UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Elizabeth Nyamayaro, award-winning humanitarian and United Nations Special Advisor for the World Food Programme, will give a free lecture at 7 p.m. on Jan. 23 at the State Theatre. Her lecture is part of the Mark Luchinsky Memorial Lecture series and is sponsored by Schreyer Honors College, along with the Presidential Leadership Academy at Penn State and the University Park Allocation Committee. 

The lecture is free and open to students, faculty, staff and community residents. Complimentary tickets can be reserved online in advance of the lecture. 

For the Luchinsky Lecture, Nyamayaro will present "Be True to Yourself: Your Story Matters." Through her presentation, attendees will learn how, while growing up, Nyamayaro questioned everything about herself: Was her skin too dark, her hair too curly, her accent too thick, her dreams too ambitious? As she grew, though, Nyamayaro said she came to realize that the qualities that were once a source of insecurity are in fact some of her greatest strengths. 
 
“Elizabeth has such a powerful message to share starting with her childhood in Africa to now working to fight global inequalities, advance social justice and challenge the status quo to accelerate women’s rights,” said Patrick T. Mather, dean of Schreyer Honors College. “She is exactly what we look for in a speaker to honor University Scholar Mark Luchinsky’s legacy of intellectual honesty, personal integrity and joy in learning.” 
 
Born in Zimbabwe, Nyamayaro has been at the forefront of global development for over two decades, helping to improve the lives of underserved populations. She has held leadership roles at the World Bank, World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and UN Women, and was the mastermind behind the "HeForShe" campaign. Over just five days, Nyamayaro and the U.N. used the HeForShe campaign to generate 1.2 billion conversations on social media as part of the global movement toward gender equality. She also has discussed the HeForShe movement in her popular TED Talk and in a segment on "The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah. 
 
Attendees are encouraged to read Nyamayaro’s memoir, "I Am A Girl From Africa," prior to the event. A question-and-answer session will follow her speech.