It is rare that we meet someone in the course of our lives who is both an utterly unique individual and unwaveringly true to herself. Our extraordinary friend Boge was such a person.

Brilliant, loving, demanding, inspired, exacting and passionate, she gave every ounce of her strength and will to pursue the mission of her life. She understood that true change is only possible when people are empowered to make it for themselves. In that spirit, she stood up for the voiceless and the powerless, for the degraded, dismissed and overlooked. And perhaps closest to her heart, she stood up for a generation of young Ethiopian girls who became a generation of leaders.

She was a visionary who was willing to do the hard work of making change, understanding that everything begins with culture and the structure of society. Her weapons of choice were understanding, compassion and the most powerful of all, communication. She saw every person as a whole human being deserving of dignity and respect.

On behalf of my family, especially my late mother, Harriet Glickman, who loved Boge like a daughter, we mourn the loss of our beloved friend. We were enriched simply by being a part of her life and honored to support her extraordinary work.  What she created was profound and abiding, a deep foundation from which others can build. Countless lives for years to come will be better, freer and happier because of the path our remarkable, irreplaceable Boge chose to walk.