New York Times: I Stepped Out of My Comfort Zone and Made a Difference
Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“…I’m a practicing Catholic who grew up in Dallas and went to Catholic high school. I cherish quiet time and I’ve never loved being in the spotlight. In other words, I’m a pretty unlikely candidate to become an outspoken advocate for contraceptives. … Through my work with [the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation], I have met so many women in the world’s most impoverished places who tell me they lack access to contraceptives. Like parents everywhere, they want to make all of their children’s dreams come true. But without the ability to plan and space their births, they have more children than they can afford to feed or send to school — they feel helpless as their children become trapped in poverty, too. Once I heard their stories, I was determined to help them build a better future. … Helping to put family planning back on the global agenda is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life…” (12/30).