100 Women We Love: Class of 2009

Once again, we celebrate our favorite out and proud women. As difficult as it is to narrow it down to just 100, this year’s eclectic list includes artists, athletes, club promoters, community organizers, entertainers, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, politicians and plaintiffs, who are making a difference in our world and the world at large.

Natasha Johnson-Lashley

An educator, lecturer and attorney, Natasha Johnson-Lashley is developing a non-profit agency which will provide legal services for African-American, African-Caribbean, and continental African survivors of gender-based violence. She says the need for this type of agency became apparent to her after working at a hotline for domestic abuse survivors and at non-profits such as Sanctuary for Families, where she created New York City’s only holistic legal services program for African survivors of domestic violence. Johnson-Lashley says, “I saw the significant number of women from throughout the African Diaspora that experienced similar forms of gender-based violence that were not considered intimate partner domestic violence and would not always have immediate domestic legal recourse. I wanted to do more and to be able to
provide long-term services that would simultaneously address current needs and work preemptively to address the systematic issues concerning gender-based violence throughout these communities.” -CB

Remember, these are in no particular order because we love them all!


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