My Nonprofit Reviews

I've volunteered with AIWR's Mentor Program for over a decade. It connects professional women in the West with their peers from Afghanistan, and since 2021 with Afghan women judges, lawyers, doctors, professors, and other professionals forced into exile by the Taliban takeover. Both mentors' and mentees' lives are enriched through the experience, and I feel very fortunate to have participated for so long in this program.

AIWR pivoted last year after the Taliban takeover to help its mentees who were in dire situations find safety and begin the difficult process of rebuilding their professional lives. Already some of those mentees are thriving in their new circumstances and helping other Afghan women. The positive impact AIWR's volunteers have had is tremendous. I feel so fortunate and proud to be a volunteer with this small but mighty organization.

AIWR's Executive Director, Lisa Herb, has created and sustains an organization that does truly amazing work empowering Afghan women leaders. During the recent crisis with the fall of the democratically elected government to the Taliban, Lisa has led AIWR to make the most impact possible -- pivoting from its regular weekly mentoring session format to helping mentees evacuate from Afghanistan and land on their feet in safe third countries. AIWR has been helping those who have left the country find jobs and university roles so they can continue in their professions. With Lisa's leadership, AIWR continues to work with partner organizations to identify safe routes out for those participants who still remain in Afghanistan. Through her herculean efforts, the organization has been very impactful, saving lives and continuing its work of women's empowerment despite the challenges of this unprecedented situation and the organization's tiny size.