Daniela Ligiero

Dr. Daniela Ligiero is the CEO and President of Together for Girls (TfG), a global partnership dedicated to ending violence against children and adolescents, especially sexual violence. Under her leadership, TfG uses a comprehensive, interconnected approach that aligns data, solutions, accountability, and advocacy to drive systemic change.

TfG’s strategy is built on four core initiatives: the Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS), which generate national data to inform action; the Safe Futures Hub, a platform for evidence-based solutions; the Out of the Shadows Index, which tracks national progress; and the Brave Movement, a survivor-led global advocacy initiative co-founded by Dr. Ligiero in 2022.

Previously, Dr. Ligiero served as Vice President of Girls and Women’s Strategy at the UN Foundation, where she developed the organization’s first gender integration strategy. She also held senior roles at the U.S. Department of State, where she helped launch the first U.S. global strategy to end gender-based violence and co-designed the PEPFAR DREAMS initiative—one of the largest global investments in adolescent girls’ health.

Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles at UNICEF and worked with the World Bank and the U.S. Senate. A survivor of childhood sexual violence herself, Dr. Ligiero has shared her experience publicly for more than a decade to help break stigma and inspire action.

She holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. She has lived and worked across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the U.S., and brings a global, multicultural perspective to her work.

Dr. Ligiero lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband and two daughters. In her free time, she enjoys scuba diving, furniture making, meditation, and time with her family.

Through her leadership, advocacy, and lived experience, she continues to advance global efforts to ensure children and adolescents can grow up safe, supported, and free from violence.

• Title of a book that changed your life: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari. Helped me have a better perspective of our place in the universe.

• A quote that inspires you: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Nelson Mandela

• A simple pleasure: Girls Night with my two daughters: pijamas, movie, popcorn and laughter

• Movie you could watch on repeat: New Dune Movie

• A podcast you can’t stop thinking about: Dare to Lead, Brenee Brown

• The theme song of your life: Feeling Good, Nina Simone

• Something that gives you hope: The courage of individual people to create change

• Favorite part of your job: Meeting amazing people who are changing the world

• One word to describe Together for Girls: Transformation