Women’s Leadership Group from Brazil Vists Redwood
They probably would have a hard time finding this Northern Kentucky city on a map – but 10 women made the 4,968-mile trip from Sao Paulo, Brazil here to visit Redwood this week.
Redwood is a nonprofit, special needs facility located here and services some 800 participants from six-weeks of age to 85 years old.
The visitors are invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership program. The World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky arranged their program.
John Francis, Executive Director and CEO of Redwood took the group – with two interpreters – on a tour of the facility. 
The Department of State has outlined the specific objectives for the Women’s Leadership in Entrepreneurship and the Digital Economy program:
- Review the role of women leaders in public service, civil society, politics, government, community organizations and the private sector in promoting effective policies, initiatives and programs;
- Examine examples of entrepreneurial efforts in the U.S>, particularly those initiated or managed by women;
- Explore government and civil society initiatives that support women in the economic, political and human rights spheres;
- Discuss the perspectives of women leaders, and how policy influencers promote women in political and social dialogue;
- Observe best practices in advocating for the rights, safety and advancement of women;
- Look at various business models, support mechanism, and innovations that bolster businesses such as micro-lending, multi-level marketing, use of the internet and mentoring programs and others;
- Learn about trends in industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data and the automation revolution; and
- Demonstrate the impact of U.S. e-commerce on local, regional, national, and global economies.
Redwood was selected as a tour site by the International Visitor Leadership Program, U.S. Department of State.
At the conclusion of the 90-minute tour and question-and-answer session, Redwood’s Executive Director and CEO – John Francis – admitted he was shaken by a story related by one of the visitors.
“I believe it was Ms. Tatiana Takimoto Schmiegelow,” he said. “Her young daughter was born with a disability – and today at 19, she is studying Astrophysics in Amsterdam.”
The storyteller was brought to tears.
“All of you are now extensions of Redwood,” Francis said. “All of you now know our mission – to help abilities grow,” even from almost 5,000 miles away.
