EmpowerfulHer
Executive Board
Diane Dantong Zhang
Co-Founder & Chair
Diane got her Master degree in Comparative Cultural Analysis from the University of Amsterdam (UvA), Netherlands. She was the board member of MA Arts & Culture Program Committee at the UvA. She is a SUSI scholar, a member of International Exchange Alumni Network and Hong Kong Macau International Alumni Association. Her work can be found in several international journals, one of them is listed on World Health Organization database. She is awarded as the Global SDG & Carbon Neutrality Youth Ambassador for her contribution of advocating gender equality at United Nations Youth Leadership Development Program which was co-hosted by UNITAR; Steering Committee of ESG & Carbon Neutral Investment, UNIDO Global Innovation Network, S.T.A.R.S Foundation and World Green Organization.
Kanza Sammoud
Executive Director & Managing Editor
Kenza Sammoud is a SUSI scholar, a Moroccan Journalist and a women's issues activist. She is the founder of "Women on Screen". Kenza started her activism career at the age of 15. This is why she has the opportunity to mobilize the time, efforts and people in her local community and take women's rights challenges to make Moroccan and African society ready for effective gender equality. Her job as a journalist allowed her to make women's voices heard and to open the door for other women who are not in the room. Kenza:" Ending discrimination, harassment, violence and exploitation of women is not an option, it is an obligation, it is the right of every woman, and that is why we are all deserve to be safe." Kenza recently published a co-authored book "Travailleuses Invisibles" with journalists from Morocco.
Manal Laabid
Co-founder & Tech Lead
Manal Laabid is a highly skilled engineering student, a proactive citizen in her community, and a 2022 alumna of SUSI program. She has worked in many projects that aim at raising young women awareness about leadership and civic engagement, as well as breaking social norms and stereotypes about women in STEM and entrepreneurship fields. She was the mentor at the Digi Girlz program, which is the biggest movement of girls in STEM in Morocco in collaboration with the US embassy and Anoual association. She is also the Global Talent Recruiter at AIESEC organization. She is passionate about the world of Network, Big Data, and Cloud. She possesses strong leadership and communication skills with fluency in Arabic, English and French.︎ Her aspiration in life is to provide a supportive network and a safe space for women to grow and become the actors of change for a more inclusive and diverse community.
Victoria Palser
Editor (English)
Victoria is enjoying her time at the University of Amsterdam doing a master’s degree in Comparative Cultural Analysis. Having attended an international school and coming from an international family, she is very passionate about education across the globe. She is also a Junior Editor at Nuffic (the Dutch organisation for internalisation in education). She studied English Literature as well and believes language should not be underestimated when it comes to making this world a better place. She is very grateful to be part of this supportive community.
Bella Zhouyuan Xu
Manager (Chinese Channel)
Bella Zhouyuan Xu (she/her) is currently pursuing an MA in Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Hong Kong. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with a concentration in Chinese literature from Hong Kong Baptist University. Her research interests include history, literature, existentialist philosophy and creative writing. In the media industry, she has produced videos with a million views and articles with 100,000 readers. She is passionate about listening to stories in order to reflect on the gap between theory and reflection, so she desires to record individual voices so that storytelling can transcend all boundaries and leave a unique imprint on time. Bella also worked as an intern at China Daily.
Visakha Chowdhury
Editor (English)
Visakha (she/her) is currently pursuing her second master’s degree in Comparative Cultural Analysis from the University of Amsterdam. She has completed her postgraduate degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Delhi, and has a background in English Literature. Her research interests include visuality and material culture in East Asia and South Asia and their transnational perception and circulation. She is passionate about bridging the gap between theory and practice and finding hands-on solutions for women’s issues through innovative amalgamations of gender theory and lived experiences. She hopes to use cultural interactions, hybridities, and transfers to create unities and solidarities beyond geographical borders.
Ikram Tarkis
Volunteer
Ikram Tarkis is a business student who is currently majoring in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and a 2022 alumna of the Global UGRAD program. She is passionate about creative writing, literature, and graphic design. She has also founded many clubs at her university (ENCG-Marrakesh) to help engage the youth, especially girls, in the community. She believes that education is one of the most important and powerful tools to bridge the inequality gap between the genders and hopes to impact her community through working with the EmpowerfulHer team.
Our Partners
We are in partnership with leaders and organizations from all over the world
Global Livingstone Institute (GLI)
GLI is committed to improve communities globally. Since 2009, the GLI has been engaging students and community leaders in the United States and East Africa to Listen. Think. Act.
Faith Mutanuka
(Founder of "Fayth Art" and "The Mental Health for Teens Project")
Faith Mutanuka is pursuing her Bachelor of Laws Degree at the University of Lusaka. She is the Brand Ambassador of a Zambian NGO The Visionary Students Initiative. Faith is passionate about content creation with the aim of seeing a transformation in the lives of others. She is currently enrolled in the Aspire Leaders program by Harvard University where she hopes to gain more exposure and leadership skills which will enable her to engage in effective leadership. She has been interviewed on Zambian National television and also also featured in Newspaper articles to inspire young people in the nation and beyond.
Florence Kasumbalesa
(Founder of "Zambia Health and Nutrition Project")
Florence Kasumbalesa is dedicated to the work of maternal, neonatal and climate change in relation to health and nutrition. She is an Ambassador for the African Climate Alliance and Young African Leadership Forum where she was one of the speakers on "The Legacy of Walter Rodney".
Emily, Pei Yao Zhang
(Founder of Stichting Emily's Huis, PhD Researcher at Utrecht University
Emily is an Amsterdam-based Chinese PhD researcher at ERCOMER (European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations), Utrecht University. She is a researcher, social worker, and early-stage entrepreneur. Since 2019, she has been working on research topics such as political participation, intergenerational relationship, mental health, and elderly care, among the Chinese in the Netherlands, from a sociological and anthropological perspective.