as philanthropist. In 2004 she was named as the Communicator of the Year from Alverno College. In 1995, President Clinton honored Salbi at a White House ceremony for her humanitarian work in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She serves on the advisory boards of the Clinton Global Initiative, the Peter Gruber Foundation Women’s Rights Prize, World Pulse Magazine and the International Museum of Women.
A survivor of war herself, Salbi details her life growing up in Iraq in her memoir, “Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam" (Gotham, 2005). She also writes and lectures extensively on the themes of the status of women and violence against them during and after war. Salbi is contributing to the forthcoming Women and Human Security: Challenges of Conflict and Global Change to be published by the University of California Press and to National Geographic’s The Other Side of War (2006), a series of portraits of women survivors of war in Women for Women International’s programs.
Her other writings include: “Mass Rape: Natural, Cultural, or Social?” in the Journal of Sacred Feminine Wisdom (1996); “The Role of Microcredit in Poverty Alleviation in a Post Conflict/ Transitional Society: Bosnian Villages as a Case Study,” Making the Transition Work for Women, World Bank Conference (June 1999); “Think Big, Spend Small: The Impact of Woman-to-Woman Small Scale Support,” and Women Philanthropy and Social Change: Visions for a Just Society (2004).
The Oprah Winfrey Show has featured Ms. Salbi and her organization seven times. Ms. Salbi is regularly interviewed in the national and international media including, the BBC, NPR, ABC News Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Fox News, PBS, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, among others.
Salbi earned a Master Degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2001 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies from George Mason University in 1996.
Rania Atalla
US Executive Director
Rania Atalla has worked at the global cross-roads of government and politics, public affairs and communications for twenty years. She has successfully combined academic training and first-hand political experience with management and leadership skills, serving high-profile institutions and leaders in the political and public affairs domains and has built a track record of success in leading strategic political communications and public relations campaigns.
She served as Director of Communications for King Abdullah of Jordan (2005-2006) where she led a multi-lingual team that developed and implemented comprehensive communications strategies, shaped speeches and crafted messages, and leveraged media relations on a global scale. As the first Chief of Staff to Queen Rania Al-Abdullah (1999-2005), Ms. Atalla established the First Lady's office as a model public service institution, recruiting and leading a team of 35 professionals, developing partnerships with multiple stake-holders locally, regionally and globally. In that capacity, she served as the First Lady's communications advisor and primary interlocutor, driving all aspects of the policy agenda, public profile, positioning, and messaging.
Before returning to the Middle East, she was Director of the Jordan Information Bureau in Washington, D.C. - the public affairs arm of the Embassy of Jordan -- where she spent approximately a decade working with the White House, Congress, public policy leaders and the media. She identified opportunities for and worked to secure substantial increase in Washington's foreign aid for her country. As spokesperson for the Jordan diplomatic mission, she oversaw a positive communications strategy in response to political developments in the US and Middle East. Ms. Atalla provided communications support for the Jordanian negotiating team in the Middle East peace process.
Prior to her DC experience, Ms. Atalla worked with Catholic Relief Services and Save the Children Federation in the Middle East. She also worked as a journalist for the Jordan Times, where she covered a wide range of political and socio-economic issues.
Educated at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, she earned a BA in Comparative and Regional Studies (1986) and an MA in International Affairs (1991). Ms. Atalla is fluent in English, Arabic and French and holds a private pilot's license. She serves on the Middle East board of the regional Junior Achievement International, INJAZ.
Ms. Atalla was awarded Al-Kawkab Medal of the Third Order by King Hussein in 1994, and the Independence Medal of the First Order by King Abdullah in 2006.
Karen Sherman
Executive Director of Global Programs
Karen Sherman is the Executive Director for Global Programs at Women for Women International. She provides strategic management and oversight of the organization's programming in line with Women for Women's mission of serving women survivors of war and conflict.
Ms. Sherman has more than 20 years of multi-faceted international development experience specializing in the design, implementation and management of technical and financial assistance programs that target women, entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations. Over the course of her career, Ms. Sherman has managed a diverse global portfolio of projects and programs focusing on organizational management and governance, micro and small business development, and advocacy.
Prior to joining Women for Women International in 2003, Ms. Sherman served as Executive Vice President of Counterpart International. Ms. Sherman is proficient in Russian and has a Masters of Arts in Russian and East European Studies from the George Washington University.
Trish Tobin
Chief Marketing Officer
As Chief Marketing Officer, Trish Tobin leads our mass marketing fundraising efforts. She comes to Women for Women International with more than 15 years of marketing experience in the private and non-profit sectors. She worked for seven years at America Online finishing her career there as VP of Marketing in the Direct Response Marketing division. She began her career at the National Gallery of Art in non-profit fundraising and also worked at the National Wildlife Federation. She has an MBA from Yale School of Management and received her BA from the College of William and Mary.
Erika Lubensky
Chief of Staff
-
Charlie Winters
Chief Finance Officer
Haida McGovern
Director of Institutional Advancement
Robert Miller
Sr. Director Global Finance and Accounting
