Siham Mamand works in the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs. She is passionate about education for girls and women, especially in rural areas. Her ultimate goal is to motivate and empower women to assume leadership positions in the public and private sector in Kurdistan and to break cultural norms that assign lesser roles to women in her society. During her year working with the international business group Libra and their social outreach and leadership development activities, she examined how private sector stakeholders make major contributions to societal development.