Tererai Trent
Scholar, educator, humanitarian, author
Distinguished as Oprah Winfrey’s “All-Time Favorite Guest,” Dr. Trent is a scholar, educator, humanitarian, author and the founder of Tererai Trent International.
Dr. Tererai received her doctorate in interdisciplinary evaluation from Western Michigan University and teaches courses in Global Health at Drexel University. She has published two highly acclaimed children’s books, and is the author of the award winning, The Awakened Woman – Remembering & Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams (Simon & Schuster). In 2018, Dr. Trent received the NAACP Award for Outstanding Literary Work.
Rooted in humble beginnings, Tererai grew up in a cattle-herding family in rural Zimbabwe, in a country known as Rhodesia under colonial rule, where cultural practices and a war that liberated her country charted the course of her life. Despite facing many obstacles, she never lost sight of her dreams for an education.
Dr. Trent is among ten women named the most inspiring women in the world by the Statues for Equality Project of Gillie and Marc. With nine other women, including Oprah Winfrey and Jane Goodall, a life-size bronze figure unveiled by Statues for Equality in the United States, immortalized Tererai on Women’s Equality Day on August 26, 2019.
