INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY AT WOW!

In honor of International Women’s Day 2007, and in recognition of the girls and women who daily struggle for improvements in their and their families’ lives, WOW! brought together three photographers in an online exhibit entitled "The Power of Women: A Photographic Journey." Click on each photographer's name to open her online gallery.

  

Linda Jo Stern

Linda Jo Stern began at World Neighbors as the associate vice president for community and reproductive health in January 2006 and spent her first 15 months traveling the globe to visit programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America. An avid international traveler since she was five, Linda Jo follows in her father's footsteps by quietly taking photos of people in their home environment, seeking their untouched expressiveness. "I am touched by the similarity that comes with diversity. The women I meet all over the world have a connectedness to each other, regardless of culture, language or tradition. I want to celebrate those differences by taking photos to bring the world closer together," she says. Click here to contact Linda Jo.

Gayle Younghein

Gayle Younghein is a cultural anthropologist at heart. She is lovingly called "La Grandota" by her indigenous friends, both for her stature and for the enormity of their affection for her. For over 35 years, Gayle has traveled the world photographing and lecturing on the importance of cultural diversity. Younghein has studied and lectured on Latin American folk art and culture, and produced museum and gallery shows. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibits including the United Nations Photo Exhibit "Work of Rural Women," presented by World Neighbors (March - April 2003). Gayle has lived in Europe, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia. She currently resides in Oklahoma City.

Natalie Elwell

Natalie Elwell began to seriously pursue photography of women as she traveled for World Neighbors from her U.S.-based office to program sites in poor countries. "I brought photos home with me to remind me why I do the work that I do," she reflects. "The photographs help me maintain a connection to the people I've met in my travels." As World Neighbors program coordinator for action learning communication and gender, Natalie provides support to World Neighbors field teams to promote gender equity and to extract and communicate key lessons for learning and sharing, as well as influencing the policies and practices of target audiences. Elwell earned her master’s in sustainable development with an emphasis on gender in development from the School for International Training and a bachelor’s in communication from Cleveland State University.

A special thank you to World Neighbors interns Don Eskridge and Canela Macleod for their work on this online exhibit.