About Dr. Tererai Trent

Dr. Tererai Trent is one of the most internationally acclaimed voices for women’s empowerment and quality education.

Hailed by Oprah Winfrey as her “all-time favorite guest,” Dr. Trent is an inspiring and dynamic scholar, educator, humanitarian, motivational speaker, author, and the founder of Tererai International.

She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, SuperSoul Sessions, CNN-Voice of Africa, CNBC, and has spoken at the United Nations, TEDx, and the Women in the World Summit, among others.

Dr. Tererai Trent, founder of Awakened Woman Teachings and Tererai Trent International, is a world-renowned leader, humanitarian, and author, who is committed to giving back to her home in Zimbabwe. She envisions empowered rural communities where all children have access to quality education regardless of their gender or socioeconomic backgrounds. Her mission is to lead the development and growth of an improved education system supported by socially engaged business models that boost local economies while improving community livelihoods.

She received her PhD in Interdisciplinary Evaluation from Western Michigan University and holds Master’s degrees in Public Health and Plant Pathology from UC Berkely and Oklahoma State University respectively.

Her Story

Tererai grew up in a cattle-herding family in rural Zimbabwe, where she dreamed of getting an education, but was married at a young age and had four children by the time she was eighteen. Defying the pressure of traditional women’s roles and cultural norms, Tererai wrote down her five dreams on an old piece of paper, put them in a tin can, buried the tin can with the dreams under a rock, and she achieved every one of them.

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