Join Vital Voices on September 24, 2026 from 5-7 PM at DVF Studio in NYC, where Vital Voices and Diane von Furstenberg will bring together five extraordinary women leaders advancing justice, equity and opportunity around the world.
Event Details
Vital Voices Leadership Talks
A United Nations General Assembly Week Convening
Thursday, September 24, 2026
5:00–7:00 p.m.
Program and reception
DVF Studio
440 West 14th Street
New York, NY 10014
RSVP Here to Attend: https://support.vitalvoices.org/event/vital-voices-leadership-talks-2026/e839194
Event Description
During United Nations General Assembly Week, Vital Voices Global Partnership and Diane von Furstenberg will present Vital Voices Leadership Talks, an intimate evening of storytelling and conversation held during United Nations General Assembly Week in New York City.
The convening will feature five extraordinary leaders whose work spans refugee livelihoods, clean water access, responsible technology, gender justice and climate action. Through personal stories and candid conversations, they will share how courage becomes a catalyst for lasting change—and what it takes to build solutions that respond to some of the world’s most urgent challenges.
Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson will deliver opening remarks, and Leah Lizarondo, Vice President of Global Network at Vital Voices, will moderate the conversation.
Meet the Leaders
Aline Sara, founder of NaTakallam, is creating economic opportunities for refugees and displaced people by connecting them with language learners around the world.
Christelle Kwizera, founder of Water Access Rwanda, is expanding access to safe, affordable water while building sustainable solutions rooted in the needs of local communities.
Breeze Liu, founder of Alecto AI, is using technology to combat online image abuse and advance safety, accountability and justice in the digital world.
Nisha Pahuja, filmmaker and founder of Notice Pictures, uses documentary storytelling to examine complex social issues and amplify deeply human stories of courage and change.
Renata Koch Alvarenga, founder of EmpoderaClima, is advancing gender-just climate action and ensuring that women and young people have a voice in shaping a more sustainable future.
Together, these women embody a practice central to the Vital Voices Leadership Journey: driving force. Each has drawn on her personal experiences, values and vision to build a solution greater than herself.
From Personal Conviction to Collective Impact
The evening’s conversations will explore how women leaders transform lived experience into action. From sustaining refugee livelihoods and expanding water access to confronting digital abuse, advancing climate justice and documenting stories of survival, each speaker demonstrates the power of leadership grounded in purpose.
While their fields and experiences differ, these leaders share a commitment to challenging systems that exclude, harm or overlook people—and to creating new possibilities in their place.
At a moment when communities around the world are confronting overlapping crises, their work offers an essential reminder: meaningful change begins when leaders have the courage to act, the vision to imagine something better and the support of a global community behind them.
Join Vital Voices and Diane von Furstenberg for an inspiring evening celebrating five leaders who are turning courage into action and building a more just and equitable world.