Obama’s Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, thanks them for their efforts.

If you want to change the world you go to Washington, so it wasn’t a surprise that Pulitzer prize winners and the New York Times columnist, Nick Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, came to the capitol city to bring the message of their web site and book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, to the development, political, and media crowd.

Kristof and WuDunn addressed the crowd explaining the  title of the book (Chinese Proverb), how they got so many women to risk their lives to talk to them, and how the global economic situation would change dramatically if women had basic rights.  WuDunn talked about their role as journalists and said, “Basically we’re the messenger, but we also know the messenger has to get the message right… the central moral challenge of this century is gender inequity… Women are not the problem, they are part of the solution.”

Kristof said, “There is a tipping point on this issue… now, increasingly, the role of women is seen, not only as a good thing to do but as a security issue as well as an economic issue, and all these things are coming together and I think, making it the time to address this truly as the cause of our time.”

The crowd cheered as President Obama’s Ambassador-At-Large to Women’s Global Issues Melanne Verveer took the microphone to thank the Kristofs. “This may be just the happening that pushed us over the tipping point and our world realizes what an outcome we will have if we truly let women release their potential around the globe.”

Verveer is America’s first Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues which for many longtime advocates say is fitting since Verveer was First Lady Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff when Clinton made her historic global call to action in Beijing at the 1995 World Conference on Women.

The White Ribbon Alliance, Mothers Day Every Day, and CARE created the evening. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, a five-year campaign to provide business and management education to women around the world, run by Washington favorite Dina Powell, was the sponsor of the evening.   Mothers Day Every Day leader Susan McCue joined advisory members including journalist Elsa Walsh and Anita McBride, Laura Bush‘s White House Chief of Staff, and Mike McCurry.

JoDee Winterhoff from CARE and Theresa Shaver, of the White Ribbon Alliance, spoke about what is being done in countries around the world as Blue Dog Democratic Congressman Glenn Nye and Steve Cohen of Tennessee applauded their incredible work. White Ribbon Alliance global expert Jeremie Zoungrana from Burkina Faso and Rwanda thanked all the development specialists and the Kristofs for raising awareness around the globe.

Crowds gathered around Treasury’s Alan Krueger, the WH’s Austan Goolsbee and his wife Robin Winters, Fred Hochberg, President of the Export-Import Bank, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Savannah Guthrie, and Betsy Fisher, Maggie Farley, Michael Feldman, Winston Lord, Franco Nuschese, and, as always, Autumn Vandehei.   Susan Axelrod, whose foundation CURE Epilepsy was featured on the cover of Parade, and was kind enough to lend her name to the Mothers Day Every Day Garden Brunch in May was surrounded by her Washington fan club.  Politico’s Mike Allen, Kim Kinsley, new CLICK editor Katherine Lehr, Ann Schroder Mullins, and Patrick Gavin were taking high 5’s for the successful launch of their microsite CLICK.

JoDee Winterhoff from CARE and Theresa Shaver, from the White Ribbon Alliance spoke about the work that is being done in countries around the world as they pushed the crowd to not stand for the status quo.

Marc Adelman laughing in the front yard with Tom Oliphant and Chicagoans Christie Hefner (Center for American Progress board member) and her husband Bill Marovitz, Doug Wilson, from The Gillman Foundation and Holly Page greeted pals. Newly minted White House intern and Haddad Media veteran Alex Dresner and his mom, Deya Dresner, were amused as young David Greenberg kept yelling “snake.”  DeeDee Myers and Lee Satterfield had heard him yell “fox” at previous parties so they didn’t look up.

The profoundness of the Kristofs’ goal was discussed into the late hours under swaying trees fueled by Paul Begley’s yummy brownies, as all expressed hope that Sheryl WuDunn and Nick Kristof would be the ones to finally get governments to act to protect women around the world.  Go to MothersDayEveryDay.org and HalftheSkyMovement.org for more information.

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