ELLE 2023- WOMEN Of IMPACT

Power means nothing if you don't use it to better your world. The 14 dynamic women here span industries, continents, and generations, but they are each making their mark on the future in a big way.

UKRAINE

Olena Zelenska

For being a bright light for her country in a time of darkness.

Before her husband was elected president of Ukraine in 2019, Olena Zelenska studied architecture and was a comedy writer. As First Lady, her focus shifted to school nutrition reform, gender equality, and organizing an international summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen.

In February of last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine, she pivoted once again, advocating for her people on the global stage, spearheading rehabilitation projects, and working to project strength and empathy. She's absorbed countless stories of tragedy, each more harrowing than the last, but these stories are what propel her forward, she says.

"In a local hospital, a Ukrainian mother met four children whose father was killed during Russian shellings. He had raised them alone, and now they lost him as well. So this young mother of two children took in four more," Zelenska says. "This story reflects Ukraine and its women. They respond to losses and grief by expressing love and doing good. When you see a Ukrainian woman somewhere in the world, remember what she stands for.

She is a person from a country fighting for its life and knows the value of it like no other. Our current experience is how we influence others, but I would not wish anyone to become a hero at the price we all pay." -MELISSA GIANNINI

CLIMATE

Xive Bastida

For rallying her generation to protect our planet.

When Xiye Bastida was 13, her family had plans to move to the United States from their small Mexican town of San Pedro Tultepec. But the day before their flight, rainfall flooded their drought-weary town. They escaped, but the experience stayed with her: "I remember the pain of leaving without knowing what happened," Bastida says.