Speaking at Global Nomads Group event at Aspen Ideas Festival

Ana Dodson, 17, hails from Cusco, Peru. She was adopted as a baby and has lived in Colorado since that time. At 11, she and her mother visited a girl’s orphanage in Peru. Saddened by the poverty she witnessed, Ana returned home and founded Peruvian Hearts to improve the quality of life for the girls at the orphanage. Peruvian Hearts now fully supports the girls at the orphanage and additionally provides breakfast, lunch and daily vitamins to over 500 children living in poverty in Peru. Ana is the Youth Ambassador for the Stop Child Poverty Campaign, a worldwide effort organized by the Global Volunteer Network Foundation. She spoke at Peace Jam and the United Nations in New York and has been recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, The Gloria Barron Young Heroes Award and the Do Something Award. Most recently, Ana was named a recipient of the 2009 Caring Institute Award. Ana plans to attend college and continue her work with Peruvian Hearts. For more information, visit www.peruvianhearts.org 

Darius Weems, 19, from Athens, Georgia, recently received a standing ovation from all 10,000 people attending the Clarke Central High School graduation held at the University of Georgia Coliseum. Darius is the star of the documentary, “Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life,” a multi-award-winning documentary that raises awareness of his disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the number one genetic killer of children. Darius lost his older brother, Mario, to DMD in 2000, when Mario was just 19. Darius is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Barron Prize, the Volvo for Life Award, the World of Children Award, and most recently, a Do Something Award. Darius and Logan Smalley attended the TED Conference in February of 2009 as inaugural Fellows and presented together on the main stage. He has appeared on Nightline, The Today Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote his film, and has spent the last year on the road with his crew, traveling the country in an effort to sell one million DVDs of his film. For every $20 DVD purchase, $17 go
es to DMD research. He is currently working on a hip-hop CD to be released later this year. For more information, visit www.dariusgoeswest.org 

Logan Smalley, 26, grew up in Athens, Georgia. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in 2006 with a degree in Special Education and recently received his Master’s degree in Technology, Innovation, & Education at Harvard University. Logan has devoted the last four years almost exclusively to editing and promoting the multi-award winning documentary, “Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life.” This film captured 28 film festival awards worldwide in 2007. Logan is also president of Goslabi Productions, an educational media-consulting firm headquartered in Boston, which offers web design and video production services. Clients include Harvard University and Children’s Hospital of Boston. Logan won first prize in The Christophers’ 19th Annual Video Contest for College Students for a five-minute preview of “Darius Goes West,” and is the recipient of numerous community service awards for raising awareness of people with disabilities. For more information, visit www.dariusgoeswest.org 

Palwasha Zarifi, 26, hails from Kabul, and from a very early age has worked to improve the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan in the midst of tremendous challenges. At 16, she joined the Afghan Women’s Network. By 18, she was working with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). At 20, she founded the Skills Training and Rehabilitation Society (STARS) in Kabul, where she is currently the Managing Director. STARS operates in nine of Afghanistan’s provinces in the areas of agriculture, health, education, skills development and disaster management, and partners regularly with international humanitarian agencies. STARS also provides employment training and support to widows and their children in Kabul. In 2007, UNICEF selected Palwasha as a Young Champion for Girls Education. She sits on the Steering Committee of the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR). She has traveled outside of Afghanistan numerous times to speak at international conferences and seminars about the plight of Afghan girls and women. Palwasha is currently a first-year student at Kateb University, studying political science. For more information, visit www.stars.org.af and www.acbar.org