Executive Committee | Council Team | Members | Honorary Friends
The U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council is a public-private partnership that catalyzes commitments from the private sector, civil society and government leaders in both countries to advance women’s economic empowerment in Pakistan. Originally established in 2012, the State Department developed a public-private partnership with Texas A&M University in 2019, launching the second phase of the Council.
The Council’s corporate members include PepsiCo, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Engro, The Resource Group, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, S&P Global, Hashoo Group, Hum News, the U.S.-Pakistan Business Council, American Business Council, and STEMConnector. Non-profit members include WEConnect International, Quantum Leaps, Indus, The Indus Entrepreneurs, and the American Pakistan Foundation.
The Council harnesses the resources of the private sector and Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service and the Norman Borlaug Institute of International Agriculture to accelerate women’s entrepreneurship, employment and access to educational opportunities in Pakistan.
Executive Committee
- Katrina Fotovat, Senior Official, Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State
- Dean Thompson, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
- Lesslie Viguerie, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
- Mark H. Weichold, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President, Texas A&M University
- Dr. Elsa Murano, President, Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas A&M University
- Dr. Raymond Robertson, Director, Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University
- Esperanza Jelalian, President, U.S.-Pakistan Business Council
- Mujeeb Zahur, Managing Director, S&P Global, Pakistan
Council Team
- Radhika Prabhu | Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary and Executive Director of the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council
- Dhyana Parker | Special Assistant and Event Coordinator, U.S. Department of State
Members
- The American Business Council
- Coca-Cola
- Citi
- Engro Corporation
- General Electric
- The Hashoo Group
- Hum News
- Indus
- The Indus Entrepreneurs
- PepsiCo
- Procter & Gamble
- Quantum Leaps
- The Resource Group
- S&P Global
- Pod
- The U.S.-Pakistan Business Council
- WEConnect International
Honorary Friends
- Dr. Asad Khan, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United States, Washington, D.C.
- Shaista Mahmood, Founding member of the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council
- Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Dean and Executive Professor, Texas A&M University
- Henna Babar Ali, Member of the Board, Packages Group
- Aizaz Chaudhry, former Ambassador and Director General, Institute of Strategic Studies, Pakistan
- Sumera Haque, Executive Director, Johns Hopkins Women’s Health Center
- Jalil Jilani, former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States
- Virginia Littlejohn, Chief Executive Officer, Quantum Leaps
- Charlie Ponticelli, Program Director and Advisor, American Committees on Foreign Relations
- Sherry Rehman, Member of Parliament, Government of Pakistan
- Farida Rokadia, Author
- Elizabeth Vasquez, Chief Executive Officer, WEConnect International
- Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, Head of Centre for the New Economy and Society, World Economic Forum