Women for Women International

Andrée Simon. Andrée Simon is passionate about the economic empowerment of women, which she says allows them to invest in the health, education, and well-being of their families, leading to stronger families and communities around the globe. As the Acting CEO of Women for Women International (WfWI), Andree leads the organization's global efforts to provide women survivors of war, civil strife and… See full bio.

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Story: Women for Women International works with socially excluded women in eight countries where war and conflict have devastated lives and communities. Each woman we serve has her own story–some of loved ones murdered, and others of physical and emotional trauma. Most have endured a struggle for survival. When we enroll women in our one-year program, they learn job skills and receive business training so they can earn a living. They come to understand their rights and how to fight for those rights in their homes, their communities and their nations and become leaders.

Evidence of Impact Summary:

Women for Women International supports women who are conflict survivors. This often goes hand in hand with sexual violence victimization. They offer a variety of services, supports and interventions to help bring women to a safe space mentally and physically. They have also done a good deal of work to bring awareness to the issue of sexual assault.
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Organization Strengths Summary:

Experts agree that Women for Women International has the benefit of strong leadership both in their director and on the board. They also have high quality staffs. One experts points to their excellent programming as another strength. They work in rural areas with an in-country program officer. Another expert calls Women for Women a "Fundraising machine"!
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Areas for Improvement Summary:

Women for Women is currently transitioning leadership from its charismatic founder. One expert cautions that the organization will want to be very thoughtful about that transition. Another expert would like to see the organization increase its funding and staffing in various locations.
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Andrée Simon is passionate about the economic empowerment of women, which she says allows them to invest in the health, education, and well-being of their families, leading to stronger families and communities around the globe. As the Acting CEO of Women for Women International (WfWI), Andree leads the organization's global efforts to provide women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency. Andrée leads WfWI's global management team, which spans 10 countries, in its pursuit of the greatest possible impact for the more than 300,000 women WfWI has helped around the globe. Andrée Simon has more than 10 years of highly successful and innovative experience in the field of economic development and microfinance. Prior to WfWI, Andrée served as Deputy Director of FINCA, a network of 21 microfinance affiliates serving 700,000 clients across four continents. In addition to providing strategic guidance to FINCA's network affiliates and management team through many years of rapid growth, Andrée led the development and implementation of many transformative projects including organizational design, corporate governance, and risk management. Andrée is a Board Member of several microfinance and microfinance-related institutions around the globe, including Women Advancing Microfinance International (WAM), an organization committed to advancing and supporting women working in microfinance and microenterprise development by promoting education, training and leadership opportunities. She is an Adjunct Professor of Microfinance at Georgetown University and a frequent public speaker on economic empowerment, microfinance and development. Andrée received her undergraduate degree in International Relations from the University of Virginia, her M.A. from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and an MBA in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. She speaks French, Spanish and Japanese.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.