Anna Zaibel Blau, Executive Director, International Women's House, Atlanta, GA 

Anna Blau is the Executive Director of International Women’s House (IWH), a position she has held since 1998.

Blau, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, came to this country as a small child from war-torn Europe after the second World War. As a result of her own refugee status, she became interested in the plight of others who arrived in the United States to pursue a life free of violence.

For more than 45 years, Blau has served refugees and immigrants. Before coming to IWH, she was the executive director of a vocational and career development agency and assisted displaced refugees who came to the U.S. due to civil wars within their countries or facing religious or political persecution.  

Since 1997, under Blau’s leadership, IWH has served more than 12,000 victims of domestic violence – another area which unfortunately Blau knew about first-hand through an earlier abusive dating relationship.

She has spoken nationally on human trafficking and statewide on domestic violence.  She is the recipient of numerous awards for her work, including the national Doris Buffet Bryant Award and the highest award given in Georgia for service to victims: The Eagle Award from the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Oglethorpe University and both her master’s and PhD from Georgia State. Blau is married and has one adult son.