Ms. in the News

Forbes interviewed Joanne N. Smith, Founder/President and CEO of our grantee partner Girls for Gender Equity on her radical approach toward nonprofit work. The story also cited our Pocket Change report, which underscored just how little funding women and girls of color receive.

Upcoming Event: Women of Vision Awards

We’re excited to announce the amazing women who will be honored at the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards on May 17 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in NYC. Get your tickets now at wov2022.org.

Our 2022 honorees are:

• Woman of Vision Award: Grantee partner Ruby Bright, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis
• Woman of Vision Award: Grantee partner Cassandra Overton Welchlin, Executive Director and Co-Convener of the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable
• Woman of Vision Award: Bozoma St. John, Marketing Executive (Formerly of Netflix and Uber), Author, Entrepreneur
• Woman of Vision Award: Maxine Waters, Congresswoman for California’s 43rd District 
• Free to Be Honoree: Deja Foxx, Reproductive Rights Activist, Political Strategist and Blogger
• Marie C. Wilson Emerging Leader Award: Pamala Buzick Kim, Executive Director of FREE THE WORK

On the Move

Recently, Ms. Foundation President and CEO Teresa C. Younger attended and spoke at the Women Moving Millions’ Member Day and Annual Summit that brought together members and partners to learn, share, and connect with each other and external experts in gender-lens philanthropy. During a panel that Teresa moderated on philanthropic aspirations, one of her key points was: “we need to get comfortable with our power and then give it up.” 

Teresa also traveled to D.C. with an amazing group of friends and partners for the historic confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. She gave remarks on the lawn and reflected upon the empowering moment she witnessed in real time of seeing Justice Jackson walk out of the White House alongside Vice President Kamala Harris. Revisit our confirmation statement here. 

Black Maternal Health Week

For Black Maternal Health Week, Birth Justice Program Officer Sona Smith spoke during the Capital B event, “The State of Black Maternal Health.” She was part of the “Solutions to Surviving Pregnancy” panel, where she emphasized: "we see a lot of funding going towards birth equity and birth justice that are skipping over the organizations that are really at the root and on the ground," such as doula and birth worker collectives. Watch the recording of the panel on YouTube, starting at 2:19:42. 

Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project, one of our Birth Justice grantees, was recently featured on Good Morning America. This moving story captures why Wanda Irving is working to end the Black maternal crisis & birth inequity.