Gallery photos: Emma Caires
What an honor to emcee an amazing and inspiring event at the East-West Center in Honolulu to recognize Her Excellency Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine with its 2024 Women of Impact Award on Oct. 25, 2024, and to speak with a panel of incredible women about leadership.
From the East-West Center press release:
As the first woman to lead an independent Pacific Island nation in modern times, Heine has become a symbol of gender equality and women’s empowerment across the Pacific. In addition, she has had significant successes as a leader in education and made important contributions to climate change advocacy.
“To be counted among the previous recipients of this award is indeed an unexpected honor,” Heine said in her remarks accepting the award “on behalf of those who have come before me." She added: "If there is anything my career has taught me, it is that positive impact can be made only through building community and building bridges. There is that Western saying, 'No person is an island.' It's a concept that our islander cultures have known for millennia, and that my mother and father taught me as well: We are only as strong as our communities and our kinship to one another.”
The award was presented to President Heine, a former member of the Center’s Board of Governors, by the board’s current chair, former Hawai‘i Governor John Waihe‘e. Current Hawai‘i Governor Josh Green also presented Heine with an official proclamation honoring her for her contributions to women’s equality, climate advocacy, and educational progress in the Pacific. And in a video, White House Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison Erika Moritsugu read aloud a letter from President Biden congratulating Heine on the award.
Jean was honored to serve as event emcee, and to moderate a discussion with an international panel of distinguished women leaders to discuss women’s leadership.
Distinguished Panelists:
Dr. Yanghee Lee, Professor Emeritus, Sungkyunkwan University, Department of Child Psychology and Education
Mona Pasquil Rogers, Director of California Government Engagement, Meta, Inc.
Kristen Udui, Graduate Degree Fellow, East-West Center
The event was supported by the First Hawaiian Bank Lecture Series. View photos from the event on Flickr.
About the Women of Impact Award
The Women of Impact Award was established by the East-West Center Board of Governors in 2022 to recognize the important role of women’s leadership and impact in governance, diplomacy, and society. Awardees are selected based on their outstanding accomplishments, including important career achievements, civic leadership, and significant contributions to the Center’s mission of better relations and understanding among the people of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. Previous recipients of the award have included Hawai‘i civil rights champion Amy Agbayani and US Sen. Mazie Hirono.
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