Change always starts with a girl.

One of the things that people aren't aware of is how much progress is being made in eradicating poverty and providing a healthier life and longevity for people around the world.

The resilience and the resourcefulness of people to make a better life, to survive, to give their children something better than they had, is so inspiring. I look at how hard it must be to get up every day and fight that battle and I think, Wow, anything I'm doing just has to be in service.

Women and girls have been my passion for my whole life.

I'm a positive person who likes to see things get done.

You probably don't think twice about going into your kitchen and turning a few knobs to prepare a meal for yourself and your family on an electric or gas range. But for nearly 3 billion people in developing countries who depend on solid fuels to cook their food, the simple act of cooking results in 4 million premature deaths every year from exposure to toxic smoke.

It's harder to be a poor person than anything else.