By Dr. Denise Raquel Dunning, Founder & Executive Director
Dear Friends,
As I look ahead to what 2023 has in store, I feel hopeful about the meaningful impacts we will achieve together with and for girls, women, and gender-nonconforming people around the world.
Rise Up has some big plans for this year and I want to share with you some of the exciting things I’m looking forward to in the months ahead.
First, I’m thrilled that we will be launching Rise Up’s “Learning Journey” in 2023, which builds on the external evaluation that Dalberg Advisors, a global strategy consulting firm, conducted to examine Rise Up over the last five years. As our organization grows, we’re embarking on this Learning Journey to deepen our understanding of how best to support local leaders and organizations to bolster gender equity by shifting policies and norms. We’re excited to share our learnings with partners, funders, and all of you—be on the lookout for an upcoming newsletter feature about this.
We’re also expanding our powerful global network of Rise Up Leaders with intensive Leadership & Advocacy training programs taking place in Brazil, India, California, and Kenya, a goal we identified in last year’s bold strategic plan. All of us at Rise Up are honored to support our new cohorts of visionary leaders this year and build on our successes from 2022, including partnering with Rise Up Leaders to advocate for 18 new laws, policies, and programs to advance gender equity and positively impact the lives of almost 5 million people across the world.
As we expand our impact, we are growing our team to meet critical needs and achieve our ambitious goals. We are fortunate to have such a diverse and dedicated team and were thrilled to recently welcome our Deputy Director, Emily Leys, who is guiding our strategy and programs, and our Team Culture and Diversity Manager, Dominique Sierra Romero, who is leading Rise Up’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) efforts—more in the Spotlight below.
I am grateful to you for your partnership to create a more just and equitable world for everyone. Thank you for choosing to support us and Rise Up Leaders. We couldn’t do this work without you.
Onward,
