Several of us at Joyful Heart had the honor and privilege of attending the Women's eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Annual Gala on Tuesday evening as guests of Mariska Hargitay, Joyful Heart's President & Founder, and Maile Zambuto, our Executive Director, who was honored as one of the 21 Leaders. Women's eNews is a valuable source of information, not just for women, but for anyone who cares about the issues that affect women and, by extension, our entire society. In January, the online news source named Maile one of its 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. Maile was honored for her innovative and compassionate work helping victims of abuse. She stood in the company of 19 other women and one man who embody, as Women's eNews put it,  "the creativity, dedication, resourcefulness and commitment that it takes to improve the lives of women and girls."

The women's movement is far from over and this room is such a testament to how strong and vibrant it is. --Susan King, Vice President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the evening's emcee

For those of us that get to work with Maile, this recognition from the field came as no surprise. Under Maile's leadership, Joyful Heart has served thousands of survivors of violence and abuse and reached hundreds of thousands more through public education and awareness initiatives using film, print and social media. The organization developed the Heal the Healers program, which aims to support and restore the professionals who serve survivors through education about both the effects of vicarious trauma and also sustainable self-care practices. Joyful Heart has also drawn national attention to the backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits in the United States.

Among the other 20 leaders honored was Pamela Shifman of Novo Foundation, who, as the director of Initiatives for Women and Girls, has shaped the Foundation's work to empower the world's most marginalized adolescent girls to be agents of change. There was also Robina Niaz, founder of the Turning Point for Women and Families, the first and only organization in New York city dedicated to addressing domestic violence in the Muslim community. Jimmie Briggs was the single male honoree of the evening, but a true testament to just how big and positive of a role men have in this movement. As a reporter, he visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he interviewed a girl who was gang raped twice in one day. He was so moved by this and other experiences witnessing rape and mutilation in war-torn countries that he founded the Man-Up Campaign with the mission to stop violence against women and girls worldwide through its network of young people. Maile's award was presented to her by news anchor and fellow advocate, Dan Rather. As she gave her acceptance speech to the packed room, she was surrounded by Mariska, many members of the staff of Joyful Heart and her husband, Jason. She shared:

I started in this work nearly twenty years ago for very personal reasons--searching for a way to make sense of all I had suffered and to find meaning in my experience as a survivor. And what I have found over time--I have settled into my work and dedicated myself to serve simply because it's the right thing to do. I feel blessed every day to do this work and it is a privilege to do it with my team at Joyful Heart.... It's evenings like this and rituals like this award that allow us to reflect on all we have accomplished, all who have come before us, our many teachers and mentors, all the suffering we have witnessed and the progress. This moment also inspires us to recommit ourselves to all that's left to do in our collective movements. So tonight, I re-commit myself to a shared vision of ending violence against women and children--not in my lifetime, but I hold it out as what we will work toward every day.

Congratulations to Maile and all of the other honorees!