DATE: 5 p.m. April 30, 2010.

EVENT: Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO of Women for Women International, will deliver the keynote address and receive the 2010 Women in Leadership Award at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business spring commencement.

Salbi’s organization, which she and her husband founded in 1993, helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives. Women for Women International has served more than 250,000 women in conflict and post-conflict areas in the Middle East, Africa and Asia through direct aid, microcredit loans and sponsorships. The organization has trained thousands of women in rights awareness and has helped many start small businesses.

A survivor of war in Iraq, Salbi is author of “The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope” and “Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam.”

Salbi’s pioneering philanthropic efforts have earned her numerous honors and awards. Her work has been featured in many major media outlets such as CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Oprah Winfrey Show. In addition, she has partnered with the Ross School in its Multidisciplinary Action Projects course.

She has a master’s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and women’s studies from George Mason University. She also is a blogger for Marie Claire Magazine and the Huffington Post, and documents her travels and encounters with women worldwide on Twitter.

PLACE: Crisler Arena, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

SPONSOR: Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

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