Jody Williams

In her keynotes, Jody Williams speaks to the importance of activism -- something she has dedicated her life to. She is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and a champion of human and women's rights.

Aside from serving as the founding coordinator, Williams worked as the chief spokesman and strategist of ICBL. In this role, she developed the organization to a network of 1300 NGOs throughout 90s countries. In 1997, at a conference held in Oslo, ICBL achieved its objective of an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. Shortly after this remarkable achievement, ICBL and Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Williams is also the chair of the Nobel Women's Intitiative and the Sam and Cele Keeper Professor in Peace and Social Justice in the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. In her keynotes, Jody Williams draws on this long and fruitful career as an activist.