Sarah Hesterman

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Sarah Hesterman is an American gender equality activist and a U.S. delegate to the United Nations Youth Assembly. [1] In 2014 she was named as one of the BBC 100 Women. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Hesterman was born in the United States to John W. Hesterman, a lieutenant general in the Air Force, and Dr. Jennifer Hesterman, a professor and retired Air Force colonel. [1] [3] As a child in a military family, she moved frequently as a child, living in places such as Washington D.C., Qatar, and the United Kingdom. [1]

Hesterman is a student at Long Island University Global. [1]

Activism

Hesterman's family moved to Qatar in 2013. [4] She was driven to become an activist while living in the Middle East, [5] and founded the Qatari branch of the United Nations Girl Up program at the American School of Doha [6] in August 2014. [1] [3] [4]

In 2015, Hesterman was involved in campaigning for the passage of the Girls Count Act, an American bill which aimed to improve registration and documentation of girls' births around the world. [7]

In 2022, Hesterman became a program associate with #ShePersisted, an organization co-founded by gender equality expert Lucina Di Meco and democracy activist and elections specialist Kristina Wilfore. [8] [9] Hesterman has also written on how women's rights are threatened online by gendered disinformation in Hungary [10] and Tunisia. [11] These reports are a part of #ShePersisted's Monetizing Misogyny research series which examines the usage of gendered disinformation as a weapon to undermine the involvement of women in politics and to weaken democratic institutions and human rights. [12]

Recognition

In 2015, Hesterman received the Air Force Military Child of the Year award from Operation Homefront. [3] [4]

In 2016, Hesterman was named one of the United Nations' Empower Women's Champions for Change. [13] [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sarah Hesterman". Global Thinkers Mentors. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  2. ↑ "Who are the 100 Women 2014?". BBC News. 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  3. 1 2 3 "Military Child Spotlight: Sarah Hesterman". Operation Homefront. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  4. 1 2 3 Montes, Alexandre (2015-05-01). "Air Force Military Child of the Year Sarah Hesterman puts the 'stand' in standard". U.S. Air Forces Central. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  5. ↑ Gharib, Malaka (July 13, 2016). "Why These Teen Girls Give Helen Clark More Snaps Than Beyoncé". NPR. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  6. ↑ "ASD students raise money for education of two girls". Gulf Times. 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  7. ↑ Hillebrenner, Melissa (2015-06-18). "Proof That When Girls Come Together There's Nothing They Can't Do". HuffPost. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  8. ↑ "Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  9. ↑ "#ShePersisted - Who We Are". She Persisted. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  10. ↑ Di Meco, Lucina; Hesterman, Sarah (2021-11-30). "How Digital Media is Threatening Women's Rights and Democracy". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  11. ↑ "How social media is failing women in Tunisia". NADJA. 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  12. ↑ "#ShePersisted - Research and Thought Leadership". She Persisted. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  13. ↑ "Empower Women Announces the 2016-2017 Champions for Change". EmpowerWomen. 2016-12-10. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  14. ↑ "College Freshman Joins UN Program To Champion The Economic Empowerment Of Women". GirlTalkHQ. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
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