Sarah Hesterman is an American gender equality activist and a U.S. delegate to the United Nations Youth Assembly. [1] In 2014 she was named as one of the BBC 100 Women. [2]
Hesterman was born in the United States to John W. Hesterman, a lieutenant general in the Air Force, and Dr. Jennifer Hesterman, a professor and retired Air Force colonel. [1] [3] As a child in a military family, she moved frequently as a child, living in places such as Washington D.C., Qatar, and the United Kingdom. [1]
Hesterman is a student at Long Island University Global. [1]
Hesterman's family moved to Qatar in 2013. [4] She was driven to become an activist while living in the Middle East, [5] and founded the Qatari branch of the United Nations Girl Up program at the American School of Doha [6] in August 2014. [1] [3] [4]
In 2015, Hesterman was involved in campaigning for the passage of the Girls Count Act, an American bill which aimed to improve registration and documentation of girls' births around the world. [7]
In 2022, Hesterman became a program associate with #ShePersisted, an organization co-founded by gender equality expert Lucina Di Meco and democracy activist and elections specialist Kristina Wilfore. [8] [9] Hesterman has also written on how women's rights are threatened online by gendered disinformation in Hungary [10] and Tunisia. [11] These reports are a part of #ShePersisted's Monetizing Misogyny research series which examines the usage of gendered disinformation as a weapon to undermine the involvement of women in politics and to weaken democratic institutions and human rights. [12]
In 2015, Hesterman received the Air Force Military Child of the Year award from Operation Homefront. [3] [4]
In 2016, Hesterman was named one of the United Nations' Empower Women's Champions for Change. [13] [14]
Sarah Hesterman is an American gender equality activist and a U.S. delegate to the United Nations Youth Assembly. [1] In 2014 she was named as one of the BBC 100 Women. [2]
Hesterman was born in the United States to John W. Hesterman, a lieutenant general in the Air Force, and Dr. Jennifer Hesterman, a professor and retired Air Force colonel. [1] [3] As a child in a military family, she moved frequently as a child, living in places such as Washington D.C., Qatar, and the United Kingdom. [1]
Hesterman is a student at Long Island University Global. [1]
Hesterman's family moved to Qatar in 2013. [4] She was driven to become an activist while living in the Middle East, [5] and founded the Qatari branch of the United Nations Girl Up program at the American School of Doha [6] in August 2014. [1] [3] [4]
In 2015, Hesterman was involved in campaigning for the passage of the Girls Count Act, an American bill which aimed to improve registration and documentation of girls' births around the world. [7]
In 2022, Hesterman became a program associate with #ShePersisted, an organization co-founded by gender equality expert Lucina Di Meco and democracy activist and elections specialist Kristina Wilfore. [8] [9] Hesterman has also written on how women's rights are threatened online by gendered disinformation in Hungary [10] and Tunisia. [11] These reports are a part of #ShePersisted's Monetizing Misogyny research series which examines the usage of gendered disinformation as a weapon to undermine the involvement of women in politics and to weaken democratic institutions and human rights. [12]
In 2015, Hesterman received the Air Force Military Child of the Year award from Operation Homefront. [3] [4]
In 2016, Hesterman was named one of the United Nations' Empower Women's Champions for Change. [13] [14]