Obama Scholars Forum, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Joséphine Goube

Founder and CEO, Sistech

Joséphine Goube is the CEO of Sistech, an organization that supports refugee women with access to gainful employment in the technology sector. Grounded by the belief that a democracy is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, Joséphine aims to accelerate economic inclusion and citizenship rights for refugee communities for a more inclusive democracy. Over 700 women have moved through Sistech’s programs in France, Italy, and Greece, receiving digital skills training such as data analysis, cybersecurity, and web development, with 70% successfully obtaining jobs in tech. Through this work, Joséphine has collected stories of impact on the integration of these women into the job market and has used this as a proven model to advise on more inclusive migrant policies at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, European Commission, and French Parliament. Josephine is seeking to strengthen her advocacy skills to enact regional policy change and gain theoretical knowledge through the Scholars program to scale Sistech’s work across Europe and shift the narrative on refugees in the region.

Enrica Duncan

Director, Mapa do Acolhimento

Enrica Duncan is the director of Mapa do Acolhimento, an organization that leverages technology to provide direct response resources for survivors of gender-based violence. The organization started in response to urgent requests for psychological and legal support, using technology to make one-to-one matches based on needs. Since then, Mapa has transformed into a network of over 10,000 volunteers in 1,000 cities across Brazil to connect survivors to robust mental health support, access to justice, and interventions to break the cycle of violence. Their resource maps are now shared with Google, and they have provided training for the government’s national hotline. With support for social services largely dependent on Brazil’s federal government, Enrica wants to use her Scholar experience to learn how she might help develop a resilient ecosystem that can safeguard social service structures, especially through the power of technology and cross-sector partnerships. She seeks to engage more civil servants through training initiatives and elevate the priority of gender-based violence response within state governments. Ultimately, Enrica is committed to ensuring that vulnerable communities retain access to essential resources, regardless of the prevailing government leadership.

Chenxi Ouyang

Founder, Bright and Beautiful

Chenxi Ouyang is the founder of Bright and Beautiful, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering adolescent girls in under-resourced areas of China. Since 2013, they have served over 9,000 girls from 151 rural schools across 19 provinces, pioneering innovative approaches to enhance their physical and psychological well-being through in-person embodied arts programs, workshops on the science of their changing bodies, and rites of passage programming. In response to institutional challenges, they have successfully empowered and engaged public school teachers to implement their programs in rural classrooms, supplementing the traditional academically-focused curriculum with holistic, development-oriented activities. Their efforts to promote a positive narrative surrounding adolescent girls in China include extensive advocacy campaigns in partnership with the Alibaba Philanthropy Foundation, reaching an audience of 700,000 people nationwide. Chenxi seeks to explore avenues for sustained growth through the Scholars program, aiming to further expand her mission's reach and effectiveness.

Adi Alani Tuivucilevu

Former Network Coordinator, Women in Fisheries Network

Adi Alani Tuivucilevu is an advocate for an environmentally sustainable, economically viable fisheries sector in which women fishers play an equal and valued role in Fiji and across the Pacific region. Through her leadership in the Women in Fisheries Network (WiFN), operating across ten provinces in Fiji and the region, Alani collaborates with scientists, gender practitioners, NGOs, and community members to acknowledge women’s contributions in fisheries and address the escalating challenges posed by climate change, particularly how it intensifies the burdens faced by women engaged in fisheries work. WiFN’s approach is localized, engaging with village women's organizations, conducting needs assessments, and collaboratively designing projects to address these issues in consultation with the government. Alani’s main role is to build these partnerships, between the private sector, government, and communities to inform evidence-based gender equity policies. She seeks to leverage the Scholars program to transition women in Fiji from the informal sector to the formal sector, allowing for women’s increased participation in the private sector through the development of a national business incubator program.