Fazili Wins Women’s Leadership Award

Harvard College has selected Sameera Fazili ’00 as the winner of the Harvard College Women’s Leadership Award.

Also, Emmy Award-winning senior correspondent for ABC Carole Simpson, has been named the recipient of the Harvard College Women’s Professional Achievement Award.

Fazili, a Social Studies concentrator from Buffalo, N.Y., is the president of the Harvard Islamic Society, director of the Harvard World Model United Nations, a member of the Harvard Alumni Association Undergraduate Relations Committee, and a former executive board member of the Women’s Leadership Project.

“Sameera is a real dynamo, and that quality was highlighted in her letters of recommendation for this award,” said Karen Avery ’87, assistant dean of Harvard College. In her letter of nomination for Sameera, Iza Hussin ’00 wrote, “[Sameera’s] energy is obvious, her commitment, talent and ingenuity rather breathtaking.” “She leads both directly and by example, … but by never apologizing for who she is or what she believes in.”

“Carole Simpson was selected because of her exemplary leadership at a national level, as a distinguished journalist. She is an outstanding reporter and has made tremendous efforts to improve opportunities for women and minorities in the broadcasting industry. She is a powerful role model for our students,” Avery said.

The two awards are funded through an endowment established with a gift from Terrie Field Bloom ’75. The honors represent collaboration between the Ann Radcliffe Trust in Harvard College which seeks to raise the awareness of women and women’s issues at Harvard, and the Women’s Leadership Project, an undergraduate organization dedicated to increasing the number and diversity of women leaders.

The student prize goes to a junior or senior who has demonstrated exceptional leadership while attending Harvard, contributed toward the advancement of women, achieved meaningful impact on fellow students, and exhibited a potential for leadership in future endeavors.

“We had the largest number of nominations yet for this award, and we are very excited by the support the award has received from the Harvard community,” Avery said. Because the nominees were so outstanding, the selection committee decided to bestow honorable mentions for the Women’s Leadership Award on two students – Kamil Redmond ’00 and Elizabeth Chao ’00 – in recognition of their noteworthy achievements.

The selection committee included Avery; Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies; Corinne Funk ’97, emerita member of the Executive Board of the Women’s Leadership Project; Susan Vacca ’76, associate director and librarian in the FAS Office of Career Services; and Amy Zegart ’89, a member of the Women’s Leadership Project Advisory Board.

The award recipients will be honored at a dinner and ceremony on April 18 at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge.