Naomi Lumutenga is the Executive Director, and Co-Founder, HERS-EA, with extensive experience and expertise in higher education leadership and gender equity initiatives. Lumutenga has held leadership roles in educational and religious institutions and is a champion of equity, diversity, and inclusion of minoritized communities for development.Margaret Khaitsa is a professor of Veterinary Epidemiology at Mississippi State University, USA, with a distinguished career in academia in Uganda and USA for over 30 years winning several awards and honors. As Founder and Board Chair HERS-EA Khaitsa is passionate about advancing gender equity in Sub-Saharan Africa and globally for development.

Courage comes in many forms. It is not only evidenced through great bravado, aggression, or momentous conflict. It can quietly be demonstrated through systemic institutional change, sound academic research, provocative but necessary scholastic work, and the persistent, steady, and steely-eyed determination to make a difference in the communities where we live. This is the courage I see in the important work of HERS-EA, and in the inspirational stories and messaging in this book. As a father and grandfather to girls, I encourage Chapter Four - Role of family in Shaping Women Leaders - to be essential reading for all male allies. While this book is focused on the important work of gender equity and higher educational reform in East Africa, it is an insightful read for anyone who shares a passion for the intersection of transformational leadership skills with community development. As I read this important work from my home, half a world away from North America, I implore everyone to not let the title limit or fool you. The quest for the greater feminization of leadership is global, and the lessons learned, and experiences of HERS-EA are so instructive for us all.Congratulations on a glorious decade of emerging success. I am eager and excited to see what these powerful women will do next!Dale W. BottingFounder and President, Global Alliance for Professionals in Leadership Development (GAPLD)(Former Deputy Minister of Ministries of Enterprise and Innovation in Saskatchewan, Canada)

• DedicationForewordJulie JordanIntroduction Margaret L. Khaitsa, Naomi W. Lumutenga, & Judith S. White Section I: Instigating Innovative Women Leadership Through Inclusive EngagementChapter 1 - Higher Education Resource Services-East Africa: A Women Leadership Model for Inclusive Engagement and Institutional Change Margaret L. Khaitsa and Naomi W. LumutengaChapter 2 - Reimagining Women’s Leadership Through Feminist Instigation and Inclusive Excellence: Drawing on HERS Foundations Judith S. WhiteSection II: Contextualizing Cultural and Family Barriers to Gender Equity in East AfricaChapter 3 - Quality Education: A Pathway to Leadership for Women in AfricaMartha R. L. Muhwezi, Teresa Omondi-Adeitan, Rose Atieno Odhiambo, and Shem Osomo Ongai Chapter 4 - The Role of the Family in Shaping Women Leaders: Insights about Positive Fathering and Male Role Models in UgandaDeborah Kaddu-SerwaddaChapter 5 - Breaking Barriers Using Education for Empowerment: A Case of Ethiopian Women in Academic LeadershipGennet Zewide Section III: Interrogating Current Interventions for Gender Equity in Higher Education InstitutionsChapter 6 - Promoting Gender Equity in Higher Education Through a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy: An Autoethnographic Review of Progress at Makerere UniversityEuzobia M. Mugisha Baine Chapter 7 - "Normalizing" Inequity: The Case for East African Higher Education Institutions to Change Their Culture—Not the WomenRhoda K. Wanyenze Chapter - 8 Engendering Change Through Critical Academic DevelopmentDina Zoe Belluigi and Tom Parkinson Section IV: Catalyzing Leadership for Institutional Change in Higher EducationChapter 9 - "Through us You are Changing Many Lives":　　HERS-EA Academy, An Innovative Platform for Institutional and Community Transformation Naomi W. Lumutenga Chapter - 10 Engaged Instigators: Evidence-Based Strategies for Inclusive Scholars and Institutional Transformers in STEMMargaret L. Khaitsa Chapter 11 - Inclusive Governance Using the Principles of Consensus Building: Elevating Women’s Voices in Higher EducationMeghan MilleaChapter 12 - Advocacy and Allyship: Concepts and Models for Men Faculty Pursuing Gender Equity in East African UniversitiesDr. Kevin BrooksSection V: Modeling Inclusive Women Leadership for Engaged Community DevelopmentChapter 13 - Advancing Engaged Scholarship with the HERS-EA Multi-tier Model: A Case Study of the HERSpad InitiativeNaomi W. Lumutenga and Caroline Kobia Chapter 14 - Applying the HERS-EA Multi-tier Model of Leadership to Empower Women Through Poultry Production and Flexible Education Margaret L. Khaitsa and Naomi W. LumutengaConclusions: Lessons Learned, Looking ForwardMargaret L. Khaitsa and Naomi W. Lumutenga