Leymah Gbowee Headshot
Report a problem with this profile
[email protected]

Leymah Gbowee    

Liberian Peace Activist, Social Worker & Women's Rights Advocate; 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate

2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, trained social worker, and women’s rights advocate.

Ms. Gbowee’s leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace – which brought together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement that played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war – is chronicled in her memoir, "Mighty Be Our Powers," and in the award-winning documentary, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell."

After winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Ms. Gbowee established the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa in Monrovia, Liberia where she serves as Founder and President. Ms. Gbowee recently served as Executive Director of the Women, Peace, and Security Program at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

Ms. Gbowee is an advisor for numerous organizations working for peace, women’s rights, and sustainable development, including Nobel Women’s Initiative and PeaceJam. In 2017, she was selected by the UN Secretary-General to serve as a Member of his High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation and she is a former SDGs Advocate for the United Nations. She has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical and one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine.

Speech Topics


  • Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace: How sisterhood, prayer and sex changed a nation at war
  • Crossing borders to find common ground
  • Can we transform the world by unlocking the greatness of girls?
  • Interfaith dialogue and community building
  • Promoting peace, conflict resolution and development in Africa

News


Nobel Peace Prize winner, African activist to speak at University of ...
Leymah Gbowee founded Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace. It brought together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement. Their efforts ...

Related Speakers View all


More like Leymah