Programs The Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards

Inna Braverman is an innovator and technology entrepreneur who’s proving that wave power can be game-changing in the fight against climate change. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eco Wave Power, a renewable energy company that’s developed a pioneering technology that produces clean electricity from ocean and sea waves. Inna is an outspoken advocate for a global transition away from polluting sources, partly motivated by her personal experience of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which affected her health as an infant in Ukraine. Determined to make wave energy production a global reality, Inna is bringing low-cost, clean energy to more people and tackling climate change in the process.

Hellen Lunkuse is a fearless human rights defender who advocates for women, girls, and marginalized communities in Uganda. As the Founder and Executive Director of Rape Hurts Foundation, she leads a team of dedicated activists who support survivors of gender-based violence to pursue justice, recover and rebuild. Her holistic approach to addressing and preventing gender-based violence has reached more than 850,000 people over the last ten years. Hellen connects survivors with emergency services, runs community awareness campaigns about women’s rights, and creates access to education and employment opportunities. A survivor herself, Hellen is a courageous and committed voice for human rights, inclusion, and women’s empowerment.

Sara Minkara is a pioneering advocate for inclusivity and the rights of people with disabilities. Since becoming legally blind at age seven, she has overcome barriers, challenged stigmas and created opportunities for authentic inclusion. As a Lebanese-American Muslim woman, Sara advocates for intersectional approaches to social change and has launched several initiatives of her own, including Empowerment Through Integration, a nonprofit that transforms mindsets and misconceptions by empowering youth with disabilities. In 2021, President Biden appointed Sara to the role of U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights at the State Department, where she leads U.S. strategy to promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities internationally. As a global champion, advocate and expert, Sara is actively building a more inclusive society.

Enass Muzamel is a pro-democracy activist and human rights defender coordinating ongoing crisis response efforts to support women and girls in Sudan. As the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Madaniya, an organization that promotes civic engagement, she was instrumental in the 2019 pro-democracy movement that led to the ousting of Omar al-Bashir. This April, after rival military factions instigated a violent conflict, Enass was forced to evacuate from her home in Khartoum. Even while displaced, she leads critical relief efforts and connects survivors of sexual violence to healthcare, medicine and basic services. In the face of a worsening humanitarian crisis, Enass is calling on the international community to act in solidarity with human rights defenders who want to end the war and build a democratic Sudan.