Geeta Rao Gupta

Geeta Rao Gupta, Ph.D., "is president of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), a leading global authority on women’s role in development, and passionate advocate for women’s empowerment and the protection and fulfillment of women’s human rights. She has worked at ICRW as a consultant, researcher and officer since 1988, and has headed the private, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., since 1997...

"Her recent efforts have focused on increasing support for research on microbicides, which can prevent HIV infection during sexual activity; community involvement in the design and implementation of services to prevent mother-to-child-transmission (MCTC) of HIV; and the urgent need to end child marriage and early childbearing.

"Apart from her work on HIV/AIDS, Rao Gupta is also known as a dynamic speaker and educator on adolescent sexuality and fertility, the unmet need for family planning, adolescent and maternal nutrition, and other health-related subjects affecting women and girls. She served as co-chair of the U.N. Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Youth Employment and co-chaired the U.N. Millennium Project’s Task Force on Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women from 2002 to 2005. She has received a number of awards, among them the Anne Rowe Award from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Working Mother Media Legacy Award. She serves on the Board of Directors of InterAction and the Moriah Fund, and on the Nike Foundation Advisory Board." [1]

• Director, InterAction
• Director, Moriah Fund
• Advisory Council, Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative
• Emeritus Director, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
• Ambassadors Council, Freedom from Hunger