Women have overcome incredible challenges and achieved astounding accomplishments in the past few decades, making their voices of change, empowerment, and experience in high demand.
American Program Bureau offers an extensive list of influential, powerful, and strong women who are leaders, professionals, survivors, and experts on a wide range of issues. These keynote speakers are moving and inspirational to women from all walks of life, from all around the globe. Their empowering stories provide unique perspectives and hard-earned knowledge on the subjects that matter most to women today and in the future.
**Don't forget: March is Women's History Month and popular women speakers' schedules fill up fast. Check out our Women's History Month speaker page for fresh ideas for your Women's History Month engagements.
Kelly Corrigan
The New York Times best-selling author of The Middle Place and Lift, Corrigan has a way of connecting with readers and audiences alike. Sharing life experiences from battling breast cancer at the young age of 36, to learning of her father's late-stage cancer, to the emotional struggles and personal ...
Jane Seymour
Truly a modern Renaissance woman, award-winning actress Seymour has found success in all aspects of her rich life. Recently a hit on Dancing with the Stars, she has gone from leading roles in films, on Broadway and on television in Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman to tapping into her talent as accomplished artist, ...
Susan L. Taylor
As editorial director of Essence, Taylor was the driving force behind one of the most celebrated black-owned business success stories in recent times. Her firm belief in personal empowerment and tapping into the power within motivates and inspired her employees to lead Essence to become a successful global ...
Sheryl WuDunn
As a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and professional speaker, Sheryl WuDunn offers a unique perspective on current economic, political and social issues such as women's rights. As co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Half the Sky, WuDunn calls attention to the trials and triumphs of women ...
Gail Sheehy
As the best-selling author of over a dozen books, including Passages, Gail Sheehy has rocked the culture and changed the way millions of women and men look at the stages of their lives. A Library of Congress survey named Passages one of the ten most influential books of our time. In her latest book, ...
Lee Woodruff
After her husband, ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, sustained a critical brain injury in Iraq, they together penned In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing, The New York Times best-selling book about their family’s difficult journey through Bob’s recovery. Now, in her latest book, ...
America Ferrera
Best known for her Emmy-winning starring role in Ugly Betty, America Ferrera - an artist ambassador for Save the Children - is also an activist committed to issues surrounding education & children.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Internationally known as Africa’s “Iron Lady,” President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first woman to lead an African nation. A Harvard-educated former World Bank economist, she is a leading promoter of peace, justice, and democratic rule who was recently honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in ...
Robin Meade
The anchor of Morning Express with Robin Meade, airing on CNN's spinoff news channel HLN, Robin Meade has reported on many of today's most pressing issues – from politics and world events to momentous pop culture occurrences. Meade draws on her extensive knowledge of world affairs and experience as an anchor and ...
Mary Robinson
As first female President of Ireland, Robinson increased the status of the nation. Formerly the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, she now advises businesses worldwide on ethical practices and management. In addition to her role as Executive Director of the Ethical Globalization Initiative, she is one of five members ...
Terry McMillan
Since McMillan's breakout novel Waiting to Exhale surged onto The New York Times bestseller list, critics and readers alike have been captivated by her irreverent, often-hilarious take on the issues faced by contemporary African American women. With several of her bestsellers, including Waiting to ...
Mary Frances Berry
Former Chairperson of the US Civil Rights Commission, law professor, and esteemed civil rights historian, Berry continually defends the rights of all people with her actions and dedication to equality. From fair housing to equal opportunity to voter's rights, she has been a strong advocate for the disempowered and ...
Rosie Perez
A film actress and choreographer, AIDS activist and women's rights advocate, Perez has been nominated for both an Emmy and an Oscar. She has recently produced, directed, and starred in Yo Soy Boricua, Pa Que Tu Lo Sepa: I Am Puerto Rican, Just So You Know, which chronicles the lives of Puerto Ricans living in the ...
Sara Paretsky
One of the most influential female crime writers, the award-winning Paretsky changed the world of detective fiction with her groundbreaking popular female sleuth, "V.I. Warshawski." An activist, she explores the political and literary dissent that informed her life and work in her acclaimed book, Writing in an Age of ...
M. Joycelyn Elders
As a pediatric endocrinologist and 15th Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Elders has a deep concern for young people and teaches that education, prevention, and responsibility are the keys to a healthy life. An outspoken advocate on behalf of children, she is an expert on the prevention of child abuse, teen ...
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Former Prime Minister of Norway, Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development, Dr. Brundtland has been a prominent force in addressing key issues such as healthcare, economic sustainability, and the challenges to the environment throughout the world. ...
Rachel Simmons
Simmons is the author of The New York Times bestseller Odd Girl Out, the first book to explore the phenomenon of bullying between girls - just as harmful as boys, but harder to recognize. The Founder and Director of The Girls’ Leadership Institute, she is a highly sought-after consultant to schools all over ...
Mariane Pearl
Pearl is a unique and versatile award-winning journalist who has written A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl, a gripping and profound narrative of her experience and the pursuit of those who captured and killed her husband, Daniel Pearl, the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall ...
Shirin Ebadi
An extraordinary woman of many firsts, Iranian lawyer and activist Ebadi has made history as the first Muslim to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous defense of human rights in Iran. One of the most intelligent, passionate, and respected voices of dissent from within this complex nation, she speaks to the world ...
Jamie Lee Curtis
An award winning actress and best-selling author of seven children's books, Curtis is a woman with many talents. She has demonstrated her versatility as a film actress with starring roles in such acclaimed films as the blockbuster True Lies opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award.
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