Women‘s Leadership Luncheon
McMurry University’s annual Women’s Leadership Luncheon will host Shannon Sedgwick Davis ’96 as the keynote speaker. Join us in celebration of women’s achievements!
Shannon Sedgwick Davis ’96 is the CEO of Bridgeway Foundation and the author of To Stop a Warlord. The Bridgeway Foundation is a philanthropic organization dedicated to ending and preventing mass atrocities around the world. Established in 2000 as the charitable giving arm of Bridgeway Capital Management, the organization serves as a catalyst for peace and reconciliation in international communities suffering from oppression, genocide, and other human rights violations. An attorney, activist, and passionate advocate for social justice, Ms. Sedgwick Davis has guided the Bridgeway Foundation in pioneering solutions to seemingly intractable issues around the world. The organization has supported the work of groups like Aegis Trust, Resolve Uganda, Human Rights Watch, Invisible Children, and dozens of community-based organizations. Ms. Sedgwick Davis and the Bridgeway Foundation have been credited for their pivotal role in mobilizing awareness, civilian protection, and recovery efforts to counter the violence of the Lord’s Resistance Army and its leader, Joseph Kony, the first-ever indictee of the International Criminal Court. Ms. Sedgwick Davis and the Foundation’s work have been featured on NBC’s TODAY, TEDxSanAntonio, PBS NewsHour, and in Forbes.
Before joining Bridgeway Foundation in 2007, Ms. Sedgwick Davis served as Vice President of Geneva Global, a leading philanthropic consulting firm that advises individuals, foundations, non-profit organizations, and corporations on international development, global health, and poverty solutions. Previously, Ms. Sedgwick Davis was the Director of Public Affairs at the International Justice Mission (IJM), a human rights agency that focuses on ending slavery, forced prostitution, and illegal land seizures in the developing world. Her work in helping rescue children from sex trafficking in the Svay Pak village of Cambodia was featured in the 2005 Emmy award-winning piece, “Children for Sale,” on Dateline.
Ms. Sedgwick Davis is an honors graduate of McMurry University and Baylor Law School, from which she received the institution’s Young Lawyer of the Year Award in 2011. Her other recognitions include the Nomi Network’s 2014 Abolitionist Award; a Global Human Rights Hero award from Saving Innocence; the Navy SEAL “Fire in the Gut” Award; and the 2022 International Citizen of the Year Award from the World Affairs Council of San Antonio. Ms. Sedgwick Davis serves on the advisory council of The Elders and is a board member of several organizations including Humanity United, charity: water, Verdant Frontiers, and, formerly, TOMS.
All proceeds from this event benefit the Dr. Sandra S. Harper Women’s Leadership Scholarship at McMurry.