March's Most Inspiring Person of the Month

Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel

Saudi Arabian Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel is Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees and Head of the Executive Committee of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundations. The Foundation is an international, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting programs and projects aimed at poverty alleviation, disaster relief, interfaith dialogue and women’s empowerment. Al-Taweel travels extensively on behalf of the Foundation in an effort to better understand the most pressing challenges facing our world today. A strong advocate for women’s rights in the Middle East, she has been interviewed on numerous U.S. television programs and in magazines speaking in support of both women’s right to drive in her country and the broader issue of women’s overall empowerment to contribute fully in Saudi society. Her efforts to improve and promote the image of Saudi women are an inspiration to women around the globe.

Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour

Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour became America’s first African American female combat pilot during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During two combat tours she flew her missile equipped helicopter above the deserts of Iraq, scouting the roads from the cockpit assuring the safety of her fellow Marines and soldiers on the ground. After leaving the military Armour launched VAI Consulting and Training, LLC. Applying the Zero to Breakthrough™ Success Model to her own company, she produced over six-figures in revenue the first year. Armour has many notable accomplishments including being awarded as a pioneering pilot, receiving an honorary Doctorate of Law from Chancellor University and being the first African American woman on the Nashville Police Department’s motorcycle squad. Her first book, Zero to Breakthrough™was released last year. This inspirational woman now travels the globe sharing her Breakthrough Mentality mindset, encouraging leaders to step up and lead.

Victoria Osteen

As co-pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, Victoria Osteen works alongside her husband, Pastor Joel Osteen, serving this country’s largest and most diverse congregation with over 40,000 attending services each week. Osteen is also an integral part of her husband’s worship events throughout the U.S. She is passionate about helping women, children and families discover their purpose and reach their highest potential in Christ. This passion led her to start the Women’s Ministry at Lakewood which serves single, married and professional women. Osteen who received a Community Impact Award from the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce in 2006 also supports The Bridge, a battered women’s shelter and Feed the Children. Her first book New York Times bestseller, Love Your Life was released in 2008. She also wrote children’s books: Unexpected Treasures and My Happy Heart box set. Osteen is an inspiration to women everywhere.

First Lady Michelle Obama

Supporting service to others and working with young people has been a part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s passion and career all of her adult life. Now as she serves this country alongside husband President Obama she continues her efforts on behalf of young people through her Let’s Move! campaign which she launched in 2010. Let’s Move! brings together community leaders, teachers, doctors, nurses, moms and dads in a nationwide effort to tackle childhood obesity. Let’s Move! Is working to provide parents much needed support and education, provide healthier food in schools, encourage our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country. With the ultimate goal of solving the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation, Obama’s efforts are inspiring healthy eating and healthy living for families across this country.

Doris Lessing

Born Oct. 22, 1919, Kermanshah, Persia British novelist and short-story writer Doris Lessing lived on a farm in Southern Rhodesia before moving to England and beginning her writing career in 1949. Her works, which have often reflected her leftist political activism, spotlight people caught in social and political upheavals. Lessing’s five novel series, Children of Violence, featuring the character Martha Quest, reflects her African experience. The Golden Notebook, her most widely read novel, is a feminist classic. Her masterful short stories are published in several collections. Her other works include a science-fiction novel series, several novels published under the pseudonym Jane Somers, the volumes of autobiography Under My Skin and Walking in the Shade, and collections of essays, including Time Bites. Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007.

Hawa Abdi

Hawa Abdi, one of Somalia’s first female gynecologists opened a one room clinic for women and children on her family farm in 1983. During the country’s 1991 civil war the clinic began serving men who were injured in the war as well. Located near Mogadishu the camp is now home to around 90,000 people. Most are displaced women and children seeking refuge and treatment for issues from war injuries to malnutrition and disease. Abdi runs the small hospital with the help of her two daughters who are also doctors with her own money and donations. She helps provide food and clean water, runs a school and literacy classes for women and campaigns against female genital mutilation. This inspirational doctor and her daughters were named Glamour Women of the Year in 2010 for their fearless service to the refugees of Somalia.

Dilma Rousseff

Dilma Rousseff is the first female to serve as President of Brazil. Rousseff who was raised in an upper middle class household became a socialist during her youth, joining left-wing and Marxist urban guerrilla groups that fought against the military dictatorship. In 1970 she was arrested and served two years in captivity enduring extreme torture. When released she helped found the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) and became the Secretary of the Treasury of Porto Alegre and later the Secretary of Energy of Rio Grande do Sul. She left PDT and joined the Workers' Party (PT) in 2000. Two years later, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed her Minister of Energy. In 2005, Rousseff took over the post of Chief of Staff serving until March 31, 2010, when she left to run for President. From prison to the Presidency Rousseff’s journey is an inspiration to women around the world.

Brenda Hale

Brenda Hale, the first woman and the youngest judge to become a law lord in the United Kingdom, has campaigned to increase the diversity of the judiciary, worked to overhaul family and fought to protect domestic violence victims. After being attacked by the rightwing media in the 80s for trying to bring in a no-fault divorce, she wrote the first comprehensive survey of women's rights at work, in the family and the state, and was instrumental in introducing the Children's Act 1989. In 2004, Hale joined the House of Lords as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary; the only woman ever appointed to this position. She served as a Law Lord until 2009 when she, along with the other Law Lords, transferred to the new Supreme Court. Hale remains the most senior female judge in the history of the United Kingdom.

Emma Thompson

British actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson was one of the first ladies of contemporary British stage and cinema. Thompson was thrust into the international spotlight with her Oscar winning performances in the 1990s in such films as Howards End and Sense and Sensibility. The two time Academy Award winner continues her work in film and television today but also focuses her attention on the issue of human trafficking of women and young girls. While serving as chair of the Helen Bamber Foundation, a London-based philanthropic foundation formed in 2005 to help victims of cruelty, Thompson learned the story of one young victim, Elena. Moved by the story of this 19 year old who was trafficked into Britain, in 2009 she launched Journey, an art installation that depicts the world of human sex trafficking. Thompson’s efforts to expose the sex-trafficking industry continue to enlighten and inspire individuals around the world.

Kathryn Ann Bigelow

American film director Kathryn Ann Bigelow’s best-known films list would have to include: Near Dark (1987), Point Break (1991), Strange Days (1995), The Weight of Water (2000) and the war drama The Hurt Locker (2008). The Hurt Locker won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture, won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and was nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Drama. Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director, the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, the BAFTA Award for Best Direction, and the Critics' Choice Award for Best Director for the same film. Her directing resume also includes work on several acclaimed television shows including; Homicide: Life on the Street and Wild Palms. This award winning director was also listed on Time Magazine’s 100 list of Most Influential People of the Year in 2010.

Cathy Freeman

Cathy Freeman was the first Aboriginal athlete to represent Australia in the 1996 Olympic Games. She won silver that year in the 400 meter race. Four years later, Freeman had the honor of lighting the Olympic caldron at the 2000 Sydney Games and celebrated a gold medal win in the 400 meter. In 2007 fueled by her belief that all children deserve the opportunity to learn, experience life, explore their talents and fulfill their dreams she established the Cathy Freeman Foundation. The Foundation works to bridge the education gap between Indigenous and non - Indigenous children, ensuring these children all share a strong sense of self-belief and access to opportunities in life. Freeman remains actively involved in the Foundation’s work today and her commitment to the Australian community of Palm Island and the future of Indigenous people is an inspiration to people all over the world.

Camila Batmanghelidjh

London Psychotherapist Camila Batmanghelidjh founded Kids Company in 1996. The nonprofit organization is devoted to helping exceptionally vulnerable and traumatized/abused children return to a safer childhood and positive future. Batmanghelidjh uses a unique multidisciplinary approach to delivering services through Kids Company focusing the organization’s activities on the physical, emotional and educational needs of the most vulnerable inner-city kids without compromise. In 2007 her organization was awarded the Liberty and Justice Human Rights Award. In 2010 Kids Company was selected as a ‘Child Poverty Champion’ by the End Child Poverty project for success in enabling children to achieve their full potential. Batmanghelidjh continues her child advocacy work as she travels and speaks regularly at conferences and contributes to numerous publications inspiring others to get involved.