Anousheh Ansari is an Iranian-American engineer and entrepreneur, currently serving as the CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation, which designs public competitions to solve global challenges. A co-founder of Telecom Technologies and later Prodea Systems, she made history in 2006 as the first privately funded woman and first Iranian to reach space, flying to the International Space Station. A vocal advocate for women in STEM, Ansari co-founded The Billion Dollar Fund for Women. Her numerous accolades include the Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In 2017, she famously accepted an Academy Award on behalf of filmmaker Asghar Farhadi. She has also authored a memoir, My Dream of Stars.