Director, Global Policy (Women's Advancement), @theBushCenter; gender equity advocate; Afghanistan & Africa; WNYer; #BillsMafia; mom, wife. Views my own.

Dallas, TX
Joined August 2009
Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
Groot 😤 @TheBuffaloNews
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On this International Day of the Girl, the Bush Institute reflects on the devastating accounts from Afghan girls. Our series, "Silenced but not silent: Voices of girls in Afghanistan", highlights the struggle that Afghan girls and young women face everyday. The Taliban continues to ban Afghan girls and young women from attending school past the sixth grade. Read more on why the world cannot forget Afghan girls: bushcenter.org/publications/…
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Courageous, tenacious, and kind, @ZahraJoya is a tremendous human. And I can't wait to read her new book, The Vanishing Girl of Kabul 📖 This title is a #mustread. And if you are in DC on Oct 15, this event at @PressClubDC is not to be missed. Details below 👇 #Afghanistan
My book The vanishing Girl of Kabul will be released in the United States on October 6. A book launch event will be held on October 15, hosted by The National press club . Friends in Washington, D.C., who are interested are warmly invited to attend. 1/2
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
Never a doubt. @JoshAllenQB has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 2: bufbills.co/4dSPp5D
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
#NiagaraFalls will be illuminated red, white, and blue tonight in support of the @BuffaloBills for their home opener at the new @HighmarkStadm! 🏈 Thursday, 9/17: 💙 8:00-8:45 p.m. 🤍 10:30-10:45 p.m. ❤️ 11-11:30 p.m. 📸: Instagrammer haliun_otgonbayar
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
FIRST TOUCHDOWN AT HIGHMARK STADIUM!!!!
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"I’m pleased to announce THE CALL OF FREEDOM, my new book and exhibit at the Bush Center highlighting the courage and resilience of political prisoners and dissidents in the face of tyrants. My hope is that these 44 paintings and the stories that accompany them will inspire that same fearlessness and determination in others. Available for pre-order now and debuting March 9, 2027, this project sends a message that the United States cares deeply about people seeking freedom - and that we who live in liberty have a duty to stand with those who do not.” — President George W. Bush. Visit our website to order and learn more: bushcenter.org/call-of-freed…
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
Today, I want to send a message to my sister, Gulshan Abbas. It is a message she may not be able to hear or see today, but I believe with all my heart that one day she will. Gulshan hede, Eight years ago today, the CCP took you from us. Eight years. You were not an activist. You were not a political or a religious figure. You were a retired medical doctor living a quiet life. Your only “crime” was being my sister. You were taken because I exercised my freedom of speech here in America, as an Uyghur American, and dared to speak out against the Chinese government's persecution of our people. They took away your freedom to punish me. They imprisoned you to silence me. But I want you to know: I have not been silent. And I never will be. For eight years, I have carried your name with me everywhere. I have taken your name into government buildings, parliaments, universities, conferences, churches, mosques, synagogues, newsrooms, and halls of power around the world. Since you were taken, I have traveled to nearly 50 countries. I have told your story to lawmakers, diplomats, journalists, faith leaders, students, human rights defenders, and thousands upon thousands of people. I have told your story to anyone willing to listen—and sometimes to those who were not. I made sure the world knows your name. Gulshan hede, I know you are suffering behind the walls of a CCP prison. For eight years, no one been allowed to see you. We have received no proof of your well-being. I don't know what they have told you about me. And I don't know whether anyone has told you just how many people around the world now know the name Gulshan Abbas. But I hope somehow you can feel that you are not forgotten. What the CCP did to you was meant to break me. Instead, your unjust imprisonment has given me an even greater determination to fight. Your case has opened doors for me to expose not only the crimes against our people, but also the true nature of Beijing's threats to the free world, and transnational repression: a regime taking an innocent woman hostage because her sister exercised her constitutional rights thousands of miles away in the United States. They wanted your disappearance to frighten me into silence. Instead, your name became my strength. Every platform I have gained because I am your sister, I have used to expose the regime that imprisoned you. Every time I speak your name before a parliament, a government, or an international audience, I remind the CCP that taking you did not erase you. It amplified your story. Eight years of your life have been stolen from you. Eight years of birthdays, family gatherings, laughter, conversations, and ordinary moments we can never get back. I cannot return those years to you, and that pain will remain with me for the rest of my life. But I can make you this promise: As long as I have a voice, I will use it for you. As long as I can stand, I will fight for your freedom. As long as I can speak, I will tell the world what they did to you and what they are doing to our people. The CCP may have locked you behind prison walls. They may have tried to erase you from the world. But they have failed. You are my sister. You are a mother. You are a doctor. You are loved. You are remembered. And your name is now known around the world. Gulshan hede, hold on. One day, I believe I will be able to say these words to you face-to-face. Until that day, I will keep fighting. I will never give up....
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
THAT'S. OUR. QUARTERBACK. #GoBills | #BillsMafia
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
For nearly a decade, journalist Tsi Conrad has been imprisoned in Cameroon for doing his job. But from his cell in Kondengui Prison, his message remains one of hope: violence will not resolve Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis. Democracy, human rights, and dialogue can: freedomhouse.org/article/pol…
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We believe in a world where no one dies from a mosquito bite — and we have the means to end the threat of malaria by 2030. Since the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) was launched 2005, over 11.7 million lives have been saved and 2.1 billion malaria cases prevented. But the job isn't done. Ending malaria takes accountability, investment, innovation, and partnership — all working together. Learn more about PMI's legacy and @MalariaNoMore's work to end malaria by 2030: bushcenter.org/USglobalhealt…
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
Afghan women have told the world, again and again: we will not disappear. Five years after the Taliban’s return, their message remains the same: stand with us in our fight for the right to learn, work, move freely and live with dignity. Do not look away. Do not normalize our oppression. #rightsnotfavors #Afghanwomen #EndGenderApartheid
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...Afghan women are quite literally imprisoned in their homes, and yet the global community continues to inch towards legitimacy of their abusers with every meeting, every photo op, every unconscionable engagement Enablement in action Absolutely shameful #endgenderapartheid
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
Day: 1789 🏫 Day: 1329 🎓 🇦🇫 Every handshake that ignores the Taliban’s assault on women and girls risks legitimising one of the world’s most extreme systems of institutionalised discrimination. #RecogniseGenderApartheid #ACrimeAgainstHumanity #LetAfghanGirlsLearn
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
Father after father choked up in despair while speaking to AFP about the Taliban’s education ban that stops their daughters going beyond primary school in Afghanistan. Even deeply religious fathers are questioning the ruling: "You will never find in the Quran that education is only for men" u.afp.com/SHAv
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Today, the George W. Bush Institute released joint policy recommendations to ensure the success of the America First Global Health Strategy. For decades, U.S. programs like PEPFAR, PMI, and the Global Fund have helped build stronger health systems and save lives around the world. These policy recommendations chart the path forward — calling for data-driven, results-based programming and sustained country ownership as the next phase of American global health leadership takes shape. Below are individuals and organizations who collaborated on the joint policy recommendations: -The George W. Bush Institute -AVAC -Dr. Deborah Birx, M.D., Senior Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute and former U.S. -Global AIDS Coordinator (2014-2020) - Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria -Oluwakemi Gbadamosi, AIDS Healthcare Foundation -Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) - The ONE Campaign - Dr. Dafna H. Rand, Brookings Institution -Dr. Jirair Ratevosian, Research Scholar, Duke Global Health Institute -Kara Saleeby, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation -Bill Steiger, Chief Executive Officer, Malaria No More Read the full recommendations below: bushcenter.org/publications/…
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"The number of school-age children not in school worldwide is now over 270 million, UNESCO estimated this year. This number has risen by over 6 million children since 2021," says Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, the Bradford M. Freeman Managing Director of Global Policy and Natalie Gonnella-Platts, Director of Global Policy at the Bush Institute. Read why the global community should invest in education for all: bushcenter.org/publications/…
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Elina Mwasinga, the National Coordinator for the National Association for Young People Living with HIV, talks about the lasting impact of America's Global Health legacy. "PEPFAR, to me, is more than a program. PEPFAR is the reason my life continued. It is the reason I’m able to make this video today, and why I’ve been fighting for the rights of other young people." Learn more about her life changing journey today: bushcenter.org/publications/…
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Natalie Gonnella-Platts retweeted
"There are millions of girls deprived from education. They are in an extremely bad situation in terms of the psychological issues [they are facing]." Afghan journalist and founder of Rukhshana Media @ZahraJoya reveals the severe inequalities facing Afghan girls and women. Today marks 1,753 days since the Taliban banned girls from secondary education, part of their grim campaign to erase women from public life. #LetAfghanGirlsLearn #afghanwomen #afghanistan #education
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The George W. Bush Presidential Center would like to wish President Bush a happy 80th birthday. His leadership has made a lasting impact on our country and the world through his commitment to freedom and opportunity, and his continuous efforts to inspire Americans. Cheers to many more years!
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