Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya is the Founder and President of Kakenya’s Dream, a nonprofit organization leveraging education to empower girls, end harmful traditional practices, and transform communities in rural Kenya. After escaping a child marriage and surviving female genital mutilation (FGM) as a young teenager, Dr. Ntaiya became the first woman from her village to attend university in the United States. Upon earning her PhD in education, she founded Kakenya’s Dream to fulfill her promise to return to serve her community. In 2009, her first boarding school opened its doors, serving 30 girls. Today, Kakenya’s Dream reaches thousands of young girls, boys, and community members across rural Kenya each year through three holistic, girl-centered programs. Dr. Ntaiya was featured in Melinda Gates’s first book, The Moment of Lift, has been named a Top Ten CNN Hero, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and one of Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Shake the World.”