Harvard Alumni for Global Women's Empowerment

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Harvard Alumni for Global Women's Empowerment

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Harvard GlobalWE is a shared interest group for Harvard alumni.

This community promotes the liberty and rights of women worldwide through education, dialogue, and connection among individuals working for women's empowerment.

10/16/2026

Meet DR. DENISE ZIYA BERTE, PhD, a speaker for GlobalWE's 2026 Annual Student/Alumni Roundtable. 🤩

Dr. Berte has been a licensed clinical psychologist for over 35 years, with a specialty in trauma, torture, oppression, war, interpersonal violence, and indigenous populations.

She has written over 20 published professional articles and five book chapters, and has presented on over 700 occasions domestically and internationally on her areas of specialty, including violence, trauma, multicultural practice, and human rights. As a forensic psychologist, Dr. Berte has evaluated more than 1,800 individuals and served as an expert witness in more than 800 cases involving criminal, family, immigration, and human rights law.

Currently, Dr. Berte is the Executive Director of Peaceful Families Project, which addresses family-based violence within faith-based communities, upholding a mission rooted in cultural values, community organizing, and the elimination of violence in the home.

She joins us on October 23 at Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard, for Domestic Violence: A Public Policy Crisis.

📌 October 23 | 4–5:30 PM ET

Can't make it in person? Join us on Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/StudentAlumniRoundtable

Be part of the discussion, no matter where you are!

10/13/2026

🌟 Meet CAROLINE LIGHT, Senior Lecturer and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGS), and a guest speaker for GlobalWE's 2026 GlobalWE Annual Student/Alumni Roundtable.

Her research explores histories of citizenship and belonging in the United States. Caroline's 2017 book, Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense, tracks the evolution of our nation’s ideals of armed citizenship, from the centuries-old “castle doctrine” to the “Stand Your Ground” laws that have removed the duty to retreat in a majority of the states.

Caroline joins us on October 23 at Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard, for Domestic Violence: A Public Policy Crisis.

📌 October 23 | 4–5:30 PM ET

Can't make it in person? Join us virtually on Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/StudentAlumniRoundtable

We hope you'll join the conversation, wherever you may be.

10/10/2026

Meet RUTH ZAKARIN, CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and a guest speaker for GlobalWE's 2026 Annual Student/Alumni Roundtable. 🤩

Ruth spent over 25 years working with youth and adults impacted by domestic and sexual violence before becoming the inaugural Executive Director and now CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence in May of 2019. With over 120 member organizations, the Coalition works to address gun violence in all its forms through advocacy, public awareness, coalition building, and community organizing.

Ruth has her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and is also trained as a community organizer. She is particularly interested in creating models of trauma-informed advocacy and policymaking.

She brings decades of frontline experience to our October roundtable - Domestic Violence: A Public Policy Crisis.

🗓️ October 23 | 4-5:30 PM ET

📍In-person at the Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard or register to attend via Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/StudentAlumniRoundtable

10/07/2026

Meet DR. EVE VALERA, an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Research Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and guest speaker for GlobalWE's 2026 Annual Student/Alumni Roundtable. 🤩

As a pioneer in the field, Dr. Valera’s groundbreaking research and studies are among the first to look at the prevalence of brain injury and its association with cognitive and psychiatric difficulties in women who had experienced intimate partner violence. She was also the first to use neuroimaging to investigate the effects of partner-inflicted brain injury on neural connectivity and cognitive function in these women. Her research has been translated into education and training for police officers, judges, ER clinicians, domestic violence advocates, and others who work with women in the aftermath of violence.

She was awarded the prestigious Robert D. Voogt Founders Award from the North American Brain Injury Society and the inaugural Women Making History Award from Safe Living Spaces, and her work has been featured in The New York Times Magazine and Forbes.

Dr. Valera joins us on October 23 for Domestic Violence: A Public Policy Crisis.

🗓️ October 23 | 4–5:30 PM ET

📍 In-person at Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard, or register to attend via Zoom 🔗
https://tinyurl.com/StudentAlumniRoundtable

10/04/2026

to a GlobalWE Student/Alumni Roundtable conversation that stayed with us. 📚

Back in October 2024, as part of GlobalWE's 10th anniversary, we hosted "Education and Women's Rights in Afghanistan," with Dr. Lauryn Oates, Executive Director of Right to Learn Afghanistan (RTLA), moderated by Julie Palmer, Founder and President Emerita of GlobalWE, and Sajida H. Shroff, President Emerita of GlobalWE.

Dr. Oates shared her powerful experiences advocating for and enabling girls' education under the severe restrictions imposed by the Taliban. Our moderators then facilitated an invigorating Q&A session that included questions and insights from our in-person and online participants. The discussion focused on both what RTLA is doing as well as other global challenges where such interventions could make a difference.

🎥 Watch the full roundtable on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/RcgY0lFsXeM?si=h55lPjnN33TYkGCz

🗓️ Up next: Our Annual Roundtable returns on Oct 23, 2026. This year's topic: Domestic Violence: A Public Health Crisis. Attend in person at the Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard, or register to attend on Zoom ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/StudentAlumniRoundtable

10/01/2026

to one of GlobalWE's most powerful Student/Alumni roundtables yet.

Last October, we gathered at Phillips Brooks House for "Honoring Indigenous Voices, Advancing Women's Empowerment" — where four extraordinary speakers brought their lived experience, research, and advocacy to a conversation on the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, their resilience as leaders and changemakers, and the role global alumni networks can play as real advocates.

(speaker images, clockwise from top left)

➡️ Brenda L. Croft — Professor of Indigenous Art History & Curatorship at the Australian National University in Canberra, and the 2024 Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Visiting Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard.

➡️ Therese Lautua, PhD - Received her doctorate in Theology from Waipapa Taumata Rau – The University of Auckland and is an esteemed Researcher of indigenous Pacific Christianity and mental wellbeing.

➡️ Louise McDonald — Distinguished Scholar in Indigenous Learning at McMaster University's Institute for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, honored with a doctorate from NYS University at SUNY Canton.

➡️ Jael Whitney Brothers (Choctaw Nation) — Assistant Director for the Honoring Nations program at the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development.

🎥 Watch the full 2025 roundtable on YouTube —
https://youtu.be/dUvknASKnq0?si=i7TGWyckgXmgx2MJ

Up next: Our annual Student/Alumni Roundtable returns on October 23 - with a discussion on Domestic Violence: A Public Health Crisis. Attend in person at Phillips Brooks House, or register to attend via Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/StudentAlumniRoundtable

09/27/2026

Domestic violence is a public health crisis. It's time we talk about it.

GlobalWE's Annual Student/Alumni Roundtable returns in October, and this year's discussion is one you won't want to miss - featuring leading voices at the intersection of gender-based violence, neuroscience, and self-defense.

📅 Friday, October 23

⏰ 4-5:30 PM (ET)

📍Hybrid - in person @ Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard

🛜 On Zoom ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/StudentAlumniRoundtable

Stay tuned for speaker announcements 👀 🗣️

09/10/2026

GlobalWE was proud to participate in Harvard’s Global Day of Service on August 28! 🎓

Harvard students, alumni, and volunteers lent their time, skills, and fresh perspectives to projects supporting GlobalWE’s programs and mission. Several of our board members were there throughout the day to introduce the projects, answer questions, and guide volunteers.

We are grateful to everyone who contributed their time and talents and helped us continue advancing education and opportunities for women and girls around the world. 🌎

08/21/2026

members share their unique perspectives on what it means to be an "agent of change." ✊ 💥

Watch our virtual showcase on YouTube: ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzOYNvdBlQ

08/07/2026

📢 📢 ANNOUNCEMENT: EVENT POSTPONED 📌

GlobalWE's Summer Movie/Book Club discussions on (originally set for August 14 & 15) have been postponed.

Please note that this event is NOT CANCELED--just paused!

We remain excited and eager to gather and share our thoughts on Marjane Satrapi's unforgettable graphic memoir and film adaptation with you all.

Thank you to all who registered for your patience and understanding. We will provide an updated event schedule at a later time.

Until then, happy reading 📖 and watching 🎬!

Address

Cambridge, MA

Website

http://www.hglobalwe.org/

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