Leadership and Education Fund
The Leadership and Education Fund for the Betterment of Women, Inc. (LEF) was established in 1999 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Donations to this organization are tax-deductible and it is also able to receive contributions from other entities to fund programs within its charitable purpose. The goal is for the fund to serve as an endowment for The Trusteeship’s philanthropic endeavors.
2020 Recipient
In 2020, The Trusteeship’s Leadership & Education Fund sponsored Dr. Miriam O. Laker, a deserving leader for her participation in the IWF Fellows program.
Dr. Miriam O. Laker is a Medical Doctor and Senior Research Scientist at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Makerere University based in Kampala, Uganda. Early in her career, she coordinated the first non-pharmaceutical clinical trial at the IDI. Because of her exceptional work at the IDI in collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), she was able to successfully apply and win an NIH-NCI D43 grant. She was awarded a full scholarship to UCSF, where she received advanced training in clinical research, epidemiology, and biostatistics. Her primary research interest revolves around the epidemiology of the two most common HIV associated cancers in Africa – cervical cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma – and finding innovative ways to provide access to their early diagnosis and treatment.
We had the honor to meet Dr. Laker “virtually” on Nov. 12, 2020 in our Spotlight on our Leadership & Education Fund: A Conversation with Dr. Miriam Laker. Click below to watch this very special conversation with Dr. Miriam Laker, MD and Senior Clinical Research Scientist who joined us from Kampala, Uganda.
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Watch our video below to see some of our Awardees speak about how the Adrienne Hall Emerging Leadership Award has impacted their non-profit organizations.
Two awards have been created to meet the LEF goals:
- The Meredith MacRae Empowerment Award
- The Adrienne Hall Emerging Leadership Award
Meredith MacRae
In 2000, “The Meredith MacRae Empowerment Award” was created through a generous gift in honor of Meredith MacRae. This award focuses on prominent women leaders who are making a significant difference in others’ lives around the globe. Awards have been distributed to the following distinguished women and their organizations in recognition of their work:
- Molly Melching, Founder of TOSTAN in Senegal, West Africa (2000) tostan.org
- Dame Cicely Saunders, founder, St. Christopher’s Hospice in London, England (2001) stchristophers.org.uk
- Zainab Saldi, Founder, Women for Women International (2003) womenforwomen.org
- African Development Fund, in memory of our late member Willie Compbell (2006) afdb.org/en
- Adrienne Hall Women’s Mentorship Fund at the Kennedy School, Harvard University, in memory of our late Founder (2007)
- Dr. Astrid Heppenstall Heger of the VIP Community Mental Health Center (2008) violenceinterventionprogram.org
- Ellen Rosenberg, co-Founder of CHOSA (Children of South Africa) (2009) chosa.org
- Olga Murray, Founder of the Nepal Youth Foundation (2012) nepalyouthfoundation.org
- Debby Rooney, co-Founder, BEADS for Education, Kenya (2014) beadsforeducation.org
- Jenny Bowen, Founder, OneSky, China (2016) onesky.org
- Neema Namadamu, Founder, Hero Women Rising (2018) herowomenrising.org & Razia Jan, Razia’s Ray of Hope (2018) raziasrayofhope.org
Adrienne Hall
- Cynthia Sanchez, Executive Director, Proyecto Pastorale (2011) proyectopastoral.org
- Ana Ponce, CEO, Camino Nuevo Charter Academy (2013) caminonuevo.org
- Lynn Houston, Founder, A Different Point of View (2015) adifferentpointofview.org
- Lou Calanche, Executive Director, Legacy LA (2017) legacyla.org
- Irene Martinez, Executive Director, Instituto Para La Mujer (2017) institutoparalamujer.org
To donate to the Leadership and Education Fund of The Trusteeship, click below.
“I am cloistered in my medical world. If not presented with a large, prospective, randomized study I question the evidence and relevance of many medical and societal conclusions. The Trusteeship is neither large nor randomized, but it is the most relevant, outstanding and compassionate group of women I have ever met.”
– Judith