Zainab Salbi is a globally celebrated humanitarian, author, and journalist. People Magazine named her as one of the “25 Women Changing the World,” Foreign Policy Magazine named her as one of the “100 Leading Global Thinkers.” Zainab is co-founder of DaughtersforEarth.org, Chief Awareness Officer at FindCenter.com, and host of the Redefined podcast that explores what happens when life’s biggest challenges lead us on a transformative search for what matters most.
Zainab is the author of four books, including the national bestseller Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam and her latest, Freedom Is an Inside Job: Owning Our Darkness and Our Light to Heal Ourselves and The World. She is the creator and host of several shows, including #MeToo, Now What? on PBS, and Through Her Eyes with Zainab Salbi at Yahoo News.
At the age of 23, Zainab founded Women for Women International, a humanitarian development non-profit dedicated to serving women survivors of war by offering support, tools, and access to life-changing skills to move from crisis and poverty to stability and economic self-sufficiency. From initially helping 30 women, the organization has grown to help over 519,000 women from eight conflict zones, and Zainab distributed $146 million dollars in aid and microloans for these women and their families to rebuild their lives..
Courses
Inspiring Global Change and Catalyzing Equity in Practice & Academia
Women, planet, and design. This plenary looks at the global challenges and displacement of women due to war, violence, climate change, and poverty. Zainab Salbi, humanitarian, media host, author, and nonprofit founder, will share her life’s work and call upon the audience to reflect on their own role in an interconnected ecosystem and how architects can contribute to supporting women and ecological efforts across the globe. Zainab is the founder and former CEO of Women for Women International and co-founder of Daughters for Earth. She’s been identified as one of the “25 Women Changing the World” and one of the “100 Top Global Thinkers.” After an exciting talk on global change, Zainab Salbi will engage two leaders on stage in a dynamic conversation about the future of women in architecture. What are we doing today to address better equity for women in the profession of architecture? The journey women take from academia through the profession is riddled with challenges, barriers, and inequities. The speakers will present ideas and solutions to improve the advancement and retention of women within the architecture profession, starting with challenging the status quo and cultivating leadership, equity, belonging, and support.