Gail Straub, a foremost expert on empowerment, codirects the Empowerment Institute's School for Transformative Social Change and is director of IMAGINE: A Global Initiative for the Empowerment of Women working with women in Africa, India, Brazil, Afghanistan, and Jordan. She also is the author of four books, including the best-selling Empowerment, the critically acclaimed The Rhythm of Compassion, and her award-winning feminist memoir Returning To My Mother's House. imagineprogram.net