Maria Shriver

Maria Owings Shriver is an award-winning American journalist, author and First Lady of California. She is married to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and is a member of the Kennedy family. Shriver has used her voice to advocate on behalf of women, the working poor, the intellectually disabled and families struggling with Alzheimer’s. She has created groundbreaking programs and initiatives that educate, enlist, empower, connect, and honor people who are what she calls “Architects of Change.” Shriver has organized these initiatives under a banner called WE. Under Shriver’s leadership, The California Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women has grown into the nation’s premier forum for women, with more than 14,000 attendees every year since 2004. The conference encourages women to become Architects of Change in their own lives, in their communities, and in the country.  Hundreds of world opinion leaders and newsmakers have spoken at the conference, including Oprah Winfrey, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright, Barbara Walters, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bono, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.