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Ai-jen Poo is the Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and the Co-Director of Caring Across Generations. She is an award-winning activist, thought leader, and social innovator, and a leading voice in domestic workers’ rights and family care advocacy.

As co-founder of the Domestic Workers United (DWU), a city-wide, multiracial organization of domestic workers, she help lead the way to the passage of the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010, historic legislation that extends basic labor protections to over 200,000 domestic workers in New York state.

In 2011, Ai-jen co-created the national Caring Across Generations campaign to ensure access to affordable care for the nation’s aging population and access to quality jobs for the caregiving workforce.

Ms. Poo’s numerous accolades include recognition as a 2014 MacArthur Foundation “genius” fellow, a 2013 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and was named to TIME magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012, as well as Newsweek’s 150 Fearless Women list that same year.

In 2015 she was recognized as one of Fortune.com’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and the NonProfit Times Power & Influence Top 50 lists in 2015 and 2016. Her work has been featured in many publications, including Marie Claire, The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, Glamour, and CNN.com. She is author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. Follow her on Twitter at @aijenpoo.

Ilhan Omar is a Somali American politician from Minneapolis, MN. Born in Somalia, her family fled the civil war to Kenya as refugees before permanently resettling in the United States. Ilhan was an organizer from high school onward and was active at North Dakota State University where she studied Political Science and International Relations. She twice served as a Campaign Manager for local government campaigns before submitting her bid for Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016. When she was elected, she became the first Somali American legislator in the United States.

In 2014, Ilhan was named a Rising Star in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s Women Hall of Fame and is an active leader in the Muslim community. She serves on the Board of Directors for several organizations including the Legal Rights Center and Confederation of Somali Community of Minnesota. This Womens’ History Month, we celebrate Ilhan Omar’s bravery in stepping into a policy-maker role to represent her community and experience in our legislative process.