Highlights from 2025 Fall Event

This year’s annual Fall Event, The Moment Everything Changes, was an extraordinary celebration of leadership and collective action. 

Held on October 18, The Hunger Project’s 2025 Fall Event brought together over 250 people from around the world for a weekend filled with connection, reflection and inspiration.

This year’s theme, The Moment Everything Changes, honored the transformative power that emerges when individuals see themselves—and their future—differently. It’s that moment when we realize we are not waiting for change. We are the change.

Throughout the evening, dynamic speakers shared powerful stories of stepping into their leadership, creating new possibilities and proving that lasting change begins with one courageous decision to act.

Rowlands Kaotcha, President & CEO of The Hunger Project, guided the audience through a moving reflection on what makes this movement extraordinary: the people who power it. Drawing on stories and recent research from across Africa, Latin America and South Asia, Rowlands shared how communities are transforming their own realities and the lasting impact The Hunger Project has had in lives around the world.

Later in the evening, three of The Hunger Project’s global program leaders—Alassane Pouye from Senegal, Prashanta Tripura from Bangladesh, and Stephanie Ashley from Ghana—took the stage to bring the night’s theme to life. Through powerful reflections, they shared what transformation looks like in the communities they serve: the instant someone believes in their own potential, takes a first brave step or dares to lead. Each revealed that change begins not with resources or external aid, but with a shift within—a spark of belief that grows into collective courage and unstoppable leadership. Together, they reminded us that the moment everything changes is the moment a person realizes they already hold the power to shape their future.

Nereida Hernández, a community leader from Oaxaca, took the stage alongside Montse Salazar Gamboa, Country Director for The Hunger Project–Mexico. Speaking with honesty and strength, Neireda shared how she once felt invisible in her own community—how silence and fear had defined the lives of many women around her. Through The Hunger Project-Mexico’s Municipal School for Community-Led Development, she found a space to speak, to listen and to believe in her own leadership.

Nereida went on to organize women’s groups, lead workshops on gender equality and advocate for policies to end violence against women in her region. Today, she stands as a voice for Indigenous women’s leadership—proof that when one woman chooses to rise, she brings her whole community with her. Her story captured the heart of the evening: transformation begins when belief turns into action and courage turns into collective change.

As the evening came to a close, Rowlands reflected on the remarkable leadership and courage on display throughout the event. He reminded the audience that progress does not wait for perfect conditions and that change begins when someone chooses to act. The evening was a celebration of those bold decisions, the sparks of leadership that inspire others and the shared commitment to a world without hunger.

The evening closed with dance and music filling the room.  Guests were reminded that change begins with a single step, and that, like dance, ending hunger is a collective rhythm—one action sparking another, communities moving together across borders and cultures, interconnected and inspired. It was a vibrant, joyful reminder of the power of shared action and possibility.

Thank you to our 2025 sponsors!