Speakers

A leader in international development and humanitarian response, Sofia brings over 25 years of experience of working at CARE. She spearheaded CARE’s first program strategy and was integral to placing gender equality at the very heart of CARE’s worldwide work. In CARE’s 75th year history, her leadership is pivotal to CARE’s 2030 Vision in contribution to Sustainable Development Goals.

Sofia, originally from Uruguay, lives in Quito, Ecuador. First joining CARE in 1994, she has served in several positions, providing support to programs in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. With extensive experience in program design and implementation; impact measurement and evaluation; and advocacy, Sofia is dedicated to transforming power relations inside and outside of the organization. Her unshakable commitment to gender equality is drawn from many years of working alongside some of the worlds most marginalised women; from domestic workers, women working in the garment sector and victims of gender-based violence.

Prior to working in international development, Sofía worked in the field of public opinion polls and audience research. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from the Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay and an MSc in Epidemiology from the University of London/London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Neneh Diallo is a seasoned executive whose experience spans DEIA, communications, and media. She has worked in both the public and private sectors, promoting Fortune 500 companies, raising awareness of the U.S. government’s poverty reduction programs, and advocating for representation.

Prior to joining USAID as the first Chief Diversity Officer, Ms. Diallo served as the Senior Vice President for Communications at pocstock, a media platform focused on increasing representation in stock media. She also worked for the Millenium Challenge Corporation, where she led communications and the diversity program.

Ms. Diallo earned her bachelor of arts in political science from Rutgers University and is an alumna of the United Nations International School in New York.

“Tine oversees the development, marketing, and delivery of DAI’s development solutions for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department, and other U.S. Government clients.

Tine previously served as Vice President of DAI’s Center for Secure and Stable States, which she launched in 2017 with a mission to raise the bar for development and security programming in fragile environments. For the three years prior, she was DAI’s Managing Director for Governance, Transition, and Stability, where she was responsible for the company’s portfolio of good governance, stabilization, political transition, countering violent extremism, peace building, citizen security, and public financial management work.

Before joining DAI in 2011, Tine spent 15 years with USAID, including assignments in Ghana, Jordan, Mozambique, and Peru, as well as in Washington, D.C. In her final USAID assignment, as the Senior Development Advisor in Jordan, Tine developed cross-sectoral and politically sensitive programming in human rights, good governance, and poverty, and was responsible for managing relationships with host government counterparts, other U.S. Government agencies, civil society, and the media. Before her career in development, Tine spent time in Nigeria teaching at the University of Ibadan and participating in the pro-democracy movement. She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish with skills in French and Norwegian.”

Seasoned executive leader and technical expert on gender and social inclusion, labor, business and human rights, trafficking in persons and digital rights. Experience in nonprofit management, strategic philanthropy and partnerships, and public policy. Certified in strategic diversity and inclusion management. Proven track record growing organizational revenues, increasing visibility, leading mergers and redefining vision, mission, and strategy for organizations entering new phases of growth and development. Expert trainer on gender and social inclusion. Current research focus on Future of Work. Extensive experience in public speaking, writing and serving as media spokesperson.

Lisa Simeon is the Chief Operations Officer for Abt Associates, a diversified, global professional services firm focused on research, monitoring and evaluation, digital solutions, and implementing programs in health, social and environmental policy, and international development.

Emiko is currently President of the World Bank Group East Asian Women’s Network (EAWN) established in September 2021. The EAWN strives to improve diversity and inclusion in the WBG and advocates for actions to address challenges faced by more than 1,300 East Asian Women staff in the WBG. Beyond EAWN, Emiko’s “day job” at the WBG is to advise and support client countries develop their financial and private sector as an engine of economic growth and development. She has led many lending and technical assistance projects around the world and actively contributed to setting global standards in the financial sector.

Jonas Prising was named ManpowerGroup Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in May 2014 and Chairman in December 2015. He leads all aspects of ManpowerGroup’s $21 billion business across 75 countries and territories worldwide. He’s been with the company for more than 20 years in roles ranging ManpowerGroup North America President and President of the Americas, while also leading the company’s operations in Southern Europe and overseeing the global Right Management and ManpowerGroup Solution businesses.

A recognized expert on the labor market and future of work, Prising regularly speaks at global events and in the media on employment trends, jobs and skills. He plays a key role in championing ManpowerGroup’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategy and is especially passionate about preparing the next generation with work-readiness skills, accelerating women into leadership, supporting refugees into meaningful work, and delivering on climate action.

Currently, Prising serves as global Board Chairman for JA Worldwide, where he helps JA achieve its mission of equipping more than 12 million young people each year with employment and entrepreneurship skills in 100 countries.

Prising is actively engaged with the World Economic Forum, including as a member of the International Business Council (IBC), the CEO Alliance for Climate Leaders, the CEO Action Group for the European Green Deal, the Global Parity Alliance, and CEO Champion for the Reskilling Revolution.

Prising also plays an active leadership role in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, business community, as a Board member and former Chairman of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He also serves on the board of directors of Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS).

Before joining ManpowerGroup, Prising worked for Electrolux, a Swedish multinational. During his tenure, he held various international positions within the consumer goods and business-to-business divisions. Prising holds an MBA (equivalent) from the Stockholm School of Economics and has participated in executive programs at Harvard, INSEAD, Stanford and Yale. He speaks five languages: English, French, German, Swedish and Italian and has lived in nine countries across Asia, Europe and North America. Prising and his family reside in the Milwaukee area.

Sylvia J. Megret serves as president and CEO of ACDI/VOCA. As a global development executive with 30 years of experience, she promotes the organization’s mission and lives its values in support of inclusive, sustainable development worldwide. Sylvia joined ACDI/VOCA in December 2016, first serving as chief operating officer (COO) and later as president and COO from February 2021 to April of 2022. She also served as interim CEO from December 2017 to June 2018.

Sylvia has proven expertise convening diverse teams that bridge functions, cultures, and international borders. She is also skilled at identifying and institutionalizing effective teams and systems for maximum efficiency and success.

Sylvia is currently board chair of the Fundación ACDI/VOCA Latin America (FAVLA). She also serves as a board member of the Society of International Development’s U.S. Chapter (SID-US) and as the 2022 SID-US conference chair. Sylvia led ACDI/VOCA’s role as a founding member of the Coalition for Racial and Ethnic Equity in International Development (CREED) and is also a founding member of Chief (Washington).

She holds a master’s degree in international development from American University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and French from the University of Michigan. She is fluent in English and French, and her work has taken her from Africa to Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Stephanie is the Global Head of Inclusion Programs for Women of Color and a Thought Leader in doubling-down on support and advocacy for caregivers globally. Prior to this role, she was a Retention Strategist, acting as a coach, advisor, and advocate for underrepresented employees to get satisfaction in their role, feel included at work and find opportunities to develop and grow.

Leading up to this work, she co-created the State of Black Women @Google Summit and Collective, an initiative designed for black women Googlers, globally, to have dedicated space for community, conversation and connection. It has since expanded to include Latinas, Asian and Indigenous women.

She graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a B.E. in Electrical Engineering. After working in infrastructure engineering at Lehman Brothers during and right after college, she transitioned to the digital media industry; spending the next 10 years, working on big data, forecasting and inventory management for media powerhouses Forbes Media, FOX News Digital and NBC News Digital.

Outside of the Googleverse, she is an Advisory Board Member of Per Scholas, a national workforce development focused on technology careers for individuals in overlooked communities. She also serves as an advisor for a number of startups.

A highly accomplished equity and health policy executive with demonstrated expertise in social impact, advocacy, social equity, community health, strategic policy analysis, coalition building, stakeholder influence and engagement, non profit board governance, public affairs, reputation management and risk mitigation. Demonstrated executive leadership, mentoring, negotiation, interpersonal, and crisis management skills. A strategic collaborator and change catalyst who leverages a deep and well cultivated network of influencers in government, corporate, community, philanthropy and health care. An innovative and collaborative problem solver and courageous thinker who delivers proven results.Currently serves as Chairman Emeritus, NAACP National Board of Directors; Vice Chairman, Women’s Caucus Comcast/NBCUniversal Diversity Advisory Council; Board Trustee, George Washington University and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility; and International Connection/Social Action Chairman, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Dr. Clifton J. Kenon Jr. is the Acting Deputy Chief Diversity Officer and Division Chief for the People, Workplace, Culture, and Training team. Clifton is also a registered nurse by training, with clinical specialties in obstetrics and lactation.

Clifton’s expertise and interest in diversity and inclusion stems from his lived experience as a health care provider and graduate/ post-doctoral experience, where he studied the intersections of microaggressions, health outcomes, and experiences of marginalized people interacting with the health care system. His research focus has been on the systematic effects of discrimination and micro messages in societies, with special emphasis on qualitative approaches.
He has published internationally and lectured worldwide on inclusion, micro messaging, bias, and the systematic effects of such on health, wellness and societal harmony. Clifton received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Winston-Salem State University, double Master’s of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Doctorate of Nursing from Chatham University, and completed Post Doctoral education at the University of Tennessee.

W. Brad Johnson, PhD is Professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law at the United States Naval Academy, and a Faculty Associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. A clinical psychologist, Dr. Johnson is a mentoring expert specializing in developing gender-inclusive mentoring cultures for organizations around the globe. Dr. Johnson is the author of numerous publications including 14 books, in the areas of mentoring, professional ethics, gender inclusion. Recent books include: Good Guys: How Men Can Become Better Allies for Women in the Workplace, Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women (both with David Smith) and the Elements of Mentoring 3rd Ed. (with Charles Ridley).

Maliha joined Women Deliver as President/CEO in April 2022, at the height of the organization’s transition and evolution. An international expert in program design and performance, learning, and accountability, with a focus on the empowerment of girls and women Maliha is guiding Women Deliver to ensure its actions are led by and representative of feminist movements in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and people with marginalized and vulnerable identities, including the very girls and women who have been pushed to the margins of society because of who they are or where they live. Maliha has over 25 years experience designing rights-based programs focused on girls and women, as a professor of gender studies, and implementation of women’s programs in marginalized regions of Pakistan, and around the world.

Helen Anyasi is a young Nigerian medical doctor who has worked on global health projects at FHI 360 for over 9 years. In her current role at FHI 360, she works on introducing and increasing access to new and existing Family Planning and HIV prevention products in low-resource settings. In her time at FHI 360, she has grown her career from serving on country teams to leading project teams and providing technical expertise to other country teams. Helen is open to sharing her experience working across multi-country projects with other young public health professionals like herself.

Sharon Melnick, PhD is a world authority on stress resilience and women’s leadership. A former researcher at Harvard Medical School, her speeches have created buzz with at Fortune 500 companies and conferences around the world (including the UN). She is the author of Success under Stress: Powerful Tools to Stay Calm, Confident, and Productive when the Pressure’s On, and the ‘go to’ executive coach for women who want to create a next level opportunity.

Dr. Rohini Anand is CEO of Rohini Anand LLC providing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion advisory services to clients in the public and private sectors. She is a recognized pioneer, a sought after expert, a thought leader and a published author. Her recent book, Leading Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has won global accolades. Most recently she was SVP Corporate Responsibility and Global Chief Diversity Officer, Sodexo. She serves on the several boards including the diversity advisory boards for Sanofi and Charter Communications, advisory boards for Women Lift Health a Gates Foundation initiative, Tent Partnership for Refugees and Galt Foundation. She is a Senior Fellow with the Conference Board and is on the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Center for Inclusive Governance’s Advisory Council.

Social Protection & Inclusive Policy Dialogue Specialist, PRB (Senegal)

Anna Winoto is a public policy practitioner with more than 20 years of experience leading and managing complex development programs in Indonesia. Her areas of expertise include public health and nutrition, social protection, child protection, governance and service delivery, and community-led development. She is currently Abt’s Indonesia Country Representative and Strategic Adviser in Indonesia. From 2018 to 2022, Anna was the Team Leader of KOMPAK, a partnership between the governments of Australia and Indonesia to improve basic services and economic opportunities for poor and vulnerable Indonesians. Before KOMPAK, Anna provided strategic advice to the Ministry of National Development Planning on poverty reduction. Prior to that, she served in several positions in UNICEF Indonesia focusing on child-centered social protection and maternal and child nutrition. Anna is a passionate advocate for women leadership in development, coaching and developing young professionals based on her lived-in experiences.

Jason is an executive coach and team development specialist with over 12 years of experience. He is the co-founder of KITE, a global consulting firm with the mission to elevate the practice of team leadership in the humanitarian and global development space, and the founder of The Humanitarian Coaching Network, an organization that supports the well-being and growth of humanitarian staff, particularly the most vulnerable and historically underserved. Additionally, his individual practice is focused on supporting the healing and growth of men and male leaders and for the past two years he has collaborated with the WILD Network to facilitate panel discussions on the role of men in advancing gender equity.

“Darcy is a Manager on Women Deliver’s Policy and Advocacy team, where she focuses on partnerships and policies for gender equality, health, health systems strengthening, and human rights. She has been with Women Deliver for 5 years and has participated in the organization’s internal and external processes to transform and become an anti-racist, anti-colonial global NGO.
Prior to joining Women Deliver, Darcy spent 5 years at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) where she contributed to the management of global programs for maternal health, obstetric fistula, and strengthening policy and advocacy efforts for sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Darcy earned her MA in International Development from The New School in New York and her BA in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine. She lives in New York with her husband and 1-year-old daughter and enjoys birding in her spare time. ”

Habtamu is an international development, disability inclusion, and special needs education professional with 10 years of experience. Habtamu received his B.A, and M.A in Special Needs Education from Addis Ababa University. In 2019, he received his second master’s degree from Gallaudet University, Washington DC in International Development. Habtamu developed a passion for international development while he was at Addis Ababa University. He co-founded the Association of Students with Physical Disabilities, and the Deaf Students Association at the University and led as President and Public Relations Coordinator. Habtamu is a former Director of the Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf. Currently, he serves as Disability Inclusion Technical Officer at FHI 360, where he helps mainstream disability inclusion principles within project design and implementation. Also, he is the Co-founder and president of the Ethiopian Deaf community in the US.

Global DEIA Manager and certified PMP passionate about the intersection of visual media, education, and social impact. Completed MA thesis on Depictions of Underrepresented Populations in Film and Television.

Morag Barrett helps leaders achieve outstanding results through the power of their professional relationships. She is an in-demand keynote speaker, executive coach, leadership expert, and bestselling author of three books: Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships, The Future-Proof Workplace, and You, Me, We: Why we all need a friend at work (and how to show up as one!).

Dina Scippa is a gender equality specialist turned certified life coach and Founder of Enough Labs. She supports women and girls in coaching on the intersections of leadership and confidence, is a seasoned trainer and facilitator, and is invited to speak regularly on radical self-acceptance, women’s empowerment and being enough. She hosts the internationally charted podcast Embracing Enough, which showcases the stories of women and girls and their journey to feeling confident. The podcast explores the stories that influence our collective experience and unpacks what it takes to embrace the belief that we are enough, just as we are.

With nearly two decades of experience working in some of the most exciting and demanding environments around the world (Afghanistan, South Sudan, Fiji, Peru and 25+ more), Dina is able to bring practical real-world experience to her coaching and speaking. Dina is a recognized expert and leader in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment; and regularly mentors and coaches women and girls to step into their power, without compromising who they are or what they are looking to create in the world. Her goal is to help women and girls get in touch with what sets their souls on fire. Her mission: to give women and girls the space to explore the truth of who they are and embrace their inherent enoughness to counter all the reasons the world tells them they are not.

Zahra is a Deloitte Africa Consulting Leader with over 15 years of experience working in international development, financial services and public sector industries. Zahra is currently the International Development Leader for Deloitte East Africa covering Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi. She has advised multi-lateral and bi-lateral development partners such as USAID, UNECA, UNWFP, SIDA, Global Affairs Canada, World Bank, among others.

“Zanda served as the Regional Coordinator for the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network for the Caribbean and Americas (CYPAN). CYPAN is a Pan-Commonwealth network which utilizes grassroots, national and regional participation to promote sustainable peace. She also brought the #NotAskingForIt campaign to the University of the West Indies-Mona campus. Part of a global movement, the campaign raised awareness about blaming and shaming of sexual assault victims post abuse.
Zanda advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion within development organizations. She is an advisor to the Free STEM Fund which aims to make STEM opportunities more available and accessible to women, girls, transgender and non-binary people through direct grants. She is a Women Deliver Young Leader Alumni and continues to contribute to the organization and its mission. In 2020, she was part of the Transformation Engagement Working Group, as Women Deliver embarked on a journey to become an anti-racist organization. Today, she serves as a member of the Advisory group for the Women Deliver Conference 2023 to ensure that as one of largest convenings for the advancement of gender equality, the dialogue and programming is inclusive and accessible.

Mona Abdeljawad has more than 20 years of experience managing development projects in health, reproductive health, development, and human rights. Her educational background is in human rights law from the University of Oxford, and she has focused on disability rights. Mona participated in drafting the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and served as the assistant secretary general of the Higher Council on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Mona has worked with Abt for the past five years and currently manages the $20 million LHSS Jordan Project. Under her leadership, the project supports the implementation of the country’s continuous professional development program and spearheads USAID’s efforts to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mona has guided such initiatives as supporting the MOH’s launch of tele-counselling services and a COVID-19 training platform and training more than 13,000 Health Care Providers in the public and private sector.

My name is Linca Tuyisenge. I was born and raised in Burundi where I started my career. I am currently in Administration and Finance with more than ten years of experience in financial management of USAID, Dutch Government, European Union, Global Fund and CORDAID-funded projects. I am passionate about reading, listening to audiobooks, traveling, and spreading kindness.

Marianna Balampama is an international health expert and a stellar development sector leader with over two decades of experience. She currently serves as Deputy Regional Director, Africa at Pact, supporting multidisciplinary development programs across the Region. Marianna is driven by sustainable, inclusive impact and enhancing capacity of institutions and individuals. She volunteers on at Boards of numerous non-governmental organizations and has mentored many young leaders. Marianna has been honored with multiple awards, including Top Women in Management Africa 2021. Marianna resides in the oceanside city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and enjoys nature and travel.

Hilary is a speaker and communication coach with years of experience as a professional voice over and stage actor. She has been coaching, training, and facilitating the connection to authentic presence for 35 plus years. She guides and challenges the enthusiastic and reluctant alike to communicate more powerfully.

Nduka Iwuchukwu is a Medical Doctor with more than 30 years of experience in clinical care, public health, safety, environment, and innovation management. He has provided technical assistance to National Malaria Control Programs in Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Guatemala. He has developed several innovations in malaria vector control including indoor residual spraying (IRS) supervision and monitoring tools, field operational protocols, and novel designs for implementing community-based IRS operations.

Iwuchukwu is currently the chief of party of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) VectorLink Project in Zambia, which implements IRS and entomological monitoring and supports the distribution of insecticide-treated bednets. He supervises six senior management staff and leads a field workforce of 21,000 people. They are responsible for protecting about three million persons from malaria annually in Zambia. Under his leadership, between 2018 and 2022, the project’s annual spray coverage improved from 90 percent to 99 percent and the proportion of female IRS staff increased from 28 percent to 47 percent. The team strengthened sustainable local capacity in entomologic monitoring by ensuring equipment, training, and mentorship were accessible to community-level participants.

Iwuchukwu previously served as the chief of party for the PMI Africa Indoors Residual Spraying (AIRS) projects in Tanzania and Nigeria. He also worked as an AIRS regional operations advisor and operations manager, providing subject matter expertise on IRS planning and implementation.
Prior to joining Abt, Iwuchukwu was executive director for Environment and Health Nigeria Ltd., which implemented turn-key health and environment projects for governments and private sector clients such as the Wildlife Hazards Assessment of the four major international airports in Nigeria (Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt). The assessment report led to the successful certification of the four airports by the International Civil Aviation Organization

Nathalie Me-Nsope (PhD) is a Gender and Social Inclusion expert with over 16 years of experience in the international development sector. She has led gender and social inclusion mainstreaming efforts for USAID and non-U.S. government-funded programs in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. In my current role at ACDI/VOCA, I provide technical oversight for integrating gender and social inclusion approaches within our programs, in alignment with the organization’s gender and social inclusion policy. My work involves close collaboration with project implementation teams across many countries with differences in sociocultural context that shape communication and workplace dynamics especially in virtual settings.

Maura Allen is chief program officer at ACDI/VOCA. She leads a portfolio that includes project management and operations divisions, business development, and awards and compliance. She previously served as an executive director overseeing a portfolio of projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Prior to that she served as a managing director of community development and began her career with ACDI/VOCA as a senior director of financial services. Before joining ACDI/VOCA in 2008, Maura worked for Chemonics International, International Executive Service Corps, and Counterpart International. She began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal. She holds a master’s degree in international transactions from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Michigan State University.

Sonam Gupta, an applied economist, has more than 15 years’ experience in research, management, design, and implementation of complex, multi-country international development projects. Dr. Gupta’s areas of expertise include labor and workforce development, program evaluation, and mixed methods research.

Dr. Gupta oversees a portfolio of technical assistance and evaluation projects in 25 countries. The key focus of her projects that are being implemented in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala is to strengthen government capacity to effectively enforce labor laws, administer labor justice, use data for effective decision making, and support worker efforts to exercise their right to bargain collectively.

Yesibeth Centeno is Venezuelan, graduated cum laude from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello with a degree in Social Communication, specializing in Marketing. In Venezuela she worked in Marketing for telecommunications, retail services and mass consumption companies. In 2017 she emigrated to Peru. In 2018 she joined the development team of the digital platform VenInformado, led by Lutheran World Relief. Since 2020 she works as a communication specialist for LWR coordinating communication projects, supporting the development of a new digital platform in Honduras and representing LWR Peru in the Working Group for Migrants and Refugees (GTRM) led by UNHCR and IOM.

Daniel Sumner is an associate director of gender and youth at ACDI/VOCA and provides technical guidance to market system development and sustainable agriculture projects. He assists private and public sector actors with analyzing their existing internal practices and policies and developing contextual tools and strategies to promote gender and youth inclusion. Daniel has over 10 years of experience supporting research and development programs working at the intersection of gender, livelihoods, rural development, and sustainable intensification. Daniel holds a BS in anthropology from James Madison University and an MS in geography from Virginia Tech.

Enene Ejembi is an international development professional with experience successfully designing & implementing strategies that deliver results in Governance, Economic Growth, and Health. Her 19-year career spans experience in financial services and international development in the United Kingdom and in Nigeria. She holds a B.A. English Literature from the University of Jos, an M.Litt. in English Studies from the University of Dundee, trained at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and earned certification from the Knowledge Management Institute.

Enene leads the Nigeria Strategic Communications and Knowledge Management unit in a multinational consulting firm that delivers development results on more than 200 projects over 75 countries around the world. She has built a multidisciplinary team with competencies in monitoring & evaluation, research, knowledge management, branding & graphics design that drives DAI’s corporate communications, business development and supports project delivery.

Her career is built on expertise in research, knowledge management, strategic planning, marketing communications and business development.

Jessica is a Consultant with Deloitte in the Human Capital practice. She serves clients in international development and local government, focusing on organizational transformation, learning, and capacity building. Her current work involves delivering tools and resources centered in diversity, equity, inclusion & accessibility (DEIA) to Deloitte’s local project teams.

Prior to Deloitte, Jessica worked at an international think tank developing policy, research, and learning solutions for the United Nations and bilateral development funds. She’s spoken on a range of issues related to locally-led development, peace, and security.

Liz Nagel is a Senior Consultant for Deloitte Consulting LLC’s Government and Public Services Consulting Practice. Liz consultants U.S. government agencies on DEI, gender equity and social inclusion (GESI), and human capital transformations. Through her consultancy she has aided in conducting analysis of current DEI practices, communicating DEI priorities, managing DEI project timelines, and assisting with GESI programming. She holds her Master of Public Policy degree from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Prior to her time in government consulting Liz served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Moldova where she was a small business consultant focusing on engaging youth and women in community building.

Maria Eugenia Brizuela de Avila is a courageous woman breaking down barriers with work ethics and service. Born within a Latino culture, life taught her to stay true to her values bringing her to be the first woman to hold positions in private and public sectors considered as “impossible”.
She paid her Law studies in El Salvador amidst a civil war and studied French Civilization (Sorbonne, Paris), Insurance (Zurich), MBA (INCAE), Sustainable Business Postgraduate (University of Cambridge), Certified Executive Coach.
She has practiced assertive communication in her different roles.

Maria Wade, an experienced executive coach, conducts coaching for leaders and teams in Fortune 500 and international organizations. She has coached top-level executives from around the world across a wide range of industries and functions. Maria specializes in senior executive development and transformational growth and helps seasoned leaders boost their impact and overcome bumps on their way. Her unique talents lie in her ability to support leaders to thrive in times of complexity, leading them to clarity and unleashing their potential by expanding the way they envision their capabilities and exploring habitual responses to challenges and threat triggers.

Lisa Earle McLeod is the author of Selling with Noble Purpose. She’s a contributor to Harvard Business Review and has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and social activists scale their organizations. She’s one of LinkedIn Learning’s most popular instructors, and her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The New York Times. Global Guru’s recently named her the #3 Sales Expert in the World.

Evelyn Castle is a pioneering health executive and impact investor. After spending a decade working in the health sector in Africa, she is now committed to building Africa’s impact investing ecosystem, with the specific goal of supporting female-owned small and medium-sized enterprises.

Alysson Akiko Oakley (PhD) has worked in international development since 2003 as a project manager, evaluator, and researcher. She specializes in complexity-aware program design and evaluation, and with Pact is working to advance community decision-making and ownership over programming as part of an “evaluation as intervention” approach and Pact’s Engaged Community strategy. She is a Board Member of the International and Cross-Cultural Evaluation group of the American Evaluation Association, and is an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University.

Whitney founded Illustra Impact to support leaders in developing purposeful strategies, systems, and cultures that foster sustainable communities (internally and externally). She brings over 12 years of experience in facilitating human-centered design, driving systems change, and developing leaders. Whitney has led community organizing efforts across the US, been sought out for her experience in authentic consumer engagement and community power sharing, and convened international stakeholders for an inclusive decision-making process. After nearly a decade working in non-profits, Whitney pursued social entrepreneurship through a Global MBA at IE Business School. Since July 2021, she has lived in, learned from, and contributed to neighborhoods across 4 continents while operating her consulting practice remotely.

Lindita Baleta has 24+ years of diverse working experience at the intersection of strategic communications, storytelling for impact, advocacy, gender and social inclusion, social media, and media relations. Her special focus is in Communication for Development and Communication for Impact. She has extensive experience in developing and delivering training, with focus in communications, PR, media, leadership communication, social media, and diversity and inclusion. Lindita is a volunteer trainer and mentor in various programs supporting women in business and young women professionals. Passionate writer of haiku. Literary translator. 

Brian serves as a civil society advisory board member with Tech For Democracy, a 2022 Dalai Lama Peace Fellow and recently was awarded a leadership award by the U.S State Department.

Currently, Brian is the founder of One More Percent which is a grassroots based movement that advocates for gender equality, disability inclusion and climate action.

Sophie Kange is an organizational development specialist, a facilitator and an ardent champion of women empowerment in community led development. Currently serving as the Vice chairperson and technical advisor to MCLD Uganda and a Board Chairperson for Global Grassroots, Sophie is committed to offer leadership to empower women leaders as change agents for conscious social change as a foundation for sustainable development. Joining a network of women leaders across the globe provides skills to break the glass ceiling against the social, economic and cultural stereotypes that hinder women from thriving in their own development.

Founder of Patricia Speaks a Platform that Equips, Empowers and Nurtures people to become better, operate in their full potential, live out their dreams and walk in purpose. And Co-Founder and Executive Director of Her Circle International. Her Circle International is a platform for women in leadership to find balance in life – lt brings together women entrepreneurs, consultants and professionals who are intentional about their holistic growth are equipped on life skills, trained on leadership skills and get an opportunity to raise others through mentorship.

I am passionate about leadership, purpose and education. My life mission statement is to equip, empower and nurture people to realize their full potential and live out their dreams.

I am a Visionary Leader who has made great strides in championing leaders locally and internationally to become exceptional and intentional in their leadership roles.

I have served in many women leadership roles for which l have been recognized locally. One of my accolades is the DOPA Award 2017, Women in Leadership. Kingdom Service Award.

In the Academic World. l am a Life Coach, Corporate Trainer, Therapist (CBT), Counsellor and Professional Speaker. I sit in the advisory board of Asian-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry AACCI-Kenya Chapter, the board of TEDx Statehouse Road and I am the Chairperson of Her Circle International Board of Directors.

As a professional coach with twelve years’ experience in international development Torrey Peace facilitates rising and established leaders in the aid world to become the leaders they admire, or “people centered leaders.” After becoming a CRS Country Manager overseeing a team of 50, Torrey created the “Aid for Aid Workers Leadership Podcast” to share leadership lessons from those working across the aid world. Torrey now uses coaching as a tool to assist aid worker supervisors build and coach strong performing teams, effectively manage their time and achieve greater wellbeing. For more information about Torrey’s work and podcast, please visit www.aidforaidworkers.com.

Navanita Bhattacharya uses her voice and contributes to changing systems, structures, policies and processes that continue to keep people purposefully in the margins. She works at the forefront of organisational and community change in Asia and Pacific. Her work involves analyses of systems and power. She enables people to understand how liberatory power helps us all to thrive; how the locus of power, the place where it can be transformed, is through interactions – purposeful, justice-driven interactions. Facilitating difficult conversations by having a safe environment is what she loves doing. She works to make organisations that are liberatory, anti-racist, anti-oppressive.

Ashley is a management consultant with insights into business and cultural differences across four continents. She has extensive experience in management consulting, communications consulting, policy-making, teaching and practicing digital strategy, conducting learning and development training, and financial management for various organizations across different sectors. She has recently worked as a Business Development and Partnerships consultant at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics with recent experience as a Consulting Fellow in the Nairobi office of Dalberg Global Advisors where she worked on various Agritech projects across Sub-Saharan Africa. Ashley has also facilitated and contributed to educational policy-making for UNCTAD Youth, she also helped push the Mental Health policy adoption for the Commonwealth Youth Council as part of their 2-year agenda and is also a contributor to the Future Africa Forum focusing on education, agriculture and health to drive policies across Sub-Saharan Africa. She is also the founder of Tash Spaces which curates conversations across different topics in Kenya. Ashley holds a 3 Continent Master of Global Management from Fordham Gabelli School of Business (New York) and a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance) from Strathmore University (Kenya). She also has a certificate in Global Diplomacy from the University of London and a certificate in Digital Strategy from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK)

I am a professionally certified coach, consultant and facilitator who founded Neon in 2013 to bring more humanity to the way we live, lead and work. My focus is on developing more deeply human leaders who want to create cultures that enable people to thrive in the challenges of today’s world, while also achieving maximum impact. I do this mainly through coaching teams and individuals in a range of sectors in the UK and overseas. My passion is supporting female leaders who want to be a force for good in organisations with a strong social purpose.

Melissa Creede catalyzes leaders and changemakers (and wannabe changemakers) to realize meaningful change for a better tomorrow.

For over 25 years, she has coached, consulted, trained, and facilitated conversations on important issues like climate change, sustainability, clean tech, diversity, equity and inclusion, international development, and transformative leadership.

She has been an employee, an executive (by the time I was thirty), and an entrepreneur. Melissa is passionate about and fascinated by leadership in all its facets and what it takes to be an effective and compelling changemaker. She now coaches others to be purposeful about their own aspirations to make a difference in the world.

Lisa Earle McLeod is the author of Selling with Noble Purpose. She’s a contributor to Harvard Business Review and has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and social activists scale their organizations. She’s one of LinkedIn Learning’s most popular instructors, and her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The New York Times. Global Guru’s recently named her the #3 Sales Expert in the World.

Traci L. Baird is the President and CEO of EngenderHealth, where she works closely with the organization’s talented global leaders to establish strategy and implement programs in the areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender. Traci has worked in the field of global SRHR for more than 25 years. A focus of her leadership is organizational effectiveness and ensuring that EngenderHealth “walks the talk” of diversity, equity, and inclusion and authentic partnership. Traci recently catalyzed an initiative to transform international NGO operating models to engage more equitably in global health.

Krupa Patel currently works for Abt Associates, where she leads the Global Talent Management and Change team. This team is responsible for learning and development, organizational effectiveness, performance management, and change management for employees across 25+ countries. She occasionally adjunct teaches for SNHU Business College and holds an MS in Organizational Leadership and a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification.

Her prior roles have spanned many industries including software and technology, medical device, healthcare, mortgage servicing, and insurance. And while the context varies, the bottom line is employees everywhere want to feel valued, respected, engaged, and growth in their work and organization.

Precious Brooks leads DAI’s U.S. corporate talent acquisition team, where she works to engage in actions around hiring, collaboration, and cultivating an employee experience that will enhance equity and inclusion. Previously, she was a Senior Advisor for International Programs for Save the Children’s People & Culture team, and before that was a Senior Operations Manager at Chemonics. The transition to people operations was natural as Precious leaned into becoming a conscientious decision-maker and self-aware and empathetic leader. Having lived and worked in over ten countries, Precious works as a change agent, combining organizational development, cross-cultural experience, and dynamic communication with building lasting global relationships and partnerships.

For 20 years, Dr. Rebecca Eldredge has used her commitment to mental health, cultural competence, and social justice to support individuals and organizations to cultivate compassion for themselves as they bring compassion and justice to their organizations and communities. She has been honored to work with corporations, university departments, and refugee resettlement agencies as well as hundreds of diverse clients. Dr. Eldredge completed her M.A. and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and taught adjunct in the University of Houston’s and Our Lady of the Lake’s graduate psychology programs. She is also a Step into Your Moxie® Certified Facilitator.

Nana Tsiklauri is a Good Governance and Public Administration professional with more than 10 years of experience managing large-scale governance and economic development programs. She has been focusing on agile governance models, inclusive public services, open government initiatives, and public sector innovation.

Since September 2022 she has been working as a Director of Public Administration Reform and Inclusive Governance at USAID Georgia Local Governance Program, leading the Program interventions to support local governments in citizen-responsive service delivery.

Her experience is underscored by a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Martin’s specialities are in supporting clients to make their strategy a reality. He works with you to implement your goals to achieve sustainable results. The endgame is to ensure a return on your investment into people and processes. He is an entrepreneur with experience of what it takes to build and run a company.

Martin works with senior management teams to formulate Company Strategy. Once your strategy is clear, he works with you and your team to ensure its deployment. He gets your team behind your vision, executing on mid to long-term goals. He facilitates Innovation of your company products & processes with tried and trusted tools & methods.

Martin helps your team diagnose opportunities for driving improvement he leads workshops for empowering teams with rapid results. He has been working for over 25 years on continuous improvement. He gets satisfaction through seeing my client’s personal growth.

Ms. Baviina Safia Musah is a woman with a passion to contribute to reducing human sufferings in sustainable ways. She is an equal rights advocate, with fifteen years professional experience in human-rights based programming. She has worked with various local and international organizations in different capacities, and contributed to major legislative and policy discourses on Inclusive Education, Affirmative Action, Disability Rights and Land Rights. She has supported fifty (50) Ghanaian Organizations to institute systems for preventing and responding to Sexual Exploitation Abuse and Harassment. Currently, she is a GESI Advisor at Tetra Tech ARD, on a USAID Fisheries Activity.

Ydun Donahoe is a technical director of market systems based in Santa Barbara, California. She provides technical support to projects and develops strategies and tools for use across ACDI/VOCA programs to strengthen market and food systems. Prior to joining ACDI/VOCA in 2020, Ydun led projects in 16 countries for nonprofit, public, and private sector organizations. She served as the head of strategic initiatives at Apeel Sciences, where she managed the company’s grant with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ydun also held positions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service as well as with Fintrac and IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative. Ydun holds an MS in agricultural economics from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and a BA in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Isabella Jean is an advisor and learning partner to international and local organizations, bilateral donors, private foundations, and UN agencies with 20 years of experience. Her focus is on documenting promising institutional and programmatic practices and strengthening capacities for conflict sensitivity, peacebuilding, humanitarian effectiveness and accountability to affected communities. While serving as Director of Collaborative Learning at CDA, Isabella co-authored a widely acclaimed critique of the externally driven aid model, Time to Listen: Hearing People on the Receiving End of Aid. Her current advisory work supports processes for decolonizing the aid system, increasing equity and accountability, and funding strategies in support of locally led action. Besides, Isabella teaches graduate-level courses at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management, where she has also served on the Alumni Board from 2012-2018.

For over twenty years, Ranahnah has managed community development initiatives, both domestically in the United States and internationally throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Ranahnah currently works as Pact’s Africa Regional Director. In this role, she works with teams to engage in constructive dialogue and promote positive change in 25+ countries.

Lisa Russell, MPH is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Finalist and Founder of Create2030 with a 15+ year career that lies at the the intersection of arts, social justice and global development. Lisa’s experience as a contracted creative professional for the United Nations and other international entities has elevated her unique position as a global health and development creative advocate. Through her films as well as her curation of live artistic performances and creative workshops with diverse, professional artists, Lisa has been at the forefront of amplifying the role of the growing creative economy in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Lisa has been the Founder and Curator of the Women Deliver Arts and Film Festival since 2010.

Katya studies engineering in agricultural sciences and production with postgraduate studies in human development from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences.

She has experience forming female entrepreneurs in the improvement of their businesses through a gender perspective and leading female empowerment workshops in indigenous communities in the Honduran Dry Corridor. She also, facilitated virtual courses to business service providers on the promotion of equality and autonomy of Honduran women.

Currently  she is in charge of the implementation of Transforming Market Systems Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy and dictating courses on gender-based violence prevention in rural communities.

Ruth is a disability rights advocate from Papua New Guinea with over 12 years of experience in advocacy, consultation, case management, accessibility and inclusive training and/or workshop, and office management. After acquiring her disability (paraplegic) while at Uni, she wasn’t allowed to return and continue her degree because the lecture rooms had stairs. That led her to become passionate about amplifying the voices of people with disability, especially women with disability to drive social justice, equity, and inclusion in education, health, employment, and climate change. She wants to see more critical assessment of complex and intersecting social and disability issues in order to develop policy and program solutions. Under the Australian Awards Scholarship Program, she is able to continue her university studies and is currently in the last 6 months of her Bachelor of Human Services at the Queensland University of Technology while working part-time as the Disability Inclusion Advisor for Tetra Tech Australia. Ruth is open to mentorship in critical assessment of Disability Inclusion and Accessibility and Equitable Practices in programs and policies.

Experienced professional in financial management, operations, and quality management systems, who, prioritizing adaptive planning, team leadership development, and effective coordination and communication with a diverse range of stakeholders, have delivered significant results under complex circumstances. Results include establishing, streamlining, and re-aligning administrative, operational, and compliance management systems in line with organizational plans and strategy, creating opportunities for staff growth, and promoting an ethical environment at all levels. With a wide range of experience in government, private, and non-profit sector that, combined with a passion for academic activities and a focus on long term solutions, support institutional adaptability, growth, and sustainability.

With over 25 years experience, Jane Gotiangco is an accomplished communications professional with substantial brand, messaging, executive, and crisis communications experience. She helps organizations tell compelling stories about their work, their people, and their missions. Her expertise in messaging and branding has resulted in powerful new identities for organizations and improved employees’ ability to clearly identify and share what differentiates them from their competitors. She is motivated to help grow, manage, and enhance reputations through strategic marketing, branding, external campaigns, media relations, and outreach activities.

Ana Barfield leads the Aga Khan Foundation’s Global Practice, aimed at strengthening the delivery of AKF’s programmes by building the skills and knowledge of key development practitioners, including staff, partners, and communities. In this role, Ana has led the development of The Learning Hub platform and the creation of almost 200 video-based and blended learning courses and instructional videos. Ana previously led the development of traditional and blended curricula for Hewlett-Packard’s Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute which were taught in 300+ training centres in 48 countries. Ana holds advanced degrees from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and Princeton University.

Njeri Kimotho is a Do-no-Harm global south intersectional Ecofeminist with expertise in Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI). Njeri works as an international policy advisor on gender transformation & social justice for inclusive sector transformation in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. An expert and consultant with over 14 years of experience, Njeri’s long standing expertise in international development intersects feminism, intersectionality, and gender equality as well as social inclusive knowledge and practices in research, learning, and knowledge management. She extends her knowledge through Cynara – A gender training platform. She will be offering an intersectional GBA+ Analysis course on Cynara in 2023.

Evelyne Dioh SIMPA is the Managing Director of WIC Capital, the first investment fund in West Africa that exclusively targets women-led small and growing businesses. The Fund’s mission is to unleash the full potential of women-led businesses in Africa through adapted funding, tailored technical assistance and business networks, providing a platform for collaboration between local private and public sector actors to shape the gender-lens investing landscape in the region.

Evelyne is an experienced Investment professional who joined WIC Capital from FONSIS, Senegal’s sovereign wealth fund, where she was responsible for managing +EUR 100 million transactions in several sectors, including industry, energy, agriculture. She formerly worked at the General Inspection of the Société Générale Group.

Evelyne’s life mission is to contribute to the development of the African private sector, by reinforcing and growing small businesses. She is also passionate about gender issues in modern African societies. In 2021 and 2022, she was ranked in The Choiseul 100 Africa, as one of the 200 young African leaders of 40 years old and below, who will play a major role in the continent’s economic development in the near future. She was also recognized on the Black Women in Asset Management (BWAM) 40 under 40 list of Black women who are shaping the future of asset management.

Connie Gonzalez serves as the Deputy Director for the Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment (CWEE) at CIPE. Gonzalez leads projects from the National Endowment for Democracy promoting women business leaders globally. Prior to CIPE she worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in El Salvador and the INCAE Business School Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development in Costa Rica. Gonzalez earned her BA from Dartmouth College, an MA from The George Washington University; and a Certificate in Non-profit Management from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She recently completed several women’s leadership certificates.

Amy Boldosser-Boesch is a global health leader and passionate advocate with over 20 years’ experience in global and U.S. health policy and advocacy, focusing on women’s and adolescents’ health and rights. Amy has served as President and CEO, Vice President, and Senior Director in small and multimillion-dollar NGOs. She is currently Senior Director for Health Policy, Advocacy, & Engagement and Integrated Health Care at Management Sciences for Health, a global health systems strengthening NGO-one of USAID’s top 10 contractors. She holds a Master of International Affairs in Human Rights from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Dr Constance ‘Connie’ Sibongile Shumba is Lead, Health Projects and Planning for the Mastercard Foundation. She is the technical and programmatic lead for the Saving Lives and Livelihoods Initiative in partnership with the Africa CDC, supporting COVID-19 vaccination and strengthening health systems across the 55 AU member states. She has worked with several global health agencies in decentralized systems in Africa and Asia over the last 19 years leading the design and delivery of complex gender-responsive cross-sectoral programs and broad-based public health and nutrition programmes. Connie has made distinctive contributions to health systems strengthening, public health higher education and implementation science and has over 50 publications in international peer-reviewed journals. She is an Affiliate Member of the African Academy of Sciences (2021-2025), Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK and the Royal Society for Public Health, UK. Connie holds a PhD in Global Health from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland.

María Rendo is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She’s a passionate advocate for gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and girls’ education.

Before joining Women Deliver, she was the Communications Coordinator at Malala Fund, the organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. In this role, she supported the Communications and Creative team in creating content in English, Spanish, and Portuguese for the organization’s social media platforms, website, and award-winning digital publication, Assembly. Her prior experience includes internships at Global Citizen, the Tinker Foundation, and Americas Society / Council of the Americas.
María manages Women Deliver’s digital platforms, strategy, and campaigns by expanding and strengthening the organization’s online presence and engaging partners and supporters across programs.

She holds a BA in Global Liberal Studies and Romance Languages, and a MA in International Relations, with a concentration on Human Rights and Latin America, from New York University.

I have over 15 years’ experience of leadership and senior management in the not for profit sector in Africa and UK, spearheading the development and implementation of innovative and effective programmes advancing human rights with focus on women’s rights and gender justice. I am a Pan African feminist with a demonstrable record for building strong and autonomous organisations, movements and networks in civil society.

Dr. Kathryn Woods is a Professor in the Department of Leadership at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN, USA. She teaches courses in leadership development, organizational innovation, gender and leadership, and small group leadership. Her research interests include organizational behavior, leadership development, feminist leadership, leadership education, and diversity in leadership.

Asha Castleberry is a distinguished National Security & Foreign Policy expert, a public speaker, television media commentator, a United States Army Veteran, and a former U.S. Congressional Candidate. On January 21, 2021, Asha joined the Biden-Harris Administration as a Senior Official at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State.

Asha holds a B.A. in Political Science at Hampton University. At Hampton University, Asha was an active member of the Hampton University Marching Band. In 2005, she studied Law and Business in Shanghai, China, and at the University of Oxford New College. She wrote her thesis on the effects of Deng Xiaoping’s Economic Reform. In China, she met a lifetime colleague, Dr. Boyce Watkins, founder of the Black Business School. Asha was part of the Army Reserve Officer Training Officer (ROTC) and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 2006. In 2007, she continued her studies for a year at New York University Center for Global Affairs. In 2012, Asha earned a Masters in International Affairs at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

With an interest in organisational development and a passion for people, Jenna has committed herself to guide businesses in the selection and development of top talent. Having studied Organisational Psychology at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, she further specialised in the use of Psychometric Assessments and is accredited on several tools. She is currently a Health Professions Council of South Africa Registered Psychometrist and has a background in working with multicultural organisations in Africa, Asia, Americas and Europe and has had extensive consulting experience with private, public and for-purpose sector companies.

Shanna Marzilli is the President and CEO of Plan International USA, an international humanitarian and development organization that partners with adolescent girls and their communities around the world to overcome oppression and gender inequality. We provide the support and resources that are unique to their needs and the needs of their communities, ensuring they achieve their full potential with dignity, opportunity and safety.

She brings a decade of experience serving Plan at the executive level, first as both CMO and CHRO, then as Plan’s interim CEO for seven months prior to becoming COO in April 2022.

Shanna began her career in health policy, primarily at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, where she served as the assistant vice president for corporate compliance and ethics, senior vice president of strategic transformation and chief marketing officer.

Shanna is a graduate of Providence College in Rhode Island.

Dr. Debora Ley is a Lead Author in IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Cycle, focusing on gender, inclusion, equity, adaptation, sustainable development and renewable energy. She also works at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean where she focuses on energy poverty and gender equity in achieving the multiple Sustainable Development Goals. She has a DPhil in Geography and the Environment from the University of Oxford and an MSc and BSc in Engineering. Her work with national governments and multilateral organisations has focused on renewable energy, energy poverty, rural electrification, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Meghan Audette (she/her/hers) is a career humanitarian with 20 years’ experience in the Middle East, West Africa, and Latin America with various development actors in the non-profit sector and the United Nations. A member of the Metis Nation, she brings an unique perspective on intersectionality and indigenous inclusion. Described by colleagues as an equity trailblazer, Meg has devoted her career to empowering women to be leaders in their communities. Meg uses her knowledge of indigenous cultures to create inclusive practice and currently oversees ChildFund International’s strategy implementation, including inclusion and belonging. She holds an MA in Sustainable Development Management.

Rowshan is a Senior Director at Chemonics UK. She oversees projects in conflict affected areas, and also leads the Diversity Equity and Inclusion portfolio. Rowshan has a technical background in livelihoods, disaster resilience and humanitarian work. She has a PhD in reducing poverty in semi-arid areas through co-operative farming. Rowshan has worked across East and South Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean.

Taylor Jack is a Program Manager at Chemonics International in the East and Southern Africa Division. Taylor is also a returned Peace Corps volunteer, a graduate of the Elliott School’s International Development Studies MA program, and public speaker on diversity in International Affairs. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Howard University. Taylor is also a co-author of The Young Black Leaders Guide to a Successful Career In International Affairs: What the Giants Want You to Know along with Aaron Williams, former Peace Corps Director, and Dr. Jennifer Brinkerhoff, Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs at George Washington University.

Sylvia J. Megret serves as president and CEO of ACDI/VOCA. As a global development executive with 30 years of experience, she promotes the organization’s mission and lives its values in support of inclusive, sustainable development worldwide. Sylvia joined ACDI/VOCA in December 2016, first serving as chief operating officer (COO) and later as president and COO from February 2021 to April of 2022. She also served as interim CEO from December 2017 to June 2018. Sylvia has proven expertise convening diverse teams that bridge functions, cultures, and international borders. She is also skilled at identifying and institutionalizing effective teams and systems for maximum efficiency and success. Sylvia is currently board chair of the Fundación ACDI/VOCA Latin America (FAVLA). She also serves as a board member of the Society of International Development’s U.S. Chapter (SID-US) and as the 2022 SID-US conference chair. Sylvia led ACDI/VOCA’s role as a founding member of the Coalition for Racial and Ethnic Equity in International Development (CREED) and is also a founding member of Chief (Washington). She holds a master’s degree in international development from American University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and French from the University of Michigan. She is fluent in English and French, and her work has taken her from Africa to Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean

Divina Chingcuanco is currently the Chief of Party for the $34 million USAID Energy Secure Philippines (ESP) Activity. She has extensive project and technical expertise, having served as a three-term Chief of Party spanning 16 years for three USAID Philippines projects. These projects focused on sustainable energy development, climate change, clean energy, and economic resilience through a low carbon pathway. Ms. Chingcuanco manages and oversees the implementation of USAID ESP, which promotes the advancement of innovative technology and renewable energy application supporting food security, transparency, and governance, and address the climate crisis. She began her global development career as a regulatory and tariff specialist engaged by the World Bank, Department for International Development, and Asian Development Bank, working across Asia and the Pacific Islands. Her exposure mentoring stakeholders within a diverse cultural setting equipped her with the ability to adapt, retreat but not surrender; instead to recalibrate and restrategize.

Kurt Nemes worked for multilateral organizations and others in over 40 countries developing training and outreach on workplace ethics, sexual harassment prevention, gender equity, and unconscious bias.  As founder of Working With Respect, LLC, he continues this line of work.  Kurt has two adult fierce daughters and lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, author Laura Zam.

Sandra Bunch is a big-picture strategist who loves engaging people and communities in their vision of what will make a difference in their lives for better well-being. Whether working for nonprofits, federal clients or the private sector, she is expert at crafting strategy and change communications to advocate, inform and create meaningful experiences for people. She has worked with such clients as the World Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USDA and USAID, and has led and co-created numerous campaigns including ICRW’s The Bride Price (featured in National Geographic), Nike’s The Girl Effect, Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Women, and Feed the Future’s first U.S. Global Food Security strategy conference. Her career in food security stems from personal experience and her early Peace Corps volunteer days near Segou, Mali. She has worked on various projects and initiatives in 20+ countries across Africa and Asia, and has served on multiple boards.

Gunjan Veda is the Director, Collaborative Research, Policy and Practice for The Movement for Community-led Development (MCLD), a global consortium of 1500+ local civil society organizations and INGOs. Her work includes creating collaborative and mutual partnerships, interrogating structural violence in existing systems, forms of knowledge production and publication, and consistently challenging existing spaces for partnership, capacity strengthening and knowledge sharing to become more inclusive and more equitable. She is an active participant in the decolonization and shift the power conversations and a great believer in the power, potential and possibility that exists in every community. Gunjan’s work cuts across sectors, roles and responsibilities and accompanies organizations and individuals in their quest to transform our sector. Prior to joining MCLD, Gunjan worked across grassroots and civil society organizations in India, founded a social enterprise and was a policy maker at the Indian Government’s Planning Commission. She holds a Masters degree in International Relations from Warwick University, UK and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA.
A firm believer in the power of stories Gunjan has authored two books: Beautiful Country: Stories from Another India (Harper Collins with Syeda Hameed) and the Museum of Broken Tea Cups (Sage and Yoda Press).

ALIZA LICHT is an award-winning marketer, bestselling author, podcaster, personal branding expert, and the founder of LEAVE YOUR MARK, a multimedia brand and consultancy. She advises businesses and mentors individuals on brand building and career development. Licht leverages over two decades of expertise in marketing, communications, and digital strategy in the fashion industry. Her first book, Leave Your Mark, was published in 2015. Her new book, On Brand: Shape Your Narrative. Share Your Vision. Shift Their Perception is a comprehensive roadmap to building your personal brand. Find her online at alizalicht.com and @alizalichtxo.

Yomna Mustafa is the Chief of Party for Business Egypt, a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded program that aims to increase revenues and investments among Egyptian micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), creating new job opportunities, especially for women and young people.

Yomna is an Egyptian private sector development specialist and program director with more than 20 years of experience supporting MSME growth and the business-enabling environment. She was Program Director for the (Technical Assistance to Support Economic Policy Reform TAPR) project and Egypt Country Director for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FDCO)- and Islamic Development Bank-funded Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), a market systems development program that applied a women’s economic empowerment lens to economically empower disadvantaged women in Egypt, Jordan, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Led by Yomna, AWEF successfully engaged the Egyptian private sector to improve the access and agency of women through program interventions in Egypt’s ready-made garments, digital financial services, and food processing sectors.

With a background in financial services and MSME lending, she has served as both a Country Director and Senior Advisor to the Financial Services Volunteers Corps, overseeing both business development and program implementation in Libya and Yemen, and collaborating with banks and key market actors in the region to promote MSME lending, with a primary focus on women.

Chernor Bah is a feminist leader and activist working for and with girls and young people in Sierra Leone and beyond. As Co-founder and Co-CEO of Purposeful, a global feminist hub for girls’ activism, he champions the distribution of unrestricted funds to feminist activists in over 150 countries worldwide. Chernor is a leading voice for the reform and decolonization of the global development industry and has been appointed multiple times by the United Nations Secretary-General for his activism and expertise on girls, global education, and youth rights. He is a frequent speaker and advisor at high-level platforms, and his writings have appeared in major publications.

My professional career started as a certified Clinical Psychologist. I worked for 10 years in the corporate world in the Oil & Gas sector both in Bolivia and England. I opened my consultancy firm 19 years ago with a strong commitment to the development and transformation of people and their organizations, participating in challenging projects, designing interventions tailored to the specific needs of each of my clients. I am a certified executive and organizational coach, breakthrough coach (with Marcia Reynolds) and systemic team coach practitioner (with GTCI – Peter Hawkins). I work as a Leadership Coach, Team Coach and career Coach. Currently I am preparing to take the ICF Accreditation exam for my PCC. Along my continuous professional development, I have an MBA, Master in HR Leadership and Organizational Change. The most important aspect of my life is being a wife and mother to Sofia, Thomas and Samuel.

LAURA A. LISWOOD Secretary General, Council of Women World Leaders Former Senior Advisor, Goldman, Sachs & Co. In August 1996, Laura Liswood co-founded the Council of Women World Leaders with President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland located at the UN Foundation in Washington, DC. Ms. Liswood is the Secretary General of the Council, which is composed of women presidents, prime ministers, and heads of government. It is the only organization of its kind globally.

From 2001-2016, Liswood was also named Managing Director, Global Leadership and Diversity for Goldman Sachs and later became a senior advisor. She continues to speak to audiences globally on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Liswood holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from California State University, San Diego. She holds a J.D. degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in California and Massachusetts.

After the events of 9/11, she became a reserve police officer in the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department and retired as a sergeant. Liswood is the author of four books, The Loudest Duck-Moving beyond Diversity, The Elephant and the Mouse, Moving Beyond the Illusion of Inclusion, Women World Leaders, and Serving Them Right. She is a long time participant with the World Economic Forum and is a Steward of the Forum’s Education, Gender and Work Initiative. She is a commissioner for the New Mexico State Personnel Review Board, a board advisor for EDGE, and a member of the Washington DC Metro Transit Police Investigative Review Panel. She divides her time between Bethesda MD and Santa Fe NM.

Shelley Zalis is the CEO of The Female Quotient, an equality services company that creates platforms for women and solutions for organizations committed to closing the gender gap in the workplace. Through its signature Equality Lounge® at key industry conferences around the globe, Zalis and the FQ are connectors for the largest global community of mission-driven business leaders.

Zalis is a pioneer for online research, becoming the first female chief executive ranked in the research industry’s top 25. Today, Zalis works with Fortune 500 companies, impact organizations, and conscious leaders to advance equality in the workplace. A firm believer in giving back with generosity, Zalis is a proud mentor to women around the world.

Zalis authors a Forbes column that provides virtual mentorship for women in middle management. You can follow Shelley on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Roisin Taylor is a co-director for UK Youth for Nature, the leading UK youth movement calling for urgent action on the nature crisis. She is also a nature-friendly flower farmer, running her own business Verde Flower Co in the north-east of England. In her spare time, she is a 2023 Nuffield farming scholar specialising in climate adaptation within the British cut flower industry, looking at the intersections of community, knowledge exchange and nature as adaptations to a 2-degree warming world.

She has worked in agriculture and conservation for most of her career and is passionate about bringing together youth voices and policy makers for the betterment of biodiversity and farming in the UK. She has a Masters degree in Middle Eastern, Caucasus and Central Asian security studies from the University of St Andrews, and a BA (Hons) from the University of Cambridge in Human, Social and Political Sciences.

Sophie Makonnen has been coaching since 2021.  She draws on over 25 years of working in the international development sector including 12 years in leadership roles for a multilateral development bank.  Sophie has a strong track record supporting teams and managing complex organizational multi-million-dollar projects in a variety of environments, including challenging field situations.  Throughout her career, she developed and mastered the ability to coach, motivate and effectively stimulate staff and teams.  Given her professional path, Sophie offers a unique perspective and set of skills.  She has a deep understanding of the complexities and challenges of working in multicultural environments, and having worked in different countries and cultures; she understands the importance of building relationships and working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.  She is passionate about coaching and developing people so they can discover insights into their own capabilities.  Sophie is a certified personal and executive coach credentialed as an ACC by ICF. She has a B. A. in History from University of Quebec in Montreal and a Master’s in Education from the University of Montreal.

Tetiana Orlenko has over 10 years of experience in media and Strategic Communications, Branding & Marketing, and Government Relations. In the last 7 years, she has worked in the energy sector.

Kievteploenergo provides heat and power supply in Kyiv (80% heat and 60% power consumption). Tetiana is responsible for corporate relations with all stakeholders, reputation management, and crisis communications.

As one of the leaders of the Kyivteploenergo Gender Committee, Tetiana implemented Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Program according to best world practices (researching, development strategy, branding, government relationship, policies, training, mentoring, events, reporting, etc.) with support USAID Energy Security Project.

She ensured fundraising charity and technical aid coordination from Feb. – Dec. 2022 (organized food bank for 1.500 utility employees in wartime; cooperation with European and US donors for urgent supply of energy equipment like transformers for CHP’s and generators for boilers station in Kyiv and Kharkiv, first aid medicine (Kyivteploenergo – USAID ESP, General Electric, Sante Group, Red Cross, Euroheat & Power Association, UN Woman, Kyiv City Hall, Ukrainian Government).

Tetiana organized crisis psychological training for women in Kyivteploenergo who worked at the energy facilities in Kyiv during the rocket attacks. Initiated the launch charity foundation to help the families and children of employees who have been killed in the war.

Tatu Hey (she/her) is the co-Executive Director at FAIR SHARE. She is responsible for the Women Leadership Lab, an innovative leadership program for women in the civil society sector based on feminist leadership approaches, as well as our work on Feminist Development policy. As a member of the Black Earth Climate Justice Collective, she advocates for and conducts workshops on decolonial approaches to the climate crisis and international development.

Laura’s secret superpower is seeing your greatness and reflecting it back on you, so that you can get “unstuck” — and achieve extraordinary results.

A frequent contributor to Good Morning America, the TODAY Show, Harvard Business Review, and Oprah Daily, Laura is the Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of three books, Wonderhell, Limitless, and Mission-Driven. Laura’s 30-year resume is defined by her entrepreneurial edge. She served as a Presidential Appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House, helping shape AmeriCorps; left a leadership role at a respected national search firm to expand a tech start-up; and founded, ran, and sold her own global search firm, partnering with the full gamut of mission-driven corporate and nonprofit executives.

Laura is turned on by the audacity of The Big Idea and that larger-than-life goal you just can’t seem to shake. She’s an instigator, motivator, and provocateur, and she’s never met a revolution she didn’t like. Just ask her enduringly patient husband, two almost-grown sons, and two troublesome pups with whom she lives outside of Boston, MA.