Biography
Women’s Issues
Paola Gianturco is an author/photographer who has documented women’s lives in 63 countries and had seven books published. Her involvement with women’s issues is long standing. She has lectured about them in the US, Canada, France, United Arab Emirates, and Spain. She spoke at UNESCO International Headquarters in Paris on International Women’ s Day 2008; her photographs were exhibited there in 2009 and 2011. Paola co-developed and taught Executive Institutes on Women and Leadership at Stanford University, and served on the Board of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID). She was a principal in the first women-owned advertising agency in the United States and is a current member of International Women’s Forum. Paola presented a TED TALK in 2014 in Dubai. In 2013, Paola was named one of "40 Women to Watch over 40" --- and in 2014, she was named one of "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" by Women's eNews. In 2017 the YWCA inducted her into the Marin Women's Hall of Fame.
Media Coverage
Paola has been a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, NPR, and CNN. Her photographs have been published by Harpers Bazaar-Australia, Marie Claire (US, Taiwan and Greek editions), The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, plus many Internet sites, podcasts and blogs.
First Career
Prior to 1996, Paola spent 34 years in communications: 7 in retailing and public relations; 14 as a principal at Hall & Levine Advertising, the first women-owned advertising agency; 9 as Executive Vice President of Saatchi & Saatchi’s Corporate Communications Group; 4 as President of The Gianturco Company, a communications consultancy.
Activities
In addition to her involvement with women’s issues (listed above), Paola is a member of the Advisory Boards of two nonprofits: Rise Up Together, and The WISE Fund (Women Invested to Save Earth). Previously, she was Board Chair of The Crafts Center, which worked with low-income artisans in 79 countries, and served on the Board of the travel company, International Nature and Cultural Adventures.