Women and Girls Leading the Way:
IWHC's Second Annual Gala, January 2003

On January 16, 2003, the International Women's Health Coalition held its Second Annual Gala at the American Museum of Natural History, celebrating IWHC's successful 14-year collaboration with colleague organizations in Brazil. The evening's theme was "Women and Girls Leading the Way: Celebrating Leaders of the Brazilian Women's Health Movement." We also honored Ellen Chesler for her service as IWHC board chair from 1997 to 2002 and for being a champion of women's health and rights. Our special guests were Brazilian feminist leaders Maria José Araújo (founder of O Coletivo Feminista Sexualidade e Saúde, now head of the Brazilian Ministry of Health's Women's Health Division) and Alessandra Chacham (former Vice President of MUSA - Mulher e Saúde), and actress and activist Jane Fonda. We also debuted Um Forte Abraço (A Big Hug), our documentary film profiling past and present leaders and key organizations in the Brazilian women's movement.

For information about our next gala, please contact Laura Miller at lmiller@iwhc.org.

Ellen Chesler, 2003 Gala Honoree
Ellen Chesler is a senior fellow at The Open Society Institute (OSI), the international foundation started by George Soros. She has directed OSI's $35 million program of investments in reproductive health and rights, and advises on a range of other programs and policy developments. She is the author of Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America, for which she was awarded PEN's 1993 Martha Albrand citation for best first work of nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in many anthologies, and in such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, The New Republic, The Nation, The New Leader, Ms. Magazine and The Women's Review of Books. Ellen chaired IWHC's board from 1997-2002 and was a board member from 1992-2002. She graduated from Vassar College and earned her master's and doctoral degrees in history at Columbia University.