On Monday, Maria Shriver helped Cartier kick off it’s annual Women’s Initiative conference. This year—like most everything else—the conference is virtual, a meeting of the minds among businesswomen from around the globe. As it approaches its 15th anniversary, the Initiative continues to help women succeed in entrepreneurial pursuits—something Shriver has long championed, reported on, and worked in as part of her role in founding the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement.
Shriver hosted a roundtable discussion with five Initiative fellows focusing on health from around the world. Temie Giwa-Tubosun (CEO of LifeBank a childbirth-focused blood donation organization), Lisa King (Founder, Eat My Lunch, a food program for children living with food insecurity), Olga Kitaina (CEO & Founder of Alter, a mental health platform linking psychologists with those in need), and Yetunde Ayo-Oyalowo (Founder, Market Doctors, a localized medical outreach program for underserved communities) all spoke with Shriver about their successes, challenges, and setbacks over the past year, overcoming obstacles and adversity to pursue their passions and help others. All four fellows pushed past the idea that Covid could hamstring their start ups—this is a time when their work was needed most.
This is Shriver’s second time participating in the Cartier Women’s Initiative (the first in 2019 at the San Francisco conference). Speaking of her continued involvement, Shriver said “I remember feeling so moved that day. It brought tears to my eyes to meet these women…who persevered, women who had these ideas, women who wanted to make a difference to the lives of people who lived in their country…And I said to the CWI organization ‘count me in whenever you do this again.’”
Shriver’s own nonprofit promotes awareness of the incidence of Alzheimer’s in women and helps fund and promote research of just why this is. She will host her own virtual meeting of the minds on the topic of Alzheimer’s towards the end of June with Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller Rogen, founders of Alzheimer’s nonprofit HFC.
The Cartier Women’s Initiative continues until Wednesday, May 26.
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