Women Who Dare to Change the World
Harriet Lewis knows a thing or two about the importance of developing women leaders who are daring enough to want to change the world.
Lewis is chair of the Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation, which helps over 200 organizations led by women leaders worldwide.
“We have always believed that daring leaders are the most important thing for a stronger community and a healthier planet,” said Lewis. “We are grateful for the brave leadership of these women and how they have helped change people’s lives to make this a better world.”
Inspiration from great women leaders is captured in Daring Women Who Change the World, a new quote-of-the-day book which Harriet Lewis helped to create.
Daring Women Who Change the World is dedicated to the daring women supported by the Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation and highlights words of wit or wisdom from women leaders across a wide spectrum.
All book profits will be donated to support Alnoba’s work with nonprofit organizations and young people.
After her father’s death when she was young, Lewis was raised by her mother as a single parent. Her mother impressed on Lewis that she would need to be able to take care of herself in life. After high school graduation in the 1960s, she headed to Ohio’s Kent State University, just as the civil rights movement was spreading across the nation.
One of Lewis’ favorite quotes from the book includes this one from Coretta Scott King: “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem.”
Women owning greatness in leadership
Lewis and her husband, Alan Lewis, created a leadership and team development program that has changed lives for the past 29 years.
Hundreds of women have developed and honed their leadership skills at Pinnacle Leadership & Team Development. The leadership and development program and their charitable ventures were part of their desire to give back and make communities stronger by developing leaders.
Pinnacle Leadership & Team Development is located at Alnoba, with 600 acres in New Hampshire, 10 miles of trails, wildlife habitats, cabins, sculptures, unique gathering spaces, and state-of-the-art ropes and aerial courses.
Bringing women together in an organized, offsite setting has helped these leaders rely on others to make hard decisions and learn about new opportunities. Older women have mixed with middle-aged and younger generations, with each group having access to the experiences of different demographics. “Often, when women of different age groups learn about the experiences of others, it inspires them to take that idea and do great things at work and in the community,” Lewis said.
The Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation transforms people’s lives and builds strong communities by empowering young people, developing courageous leaders, and creating strong alliances with key strategic partners to help save the earth we share. Since 1981, the Foundation has donated more than $250M to over 500 environmental and social justice projects in 50 countries around the world.
“We hope that the book will inspire, challenge, and renew all those fighting for a better and more just world for all of us,” said Lewis.
Harriet Lewis is chair of the Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation.
Daring Women Who Change the World is available at www.alnoba.org/daringwomen.
Harriet Lewis, Co-Founder of Alnoba and Alnoba’s Pinnacle Leadership Center. Harriet is Chair of the Lewis Family Foundation. An educator, philanthropist, and world traveler, she is passionate about helping guide social change and developing gutsy leaders—with a special focus on women and youths. Harriet founded the Next Generation Leaders, a program to provide rising college freshmen from Boston’s Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan neighborhoods with work, service, and international travel opportunities to advance their leadership and improve their chances of success in life and college.
