Melinda Gates, Co-chair and Trustee, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
As co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates helps to shape and approve strategies, setting the overall direction for the foundation. In developing countries, the Foundation harnesses science and technology to save lives while empowering the world’s poorest people to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. In the U.S., it works to improve U.S. high school and post-secondary education.
Over the years, Melinda has become a champion for women and girls’ rights and health around the world. In 2012, she spearheaded the London Summit on Family Planning, aiming to deliver contraceptives to 120 million women in developing countries by 2020. And on her storytelling platform Better by Half, she shares stories about individuals and organizations doing work to empower women and girls.
In 2014, Gates began her partnership with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton on No Ceilings, a project to collect and analyze data on global gender equality in the 21st century.
