The LEAD Office and the President's Office are hosting the first Freedom and Learning Forum of the year on February 25^th from 4:30pm-6:15pm. The Freedom and Learning Forum at George Mason University allows for the campus community to engage in an interactive dialogue series with the University President, Dr. Ángel Cabrera and extraordinary thought leaders from around the world. 

Dr. Cabrera will lead speakers and hundreds of participants – including students, alumni, faculty, staff and the public – in sharing leadership and life experiences. “I am looking forward to introducing global thought leaders in a one-on-one format to an audience that will be able to ask questions directly,” says President Cabrera. “This ‘fireside chat’ format should allow for more personal interaction.”

February’s guest speaker will be Rangina Hamidi, founder and president of Kandahar Treasure, the first women’s private enterprise in Kandahar, Afghanistan that has provided life changing economic opportunity for hundreds of women for more than a decade. “When life presents you a gift of having the ability to assist in bringing livelihood to more than 400 desperate women in a country where there is continuous violence by armed forces, where culture and traditions define women as second class citizens, where women have no space to create their agency and yet are required to live and be, I simply cannot turn my back,” says Hamidi. She says she feels “honored and privileged” to have the women entrust her with their future. “That is one big responsibility to fulfill and I am happy doing the best I can to create a better and new future for all of us.”

Please RSVP for the Freedom and Learning Forum online at: http://lead.gmu.edu/leadership-programs/freedom-and-learning-forum/.  For questions, please contact The LEAD Office at 703.993.4186 or via email [log in to unmask].