Laura Liswood, Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders has made a difference locally, nationally and a major difference to women around the world. From 1992-1996 as director of the Women’s Leadership Project at Harvard, Laura identified global leadership contributions by women heads of state. She traveled the world and interviewed 15 current and former women presidents and prime ministers, which is chronicled in her book and video documentary, Women World Leaders. Her quest was to find out what it would take for a woman to become President of the United States.

In August, 1996 Laura Liswood co-founded the Council of Women World Leaders with President Vigdis Finnbogadóttir of Iceland, with the secretariat at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and more recently at The Aspen Institute in Washington DC

Laura remains Secretary General of the Council, which is composed of women presidents, prime ministers, and heads of government. The work of the Council expands the understanding of leadership, establishes a network of resources for high-level women leaders, and provides a forum for the group to contribute input and shape the international issues important to all people.

Laura has worked for many years to change the cultural message in the United States about women as leaders. In 1997 Laura co-founded The White House Project, dedicated to electing a woman President in the United States. Obviously we still have a way to go with this one.

Over the years Laura has served in many important roles including CEO/President of the American Society for Training and Development. In 2001 Laura was named Managing Director, Global Leadership and Diversity for Goldmann Sachs. "On behalf of The International Alliance for Women it gives me great pleasure to present this, the 2006 TIAW World of Difference Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Sally Armstrong is a Human Rights Activist, an Amnesty International award winner, a member of the Order of Canada, documentary filmmaker, teacher, author, and a contributing editor at Maclean’s magazine.

Regularly receiving standing ovations, Sally Armstrong is a powerful and engaging speaker whose far-ranging career has given her a foundation for her message, which is inspirational for people in every walk of life.

Armstrong has covered stories in zones of conflict all over the world. From Bosnia and Somalia to Rwanda and Afghanistan, her eyewitness reports have earned her awards, including the Gold Award from the National Magazine Awards foundation and the Author's Award from the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters. She received the Amnesty International Media Award in 2000 and again in 2002. Her most recent documentary works include They Fell From the Sky, and The Daughters of Afghanistan. Her book Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan was published by Penguin Books.

Sally Armstrong is also the author of The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor; Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots: The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan’s Women; and her most recent title, Ascent of Women: Our turn, Our Way: A Remarkable Story of World-Wide Change.

Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland (1990-1997) and more recently United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002), has spent most of her life as a human rights advocate. Born Mary Bourke in Ballina, County Mayo (1944), the daughter of two physicians, she was educated at the University of Dublin (Trinity College), King’s Inns Dublin and Harvard Law School to which she won a fellowship in 1967.

Andrina Lever, a lawyer by training, is the founder and president of Lever Enterprises and acts as an advisor to major financial institutions and governments with respect to small business. She played a pivotal role in the organization of the first Canadian Businesswomen's Trade Mission to Washington DC in 1997. Andrina served as the Executive Director for the first Canada/USA Trade Summit for Businesswomen, another very important initiative.

One of the founders of Women Leaders Network (WLN) that is part of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), involving governments of 21 countries. WLN was created as a means for women to impact the policies of these governments as they relate to women in Science & Academia, Government, Civil Society and Private Enterprise.

In addition, Andrina has directly helped raise funds for the women of various countries to ensure they could hold WLN conferences when their turn came to host these important meetings.