"It's absolutely become the norm for me to be the youngest, and at times most female person in the room. And it's really intimidating. But you kind of just have to put your head down and accept that you have a right to be there, and that more women should have the right to be at that table." This week, Hilary Matfess talks about being a young woman in traditionally masculine spaces, reporting in Sub-Saharan Africa, her early lupus diagnosis, and how she got her first book deal.

Hilary is a senior program officer at the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja, Nigeria, and a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at the National Defense University, among about a hundred other credentials and affiliations. She's also a dear friend of mine, and her life and work ethic are amazingly inspiring.

Follow Hilary online here:https://twitter.com/HilaryMatfesshttp://www.hilarymatfess.com/

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