Women’s eNews is pleased to announce that Julia Anderson, Canada Strategy Lead at The Gates Foundationhas been added to Women’s eNews’ list of Champions for Human Rights (2026), and will be honored at an Awards Gala on the evening of June 23rd in Montreal, Canada. “Women’s eNews is thrilled to include Julie Anderson as one of our honorees due to her longtime success in driving strategic growth and equity for women and girls in Canada,” says Lori Sokol, PhD, Women’s eNews Executive Director & Editor-in-Chief.
Rounding out the list of 2026 honorees are:
Rushan Abbasa prominent Uyghur-American activist and a leading voice against China’s transnational repression. Her sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a retired physician, has been imprisoned by the Chinese government since September, 2018 in direct retaliation for Ms. Abbas’s advocacy, a case that has become a global symbol of the CCP’s reach beyond its borders.
Bonnie BraytonCEO of Disabled Women’s Network of Canadais a recognized thought leader in both the feminist and disability movements in Canada and internationally. Her longstanding commitment to these intersecting causes has driven her active involvement in global feminist organizing for many years.
Anuradha Dugal, Executive Director of Women’s Shelters Canadais a passionate advocate with over 25 years of experience championing the rights and safety of women, children, and gender-diverse people fleeing violence.
Shari Graydonan award-winning author, educator, spoken word poet and advocate created Informed Perspectives in 2010, which has since trained thousands of women and gender diverse experts to share their subject matter insights through the media to make Canada more democratic.
Tasha Kheiriddin is a political analyst/communications strategist and one of Canada’s most influential political analysts, communications strategists, and media personalities. She is a national political columnist for Postmedia, a senior geopolitical writer for GZero Media, political analyst at Radio-Canada, and author of the Substack newsletter, In My Opinion
Day Al Mohammed (2026 Loreen Arbus Champion for Disabilities Honoree) is a multi-sectoral policy executive, award-winning filmmaker, and fantasy author. She has a decades-long policy career with a focus on marginalized and underrepresented populations, and is a former White House Director of Disability Policy
Alexa Pritting is a supervising producer at NBC Sports, overseeing the Paralympic Games and producing NBC’s figure skating broadcasts among other Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Rachel Pulfer, President of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), has fifteen years’ experience running media development programs in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Canada. Under her leadership, JHR has prioritized platforming women and girls’ voices and issues as a catalyst to better human rights outcomes for all.
Lori Samuels, Executive Leader/ Accessibility & Disability Inclusion, is an executive leader in accessibility and disability inclusion specializing in creating innovative, human-centered accessibility programs for large enterprises. At NBCUniversal, Lori led their accessibility strategy from initial concept to full scale operation.
Erin V Simpson is a former Supreme Court clerk who graduated with honors from the University of Toronto faculty of law. She is an award-winning litigator, and a frequent speaker and guest lecturer at law schools.
Jeanne Sarson and Linda MacDonald founded Persons Against Non-State Torture (NST) in 1983, a campaign to gain human rights and legal equality for women and girls who are victimized by non-State torturers trafficked to like-minded others including buyers and pornographers within organized local, national, or international criminal networks.
The Honorary Gala Chair (2026), Loreen Arbus, is the Presidentt of The Loreen Arbus Foundation, The Goldenson-Arbus Foundation, and Loreen Arbus Productions, Inc. Through these organizations and in her personal endeavors, Ms. Arbus is a tireless advocate for women and girls and a champion for one of the world’s largest minorities, people with disabilities
The Awards Gala will be held in the evening of Tuesday, June 23
Lion D’or Ballroom, Montreal, Canada
