The world is a big place and I’m always uncomfortable picking out three of anything, much less powerful women. In my own world, which is currently – geographically, at least – New Orleans, it has been women, not surprisingly, who have led the city’s recovery at the grassroots level. Even here there are far more than three to pick out, but I’ll try. There’s LaToya Cantrell, who almost singlehandedly brought about the rebuilding of her neighborhood, the flooded, mixed-race Broadmoor area – and this was long before the first federal or state dollar started to roll in – thus demonstrating the grit and unflagging energy and determination that influenced dozens of neighborhood leaders like her. There’s Anne Milling, who responded to members of Congress like Denny Hastert, who questioned whether the city should be rebuilt at all, by forming Women of the Storm, to lobby senators and representatives, organizing their trips to New Orleans and ultimately having significant impact in getting a reluctant Congress to appropriate billions to rebuild homes and businesses. There’s Ruthie Frierson, who founded Citizens for One Greater New Orleans, because she realized that if we didn’t carry out reforms at the local and state level, we would have a hard time getting federal relief – or anybody – to take us seriously ever again. Her group has had enormous success, including the reform of our Byzantine system of levee boards, which contributed to the levee failures.

These women operate in the mode of my own mother, Judy Reed, who is arguably the most powerful person – or at least the most powerful force for good – in my hometown of Greenville, MS. There are women like this in every community in our country, thank God. On a far wider stage, no one is more powerful than Melinda Gates.

I would also put Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America on any list. She had the power of a great idea to address a serious need in our country. She founded her organization 18 years ago and now there are 3,700 Teach for America teachers around the country, but her impact in terms of encouraging the formation of other groups like hers, and inspiring people to think outside the box when addressing our education ills, has been enormous. It has also helped generations of young people learn to engage in philanthropy, something larger than them.

Aside from being one of my very favorite novelists, Joan Didion, with those brilliant essays in Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album and changed Journalism As We Know It at least as much as Tom Wolfe.