Musimbi Kanyoro

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Musimbi Kanyoro
Musimbi 2.jpg
Born30 November 1953 (1953-11-30) (age 71)
NationalityFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States [1]
Known forLeadership in global education
philanthropy
human rights advocacy [2]
Notable workChairperson of the International Board of United World Colleges
former President/CEO of Global Fund for Women [3]

Musimbi Kanyoro (born 30 November 1953) is a Kenyan-born human rights advocate, social activist and feminist theologian. [4]

Contents

She is the chairperson of the International Board of the United World Colleges [5] and independent member at London School of Economics and Political Science. [6]

She is also the founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians ("the Circle") and its first coordinator (1996-2002). [7]

Biography

She was born in Migori County, Kenya where she attended primary school before joining Alliance Girls School in Nairobi. [8] As a student in the 1970s, she supported the movement against apartheid in South Africa. [9] [10]

She earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Nairobi and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. Kanyoro later earned a doctorate in feminist theology at the San Francisco Theological Seminary, [11] and has received three honorary doctorate degrees. She was also a visiting scholar of Hebrew and the Old Testament at Harvard University. [12]

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Musimbi Kanyoro at the Global Fund For Women's Dinner in May 2013 in New York Musimbi Kanyoro and Hillary Rodham Clinton.jpeg
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Musimbi Kanyoro at the Global Fund For Women's Dinner in May 2013 in New York

Career

Kanyoro with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Kanyoro Sirleaf.jpg
Kanyoro with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Kanyoro was the Executive Secretary, Desk for Women in Church and Society at the Lutheran World Federation from 1982 to 1997. [13] She also edited the book In Search of a Round Table: Gender, Theology and Church Leadership, in 1998. [14] She worked as a translation consultant for the United Bible Societies. From 1998 to 2007, Kanyoro became the first woman from the continent of Africa to serve as the YWCA's World Secretary General. [10]

Kanyoro was director of the Population and Reproductive Health Program of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation from 2007 to 2011. [15] She was a member of the International Steering Committee for the Beijing World Conference and led delegations to five UN World Conferences in the 1990s. From 2018 until 2019, she served on an Independent Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Accountability and Culture Change at Oxfam, co-chaired by Zainab Bangura and Katherine Sierra. [16] Musimbi Kanyoro was the president and CEO of Global Fund for Women from 2011 to 2019. [17]

She has also served in several boards including the Aspen Leaders Council, the CARE Board, the UN High Level Taskforce for Reproductive Health, UN Women Civil Society Advisory Board, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)’s Scientific Advisory Board [18] and the International Board of the United World Colleges. [19]

She also works with former President of Ireland Mary Robinson on several projects, including the Board of Directors of Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative. She served as a member of the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) Reference Group. [20] [21]

She is also the member of Global Philanthropy Committee of the Council of Foundations [22] [19]

Kanyoro also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the African Population and Health Research Centre, and was for seven years the chair of the board of ISIS Work. She also serves on the boards of CARE, [23] Intra Health, [24] CHANGE and Legacy Memory Bank, [25] and is a member of the World Health Organization.

Awards

Selected bibliography

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Distinguished Guest Speaker Dr Musimbi Kanyoro: Education Unveils Our Shared Humanity". African Leadership Academy. 13 October 2021.
  2. "Embrace Isirika: Musimbi Kanyoro's TED Talk on Equal Generosity". Global Fund for Women. 27 February 2018.
  3. "Persist in putting faith into action, Kanyoro urges Lutheran churches | The Lutheran World Federation". lutheranworld.org.
  4. "Musimbi Kanyoro | Women's Learning Partnership".
  5. Cheney, Catherine (1 November 2024). "Collective leadership is key to lasting impact, in education and beyond". Devex. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  6. "Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro « The Uprising of Women in Philanthropy" . Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  7. Labeodan, Helen A. (8 July 2016). "Revisiting the legacy of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians today: A lesson in strength and perseverance". Verbum et Ecclesia. 37 (2). doi:10.4102/ve.v37i2.1586. ISSN   2074-7705.
  8. "Musimbi Kanyoro (Kenya) | WikiPeaceWomen – English". wikipeacewomen.org. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  9. "Star Power at a Global Women's Conference". The New York Times . 3 May 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Biography of those awarded" (PDF). Kenya Revenue Agency. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  11. Lowery, Stephanie A. (22 May 2020). "9 African Women Theologians You Should Know About". The GlobalChurch Project. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
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  13. GU (20 June 2011). "A Discussion with Musimbi Kanyoro, CEO and President of the Global Fund for Women" . Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  14. Molloy, Cathy (Winter 1998). "Review: [Untitled] in Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review". JSTOR. JSTOR   30113966 . Retrieved 27 July 2022.
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  16. Oxfam announces Zainab Bangura and Katherine Sierra to co-lead Independent Commission on Sexual Misconduct Archived 26 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine Oxfam, press release of 16 March 2018.
  17. Lieberman, Amy (13 August 2019). "Some gender equality progress 'slipping away,' says former Global Fund for Women CEO".
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  21. International Advisory Council Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice.
  22. "Global Philanthropy". Council on Foundations. January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  23. "CARE Announces Board Member Musimbi Kanyoro". October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  24. "Musimbi Kanyoro Joins Intra Health International Board of Directors". September 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  25. "Musimbi Kanyoro Joins Board of Legacy Memory Bank". November 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  26. "presented by Church Women United, USA, in recognition of commitment and dedication to global human rights of women". September 1999. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  27. "presented by the Luther Institute, USA in recognition of outstanding service to church and society". September 2000. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
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  33. "presented by the University of South Australia and the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Adelaide, Australia". 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
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