By Dorinda Elliot

Because she proves you can shake your booty and save the world at the same time

Best Trip Ever: Last February, I went back to Colombia to open a school in one of the neediest neighborhoods in my hometown, Barranquilla. I was overwhelmed with joy to see it filled with students and to know what a difference it will make...

---Are you worried that, in light of the economic crisis, giving will decline?
"Sure I'm concerned that donors will give less, but I'm still optimistic. We have to invest in the potential of children for the sake of our collective future. Research shows that a single year of primary education creates a 10 to 20 percent increase in a woman's wages later in life. It lowers the risk of disease and decreases the likelihood that a child will turn to a destructive, violent life.

Published September, 2009

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