Women Leaders

Dame Louise Richardson is the president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, the philanthropic foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911. She assumed the role in January 2023, becoming the first woman to lead the Corporation. Previously, she served as vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford (2016–2022) and of the University of St Andrews (2009–2015), and as executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

During her visit, Dame Richardson will present the achievements of women leaders across key sectors, including education, public health, and climate action. She will also spotlight the persistent challenges women face, particularly the gap between frontline participation and leadership roles. In addition, Richardson will address the pressures and hostility women often encounter in leadership, especially in digital spaces, and will issue a call to action during what she describes as a critical moment of both risk and opportunity for women’s progress.

Tamiko Thiel is a pioneering media artist whose work explores the intersection of technology, space, and cultural identity. With a background in engineering and design from Stanford and MIT, she has created influential works in virtual and augmented reality.

She began her career in product design, contributing to the visual design of the Connection Machine CM-1/CM-2—early AI supercomputers now housed in MoMA and the Smithsonian. Her artistic journey includes collaborations with Steven Spielberg on Starbright World, the first metaverse for children, and groundbreaking VR works such as Beyond Manzanar, the first VR artwork acquired by a U.S. art museum.

Her art has been exhibited globally, In Luxembourg, she was present at Mudam Luxembourg, where she is featured in the exhibition Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960–1991, and at Elektron in Luxembourg, where her AR installation Waldwandel/Forest Flux reflects on ecological transformation.

Tamiko Thiel

Londa Schiebinger is an internationally renowned expert on gender in science and technology. Collaborations with organizations like the European Commission and the U.S. National Science Foundation underscore her commitment to promoting Gendered Innovations across various fields, including Health & Medicine, Engineering, and the Environment.

Iris Bohnet is the Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. As a behavioral economist, she combines insights from economics and psychology to enhance decision-making in organizations and society. Bohnet is the author of the award-winning book “What Works: Gender Equality by Design” and advises governments and companies globally. She has been recognized as one of the Most Influential Academics in Government and Gender Policy.

Farah Alibay, a systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), has made significant contributions to space exploration. Her work includes missions like InSight, which studies Mars’ interior, and Mars Cube One (MarCO), small satellites that relayed data during the InSight landing. She also played a role in the Mars 2020 mission, delivering the Perseverance rover to the red planet. With a background in aerospace engineering and a passion for planetary exploration, Farah continues to inspire and innovate in the field of space science .