I am delighted to announce that Dining for Women has established its Panel of Experts with our first two extraordinary individuals.  The Panel is a collection of individuals who bring unique skills and expertise, and provide advice and recommendations to the Board of Directors and staff.

Ambassador Steven Steiner, our first Expert, serves as a Gender Advisor at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). USIP is an independent, nonpartisan organization that works to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict around the world.  Ambassador Steiner leads the global effort to educate men about the importance of gender equality and the benefits of empowering women in all parts of the peace process. In May, he was quoted as saying, “You can’t succeed on women, peace and security if you don’t have, in each country, a concerted, organized effort to engage men to understand and to support the rights of women.”

In addition to serving in an advisory capacity, Ambassador Steiner has arranged for DFW to participate in the USIP Lessons Learned panel, to attend events with global leaders, and has opened doors for meetings with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State, Office of Global Women’s Issues. He is married to Merle Steiner, a veteran DFW Chapter Leader and newly-appointed Mid-Atlantic Co-Regional Leader. Read Ambassador Steiner’s bio.

We also welcome Dr. Angela Eikenberry to the Panel of Experts. A Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Dr. Eikenberry is the foremost expert on giving circles in the world. Dr. Eikenberry’s research has been featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Her award-winning book, “Giving Circles: Philanthropy, Voluntary Association, Democracy,” was published in 2009. In 2014, she received a Fulbright Scholar Award to conduct giving circle research in the UK. She is currently studying the long-term impact of giving circles. Our relationship with Dr. Eikenberry is exciting because the more we know about her research, the more we know about ourselves. Read Dr. Eikenberry’s bio.

As we move forward, we anticipate building our DFW Panel of Experts in many different areas. We recognize that many of our members would make excellent members of our Panel.  Through our ongoing Member Profile Survey, we hope to be able to identify individuals who may have expertise in needed areas.  Additionally, if you as a member have a relationship with an individual who might be appropriate for the Panel, please email us at info@togetherwomenrise.org.