Featured Speakers

Additional Speakers

Degan Ali
Humanitarian Leader and Organizational Development Consultant

Degan AliDegan Ali is an internationally-renowned humanitarian leader and organizational development consultant. She has been at the forefront of shifting power for decades. She is a Rockefeller Foundation Global Fellow for Social Innovation, a contributor to the Overseas Development Institute/Humanitarian Policy Group and the Global Food Security Journal. Her work has been featured on The New York Times, Al Jazeera and The Guardian. Prior to founding DA Global, Degan led Adeso, an organization that made cash transfers a significant, legitimate method of delivering aid to vulnerable populations, beginning with the first large-scale cash transfer program during the 2011 Somalia famine. Degan also established the target of 20% localization which evolved into the UN’s 25% Grand Bargain commitment, ensuring this percentage of humanitarian funding is allocated to local and national responders by 2020.  Degan is also the architect and founder of the Network for Empowered Aid Response (NEAR): the first global south civil society network advocating for the transformation of humanitarian and development aid architecture. She lives in Kenya and works with organizations across the Global North and Global South.

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Naina Subberwal Batra
CEO, AVPN

Naina Subberwal Batra is the CEO of AVPN (Asian Venture Philanthropy Network). Naina’s leadership since 2013 has nurtured the AVPN community, growing the membership base by more than 4x and elevating the organization into a truly regional force for good. Under her direction, the organization has grown from focusing only on venture philanthropy to supporting the entire ecosystem of social investors, from catalytic philanthropists to impact investors and corporate CSR professionals.

She has also been instrumental in developing AVPN’s innovative services, like the collaborative pooled funds, that connect, empower and educate the now 600+ members of AVPN. In 2021, she was featured in the list of Asia’s Most Influential by Tatler Asia and in 2019, awarded one of Asia’s Top Sustainability Superwomen by CSRWorks. She is also serving as Board Member of the Global Resilient Cities Network, Chair at the International Venture Philanthropy Center and Trustee at Bridge Institute. She has been the keynote speaker at several global gatherings and authored a chapter in the book ‘Generation Impact: International Perspectives on Impact Accounting’.

AVPN is part of a family networks catalyzed by the International Venture Philanthropy Center (IVPC), which collectively represent 1100 Social Investors in 70 countries in Asia, Africia, Latin America and Europe, As the CEO of the largest if the family of networks, Naina also serves as the Chair of IVPC.

Prior to joining AVPN, Naina was a member of the senior leadership team of a purpose driven unit at The Monitor Group, a leading global strategy consulting firm, aimed at catalyzing markets for social change. Naina was also partner and Co-Founder of Group Fifty Private Ltd, curating contemporary Indian art with a view to provide a medium for upcoming and established Indian artists to showcase their work directly to a large and diverse audience.

Naina has a master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University where she graduated at the top of her class. She also holds a bachelor degree in Economics and International Relations from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA and a General Course Diploma in economics from The London School of Economics.

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Jennifer Butte-Dahl
Senior Director, APCO Impact

Jen Butte-Dahl, a senior director with APCO Impact based in Seattle, is an accomplished architect of initiatives, organizations, and alliances that tackle critical global challenges and span both continents and sectoral boundaries.

A people and results-focused leader, she has a track record of transforming ideas into action, navigating complexity, creating structure from scratch, building coalitions, and achieving real results in bureaucratic institutions as well as in fast-paced entrepreneurial environments. Two decades of international assignments have placed Ms. Butte-Dahl throughout the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas working within and between the worlds of business, government, politics, philanthropy, academia and international and non-governmental organizations.

Early in her career, Ms. Butte-Dahl set up a nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship in post-apartheid South Africa and later opened a sales support office for a large technology company in the United Arab Emirates. During her career with the U.S. Government, she worked in the U.S. Department of State, on Capitol Hill, and across the Interagency as a senior advisor to U.S government officials and high-level presidential envoys. More recently, Ms. Butte-Dahl founded a mid-career graduate program at the University of Washington, launched a multi-million dollar public-private initiative that harnesses digital platforms and global connectivity to build meaningful relationships between young people in the United States, Middle East and North Africa, and led the policy education team on a presidential exploratory effort.

Ms. Butte-Dahl serves on the advisory council of the Stevens Initiative and as an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Management from Purdue University and a master’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

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Enock Chikava
Interim Director, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Enock ChikavaEnock Chikava leads the Agricultural Development team to reduce poverty for farming families in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, by promoting inclusive agricultural innovations that drive productivity and income growth for smallholder farmers in a sustainable way.

Enock, has more than 30 years’ experience in Agriculture, with a career spanning Farmer Organizations, Seed Industry; Agribusiness, Food Processing and now Philanthropy. He joined the Foundation in April 2015 as Senior Program Officer focusing on crop innovations. He trained in Agricultural Economics, Business strategy and management. Previously, he was Bunge’s director business development, SSA, and Monsanto’s product management and commercial Lead in Europe, Middle East and Africa for the seed, chemistry, and biotech portfolios.

Raised on a smallholder farm in Zimbabwe in a family of eleven (11), Enock has dedicated his life to work for the success of smallholder farmers.

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Abe Diaz
Senior TPM, Disaster Relief, Amazon

Abe Diaz is a senior technical program manager on the Disaster Relief by Amazon team. He started working on payments and revenue automation for Prime Video. In 2017, he had the chance to participate as a technical volunteer in filling a plane with relief items for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Being able to mobilize the technology, people, and resources of Amazon for a cause like this was a moving experience for Diaz, so he decided to join the Disaster Relief team by Amazon permanently and is now in charge of corporate donations and mobile disaster pick-up points. Prior to joining Amazon, Diaz worked on mobile technologies for several years at Deloitte building an enterprise app marketplace with over 40 apps and iPad applications for the top leaders in the company, including the CEO. He later joined NBC News as the mobile program manager before joining Amazon. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Diaz holds a BS in computer engineering from the UPR-Mayaguez and a MS in information security from Lipscomb University.

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Rebecca Ecwou
Program Manager, Geneva Global

Rebecca is an education specialist and manager with two decades of experience who is goal oriented and has a track record for outstanding performance. She advocates and specializes in managing the education of children from low resource communities; thus, she takes great pride in being part of a team that aims at improving literacy and numeracy in formerly out of school children in Uganda.

With two decades of experience in education at various learning levels, Rebecca brings a holistic approach to transforming educational challenges into learning opportunities for teachers and children. She works passionately with a wide range of stakeholders, partners, and beneficiaries, to build relationships and achieve program outcomes. She is a passionate teacher mentor and an advocate for out-of-school children in low resource contexts. More than just a believer in the transformative power of equality education, she is a living testimony of the very transformative power of quality education to a disadvantaged child.

Rebecca’s career began nearly 20 years ago as a primary school teacher in a rural school in Eastern Uganda, where she spent 5 years as a teacher before returning to school for a degree in teacher education. After obtaining her degree, she joined a Primary Teachers College as a Teacher educator and later a Teacher Training officer. In that role she spent time working to build capacity among teachers on a project in South Sudan alongside other civil servants. After three years, she returned to academia and enrolled for a master’s degree in Education (Literacy in Education) from the Aga Khan University. After completing the program as one of the top students, Rebecca was offered a brief contract with the University as a Professional Development Tutor, running a certificate course in literacy and numeracy in the West Nile region of Uganda training preschool, primary school teachers and teacher educators from the primary teacher colleges. This led her to an opportunity with PEAS Uganda (Promoting Equity in African Schools) where she worked as an education specialist in charge of continuous professional development, leading trainings, designing training materials and providing support supervision for teachers. All these combined experiences and education led Rebecca to Geneva Global.

As a team leader and education expert in the Uganda office, Rebecca leads, manages, and guides the country team while linking the country office with donors, partners, beneficiaries, and the international headquarters. She is gifted in creating and maintaining rapport with the different key stakeholders of the Speed School program ranging from top Ministry of Education officers to the children in classes. While Rebecca plays an oversight role in ensuring successful work relations and strong synergy between stakeholders, as a lifelong teacher, she also likes to engage with the Speed School classrooms. She visits classes often and has translated the theory of Activity Based Learning into practical learning activities that teachers can employ to improve their results and stretch every learner’s potential to learn. She leads in the identification of communities, induction and orientation of new key stakeholders and, above all, acts as the liaison between the program and all external partners involved in the successful implementation of the program.

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Iván Greco
Research & Implementation Lead, Future of Fish Chile

Initially drawn to the idea of preserving livelihoods and supporting other types of development in fishing communities, Ivan has worked with Future of Fish since 2016. Since then, he has collaborated on projects in Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Today he serves as a research associate, and as an implementation leader in the organization’s community development work in Chile. Iván also works as a University teacher in his native Buenos Aires, in themes related to sustainability and climate crisis.

Iván holds a degree in economics from the University of Buenos Aires, and a Masters in Sustainable Development from Uppsala University in Sweden.

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Ashley Jackson, MSPH
Team Lead, Sexual and Reproductive Health, PATH

Ashley JacksonAshley Jackson, MSPH, leads PATH’s global Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) team, which works in partnership with governments, civil society, and the private sector to increase SRH choice and equity. Ashley has 15 years of experience working for PATH, PSI, MSH, EngenderHealth, and FHI 360 in support of equitable access to SRH innovations, from youth-centered programs to contraceptive technologies. Prior to joining PATH in 2022, Ashley worked for PSI as the Deputy Project Director of Expanding Effective Contraceptive Options (EECO), a global project funded by USAID.

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Semi Lotawa
Co-Founder, Rise Beyond the Reef

Semi Lotawa is an indigenous Fijian from Nalotawa Village, Yakete, Ba. He grew up in the traditional setting of his village, attended a remote boarding school and is one of about five percent of students from his district that graduated from high school. Semi worked in forestry with a focus on sustainable community development. Realizing that his effectiveness was tied to the whims of international grants, he moved to the United States to pursue a degree in Business. His goal was to secure sizeable investment from the private sector markets within the United States in order to continue his passionate pursuit of sustainable development for indigenous communities in the Pacific. He worked as an Investment Analyst for five years, co-founded Serevi Rugby and is the CEO-Fiji of Callison Pacific Pine Chemicals.

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Linda Low
Director, APCO Worldwide

Linda Low is a Director at APCO Worldwide and is based in Seattle. She specializes in communications and advocacy for social impact and is a member of the firm’s West Coast team. At APCO, Linda provides strategic counsel to U.S. and global clients ranging from Foundations to international non-governmental organizations to corporate ESG teams. She is passionate about facilitating inclusive stakeholder engagement, lifting community voices, and mobilizing for social impact.

From 2010 to 2016, Linda led communications and advocacy in global markets for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent in response to natural and human-made disasters, migration crises and global health emergencies, including the conflict in Ukraine that left more than 1.4 million people displaced when Russia annexed Crimea. In the U.S., she has transformed communications functions at government agencies in service to communities. She also led marketing communications initiatives for corporations and public-private partnerships in Canada including a multi-government agency which won the rights for Canada to host the Olympics.

Linda is a Board member at Build 2 Lead, a non-profit organization advancing educational outcomes and systems change in partnership with students of color. She is also president of the Global Partners in Peace Rotary Club convening conflict resolution and development practitioners across 20 countries. Linda holds a Master of International Development Policy from Duke University and is a former Peace Fellow at the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center.

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Natalia Lozano
Director of CAMY Fund, Seattle International Foundation

Natalia is a young, Honduran feminist and activist for the human rights of women, LGBTQ+ and youth, with over 14 years of experience.

Natalia has a long-standing commitment to the defense of Human Rights and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), leading her to become involved in initiatives such as Youth Representative in the National Advisory Council on Human Rights Honduras, 2014. She has actively participated in the Network of Young Parliamentarians, identifying the main needs of Honduran youth from a legislative perspective through meaningful youth consultations. Natalia also contributed to the implementation of the Diploma in Parliamentary Techniques and Political Negotiation for the National Congress of Honduras with the Center of Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights (CIPRODEH) in 2015.

During the last 4 years, she has developed experience with national, regional and international advocacy. She is the former National Coordinator of the Honduran platform, Right Here, Right Now, which provided support to 15 organizations working for SRHR and prioritized the diversity of young people.

This path eventually led Natalia to regional and international advocacy, such as Youth Advocate for the Third Regional Conference on Population and Development at Lima, Perú, as well as Youth Advocate for the Commission and Status of Women (CSW 62 and 63) at the United Nations in 2018 and 2019, becoming part of the Honduran Official Delegation in 2019.

Natalia was a youth speaker at the Women Deliver Global Conference in Vancouver, Canada in 2019. She also followed up on the commitments of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Nairobi, Kenya and was invited by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as speaker at the preparation meeting for the ICPD in Puebla, México. Natalia also advocated for youth at the 14th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago de Chile in 2020. This experience led to the creation of the Youth Shadow Universal Periodic Report, which Natalia presented in 2020 with the Right Here, Right Now Honduran Platform.

Natalia is a native Spanish speaker and speaks English as a second language.

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Dr. Wamuyu Mahinda
Managing Partner & Convener, Collaborative Value Partners- Africa.

Dr. Wamuyu Mahinda is a Managing Partner & Convener for Collaborative Value Partners- Africa. She is also co-chairing Africa Forward – a ground-breaking initiative co-created by members of the African Chapters of Catalyst 2030 to rapidly accelerate actions that place the continent’s challenges at the heart of collaborative, partnership driven opportunities. Wamuyu is an adept and people oriented Social Entrepreneur determined to make a change in the area of youth employment and entrepreneurship.

Wamuyu was elected as an Ashoka Fellow in 2010 in recognition of her social innovation, entrepreneurial qualities, and potential to achieve an impact in the area of youth entrepreneurship. She founded The Youth Banner in January 2010 to create a generation of enterprising young people, most of whom are women and the majority of whom are rural. Before founding the Youth Banner, she worked in Technoserve, Allavida, and Kenya Youth Business Trust. In 2016, while in Technoserve, she spearheaded the first national youth Business Plan competition in partnership with the Ministry of Youth dabbed ‘Chora Bizna’. The competition created a pipeline of youth businesses for funding by the Youth Enterprise Development Fund.

To promote women leadership she served as the Chief Commissioner, Kenya Girl Guides Association, Board member, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (UK), Board member, Hawkers Market Girl Centre, Board Member, Women Sharing Wisdom Institute (USA) and Committee Member, Starehe Girls Centre.

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Amanda Morgan
Director of Humanitarian Private Partnerships, Save the Children

As the Director of Humanitarian Private Partnerships, Amanda oversees the resourcing of Save the Children’s humanitarian responses, both internationally as well as in the U.S. Amanda has been working for Save the Children for six years and has over 16 years of experience supporting global humanitarian response and recovery programs. Amanda holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts and an MA in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent’s, London Centre of International Relations.

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Dr. Joshua Muskin
Senior Director, Education Team Leader, Geneva Global

Joshua is an expert in converting education and other development investments into innovative programs with exciting strategies and enduring, life-changing impacts. Recognized by peers internationally, he brings extensive expertise in the many dimensions of education and training, wise and effective leadership, and a collaborative approach to the design, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of programs across development sectors.

Over his nearly 40-year career, Joshua has worked domestically and internationally with a panoply of institutions dedicated to creating better futures for children, their parents, and communities. This journey has taken him from school classrooms in suburban Philadelphia to living in two refugee settlements in the remote reaches of Sudan, and to many other locations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia in between. In education, Joshua has combined work with classroom teachers, local authorities, communities, and central system leaders to improve the quality of delivery and outcomes in areas such as classroom instruction, learning assessment, gender equity and inclusion, technical and vocational training, literacy, and many other aspects. He has also worked in the areas of economic development, gender equality, agriculture, water, sanitation, and health (WASH), refugee relief, and integrated community development, among others.

In all of his work, Joshua maintains a laser focus on systems change that moves beyond policy and plans to real and lasting improvements in classrooms, communities, and beyond.

An accomplished educator, thinker, doer, and researcher, Joshua has published and presented widely. Most recently a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Senior Education Officer at the Aga Khan Foundation, he completed his doctoral and master’s studies in City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania and received his B.A. at Dartmouth College, where he majored in French Literature and minored in Anthropology.

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Yussuf Sané
Program Manager, Tostan

Yussuf Sané is a Program Manager with experience in management of human rights education programs and models for sustainable community-led development programs. He is a WISE Emerging Leaders Fellow and FAF Friendship Ambassador. Yussuf holds an M.A. in International Studies from The University of Sheffield and a B.A. in International Relations and Security Studies from The University of Bradford Department of Peace Studies.

Yussuf is Co-Lead of the Program Leadership Team with Tostan International and currently the National Coordinator of Tostan in Guinea- Bissau where he leads Tostan’s national strategy through community empowerment partnerships with up 120 communities in the Region of Bafatá, facilitates strategic partnerships with regional government authorities and civil society organizations, and promotes learning and exchange opportunities with civil society. Yussuf has previously worked with the Tostan Training Center, in Senegal, from 2016-2018, for trainings with youth and religious leaders, NGOs, UN agencies, and USAID.

Prior to joining Tostan, Yussuf worked with the West Africa Civil Society Institute, in Ghana, where he supported the knowledge management and capacity development units to facilitate knowledgesharing and enhance performance efficiency for civil society organizations in Africa.

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Jay Sehgal
Executive Vice President, Sehgal Foundation

Jay Sehgal serves as executive vice president of Sehgal Foundation in the US and as trustee of S M Sehgal Foundation in India. He represents Sehgal Foundation on the board of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment and serves on the board of Hytech Seed India Pvt. Ltd. After earning degrees in Business Administration/Management Information Systems with emphasis on Computer Science from the University of Iowa, he was working in IT in the private sector when recruited by Proagro Seed Co. Ltd. in India. He led a team to automate all functions of the seed company and create a state-of-the art IT network connecting its locations throughout India. In 2001, Jay joined Dr. Suri Sehgal and Mrs. Edda Sehgal, who had established S M Sehgal Foundation in India. Jay served for several years as executive director during the seminal shaping and development of the organization.

In 2008, with his wife Veena and two sons, Jay returned to Des Moines to represent Sehgal Foundation to American donor organizations and development institutions, create linkages with research organizations and foundations; attract volunteers and students from the US to work at the foundation to gain exposure to rural India, and more recently to focus on Transform Lives one school at a time, an initiative that combines the foundation’s key programs in water management, agriculture development, and good rural governance to ensure that every schoolchild—especially girls, who have long been disadvantaged—has a more promising future. On behalf of Sehgal Foundation, Jay was recognized with the 2017 Iowa Ag Leadership Award for outstanding service in agriculture by then Secretary of Agriculture Mr. Bill Northy. Jay is the recipient of the International Impact Award from the University of Iowa.

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Birger Stamperdahl
President & CEO, Give2Asia

Birger StamperdahlBirger Stamperdahl joined Give2Asia in 2006 and has served as its President & CEO since 2014. Birger works directly with donors, foundations, and corporations seeking to build strategic charitable partnerships across the Asia-Pacific. As a leading advocate for locally-led philanthropy, Birger has spoken to audiences at Stanford PACS, the World Affairs Council, the Council on Foundations, the Asia Venture Philanthropy Network, and the Conference Board.

Prior to joining Give2Asia, Birger had a successful PR career in Silicon Valley. As a Vice President at Porter Novelli, a global marketing and communications firm, he advised such clients as HP, EMC, McAfee, and BMC. Birger holds degrees in Journalism and Political Science from the University of New Hampshire.

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Michele Sumilas
Assistant to the Administrator, USAID

Michele Sumilas is currently the Assistant to the Administrator of the Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning (PPL). PPL shapes USAID’s development policy and programming guidance to ensure the Agency’s work is grounded in evidence and reflects the most advanced thinking in international development.

Most recently she served as Executive Director of Bread for the World, an anti-hunger Christian advocacy organization. Her government experience includes serving as USAID Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff during the Obama administration, and on the House Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. Prior to serving in government, Sumilas worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Health Council.

Sumilas attended Mount Holyoke College and received her Master’s Degree in public health from John Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Katie Young
Senior Vice President, Global Growth and Development + Operations, Starbucks

Katie YoungKatie Young currently leads the integrated operations and strategy for Starbucks’ complex urban markets. She ran the $2B+ food P&L for several years then launched the food innovation team. Katie Young is vice president of global growth and development at Starbucks. She joined Starbucks in 2012 as a director of Food Strategy.

Prior to Starbucks, Katie worked at McKinsey & Company, specializing in the social sector, CPG, and agribusiness. She was part of the team that developed the first-ever agriculture strategy for the Gates Foundation. Other strategy work included: food security for 16 countries and creating transformational frontline change for the Ethiopian Government’s 60,000 extension agents.

Katie holds a Masters in Public Policy (MPP, International Development) from the University of Chicago and a Bachelors in Spanish and Honors Political Science from Kenyon College.

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Additional Speakers

Dr. Jeanne Anyouzoa
Policy Fellow, Cameroon, Every Woman Treaty

Jeanne Anyouzoa is a medical doctor and women’s rights activist focusing on violence against women and girls. A native of Cameroon, she is a passionate advocate for gender, equity and health issues. She has spent much of her professional life healing and caring for people in resource-constrained settings.

Jeanne has developed and led engagement frameworks and interventions with global multi-sector organizations, including governments, corporates, and community-run organizations. Her advocacy work has touched the lives of many across the globe and brought governments and civil society organizations together.

Jeanne is a member of the Board of Directors and of the racial equity and social justice committee of Evergreen Treatment Services, an organization focusing on delivering evidence-based substance use disorder and social services in Western Washington.

Jeanne holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and a Doctor of Medicine degree. She is the recipient of the 2018 Achievement Award from the American Society for Pediatric Urgent Care.

Jeanne is fluent in French and English. She is a mother of four (4) with a passion for food artistry.

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Akhtar Badshah
Distinguished Practitioner & Senior Lecturer, University of Washington; Author, The Purpose Mindset

Dr. Akhtar Badshah is the Distinguished Practitioner and Associate Teaching Faculty at University of Washington; and is the Founder and Chief Catalyst at Catalytic Innovators Group, where he advises individuals and organizations to catalyze their social and philanthropic investments. He is also the founder and curator of Accelerating Social Transformation, a mid-career professional development certificate course on social impact. Dr. Badshah led Microsoft’s philanthropic efforts for ten years, where he administered the company’s community investment and employee contributions.

Dr. Badshah is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in international development, managing a corporate philanthropic program and co-founding a global nonprofit for social enterprise. His new book Purpose Mindset: How Microsoft Inspires its Employees and Alumni to Change the World, Harper Collins Leadership Series, has just been released. Dr. Badshah serves on the boards of Microsoft Alumni Network, Global Washington (Chair), and The Indus Entrepreneurs, Seattle. He is an accomplished artist and a doctoral graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Badshah and family are active philanthropists in the Seattle area.

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Laura Baerwolf
Chief Operating Officer, Mona Foundation

Laura Baerwolf is an experienced administrator with a Master of Public Health degree focused in Health Services Administration. She worked in healthcare administration for many years and later moved to the nonprofit sector to manage the administrative offices of the Regional Bahá’í Council of the Northwestern States. More recently, Laura served as a regional coordinator for the Northwest Regional Training Institute, a nonprofit educational agency aimed at empowering children, youth, and adults to develop their individual capabilities and contribute to the betterment of their communities. She is now serves on the Training Institute’s Board of Directors as its Secretary.

Laura joined Mona Foundation in 2019 to provide part-time operational support. This led to a full-time position as Director of Operations and, in 2022, to her promotion to Chief Operating Officer. She is passionate about Mona’s mission to alleviate poverty through education and gender equality, and sees this work as the culmination of her life-long commitment to serving humanity.

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Emily Bancroft
President, VillageReach

Emily Bancroft is a global leader in systems change, dedicated to transforming health care delivery. She sets the vision for how VillageReach works with governments to solve health care delivery challenges to ensure quality primary health care for the most under-reached. Emily is recognized for her expertise in supply chain, health workforce development and digital health technologies. Emily has been instrumental in VillageReach’s growth since 2010, first serving as Director of the organization’s Health Systems Group before she became Vice President in 2015, and President in 2017. She is also a Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington School of Public Health. Emily holds an MPH from the University of Washington’s School of Public Health and a BA from Princeton University.

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Robin Barr
Global Lead, Development and Community & Indigenous Rights, Earthworm Foundation

Robin Barr brings over fifteen years of international experience working with companies to procure responsibly produced materials and achieve corporate sustainability goals to her work leading the Earthworm Foundation. This includes working with international brands; multinational commodity processors; and producing companies in the palm oil, pulp and paper, soy, and solid wood sectors to develop responsible global supply chains, especially with regard to policies ensuring traceable supply chains, respect for human rights, and protection of forests and other critical ecosystems. Prior to managing the U.S. and Canada, Barr worked extensively with programs in Latin America and Southeast Asia on building responsible palm oil, soy, and timber supply chains for international buyers. She has worked throughout Southeast Asia to implement policies that protect tropical forests and indigenous peoples’ rights and benefit local communities.

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Peter Battisti
Executive Director, Future of Fish

Peter Battisti is the Executive Director of Future of Fish, an international non-profit whose mission is to support thriving, resilient ocean communities by driving innovation and investment in small-scale fisheries. Peter has 10+ years of experience in development work, with an emphasis on project finance and investment, spanning the US, Caribbean, LatAM and Asia driving innovative, systemic models in the Blue and Green Economies. Building on his early experience as an entrepreneur in real estate and renewable energy project development, Peter has applied the principles of asset development to international development efforts, focusing on building collaborations with investors, businesses, technology providers, and non-profits to support capacity building, financial structuring and capital deployment across the food, agriculture, aquaculture and wild-fisheries sectors. He is focused on supporting the design and deployment of creative finance and digital solutions to incentivize small producers to adopt best practices that support improved livelihoods, equity, and sustainability.

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Heidi Breeze-Harris
Executive Director, PRONTO International

With 28 years of leadership in the global health and development sector, Ms. Breeze-Harris has founded and directed businesses and organizations working for social good. Since 2004, Heidi has directed maternal and child health programs working from both the community and clinical sides of the sector. She has supported local leaders and co-created innovative, sustainable programs in extremely rural and low-resource settings in 11 countries. Since 2017, as PRONTO’s Executive Director, she has worked with in-country stakeholder partners on large multilateral funded maternal health projects in India, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, the United States, and Timor. Heidi received her BA in Anthropology and International Studies from The Evergreen State College and her MA in Applied International Studies from the University of Washington. She holds certificates in International Crisis Negotiation and Non-Profit Executive Leadership, both from the UW.

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Caroline Bressan
CEO, Open Road

From building pipelines of sustainable investments in Africa and Latin America to structuring innovative finance mechanisms such as blended finance impact funds, Caroline Bressan is an expert in impact-oriented financial product design, deal structuring, and portfolio construction.
With a commitment to pushing the limits of impact investing, she joined Open Road in 2015 and now leads the organization as CEO. In her role, Caroline oversees Open Road in its next phase of growth as it doubles down on solving for systemic funding gaps across the sector.

Prior to Open Road, Caroline was an Investment Principal at Dalberg Capital. Previously, Caroline was an Investment Officer at Calvert Impact Capital, where she originated and managed a loan portfolio focused on sustainable trade, social enterprises, and financial inclusion. She received her MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and a BBA from the University of Michigan.

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Joanne Carter
Executive Director, RESULTS

Joanne Carter is the Executive Director of RESULTS, a movement of passionate, committed people who are using their voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty. Under her direction, RESULTS leads advocacy campaigns to create more equitable policies and drive billions of dollars of government investment toward the highest-impact solutions to poverty in the United States and globally. Joanne has also served in a range of board, governance, and advisory roles with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the Micronutrient Initiative; Stop TB Partnership; the Global Campaign for Education-U.S.; and the Global Financing Facility for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health.

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Serena Cosgrove
Associate Professor in International Studies, Director Latin American & Latinx Studies, Seattle University

Serena Cosgrove (she/her) is an Associate Professor in International Studies and director of the Latin American & Latinx Studies program at Seattle University. She also serves as the faculty coordinator of Seattle University’s Central America Initiative. Her most recent book is Imagining Central America: Short Histories (2022). Serena has been a member of the board of the Seattle International Foundation since 2019.

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Shripad Desai
Senior Director, Asia and Eurasia Programs, Americares

Americares Senior Director of Asia and Eurasia Programs Shripad Desai oversees the relief and development organization’s health programs in the region for people affected by poverty or disaster. He leads the Americares teams in India and the Philippines and oversees Americares deliveries of medicines and medical supplies to partner organizations supporting over 500 health facilities in nine countries.

Based in Mumbai, Desai oversees Americares India, which operates mobile health centers that provide primary care services six days a week in the slums of Mumbai, conducts school-based health programs in 79 schools, and supported hospitals across India with COVID-19 supplies and equipment during the height of the pandemic. Desai also oversees Americares locally led programs in the Philippines focused on disaster risk reduction, mental health support and emergency response programming. He also has oversight over a pediatric nutrition program in Vietnam and a breast cancer treatment project in Cambodia.

Desai previously served as managing director of Americares India for ten years and played a pivotal role in the growth of Americares work in India, expanding its health programming to 23 states and increasing its workforce to more than 160 team members.

Desai has more than three decades of experience across the health care and development sectors. Prior to joining Americares India in 2012, he worked for Chiron Panacea Vaccines (a Novartis joint venture), Oral CDx India, Novartis, Sanofi and AstraZeneca.

Desai earned a master’s degree in marketing management and a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Mumbai. He is pursuing doctoral research in public health from IIHMR University in Jaipur.

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Dr. Rotafina Donco
Country Director, Mozambique, VillageReach

As VillageReach’s Mozambique Country Director, Rotafina is responsible for the overall management of VillageReach operations in Mozambique, including serving as the organization’s primary representative to government.

Rotafina has vast knowledge and experience in the development sector, and more recently within the humanitarian sector. In her previous role, as Oxfam’s Country Director in Mozambique, she led a successful humanitarian response for Cyclones Idai and Kenneth. Prior to coming to VillageReach, she was also Operations Manager for CDE Southern Africa, managing a portfolio of projects in nine Southern African countries.

Rotafina holds a PhD in Business Administration (International Markets), an MSc in Finance and Banking in Emerging Markets, and a BCOM in Commerce and Business Administration.

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Maura Donlan
Director of Advocacy & Effective Social Investing, Chandler Foundation

A thought leader with decades of experience in international development, advocacy, and strategic communications, Maura came to the Chandler Foundation from the Milken Institute’s Center for Strategic Philanthropy. Previously, Maura was part of Omidyar Network’s thought leadership/advocacy team and a senior vice president at GMMB, working with globally-focused nonprofit and corporate clients to promote inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. Earlier, Maura worked on programs designed to promote economic and political development and gender equity at the United Nations Development Program, United Nations Foundation, and National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

From 1999 to 2006, Maura worked closely with philanthropist Ted Turner in his family office supporting his philanthropy and social enterprises. Maura began her career as a policy analyst on Capitol Hill and on local and presidential campaigns. She holds a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross, where she graduated with highest honors and a master’s degree in international affairs with a focus on gender and development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

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Laura Eshbach
Director, Corporate Engagement, Landesa

Laura Eshbach is an attorney and law and policy practitioner who, for the last 10 years, has been working with Landesa, a non-profit organization that champions and works with governments, local organizations, and others to secure land rights for the rural people and communities, provide opportunity and promote social justice. Laura leads Landesa’s team that works with the private sector to integrate respect for land rights into business operations and supply chains, to harmonize these efforts within broader sustainability and social responsibility initiatives, and to define the role of the private sector in the processes and governance of land-based investments. Prior to being a founding member of Landesa’s Corporate Engagement team, Laura helped to establish Landesa’s program in Myanmar while also engaging in global initiatives on women’s land rights and international policy advocacy. Laura holds a BA in History and Political Science from the University of North Carolina, a JD from DePaul University, and an LLM in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington.

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Sarah Freed
Senior Manager, Global Responsibility, Starbucks

Sarah Freed is a senior manager on the Global Responsibility Team at Starbucks where she leads the enterprise strategy for sustainable food systems, including the FoodShare food donation program and hunger relief investments focused on increasing equitable access to nutritious food. Sarah spent a decade in international economic development supporting entrepreneurship education and workforce development programs for youth and women. Pursuing her passion for the role that the private sector can make on some of the world’s most pressing issues, she then navigated into the social impact & sustainability field where she led social impact strategies at Uber Technologies and Starbucks Corp. Sarah has a Masters of Business in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. She resides in Seattle, WA with her husband, 2-year old son, and pup.

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Carmen Jaquez
Senior Advisor, Agriculture and Livestock, Mercy Corps

Carmen Jaquez is the Senior Advisor for Livestock & Agriculture within the Technical Support Unit of Mercy Corps. She joined Mercy Corps in May 2018 and is based in Portland, OR. Mercy Corps’ current humanitarian and development portfolio addressing livestock-based livelihoods and pastoralist systems is approximately $260 million. At Mercy Corps, Carmen leads development and execution of the agency’s global and regional livestock strategies and collaborates across teams to represent the role and contribution of smallholder livestock to household resilience, climate change adaptation, and increasingly, climate change mitigation through rangeland management and opportunities for carbon sequestration. Carmen also manages the livestock systems learning agenda, designs new programs and provides in-country and remote technical support to programs. Prior to joining Mercy Corps, Carmen was the Practice Area Manager for Dairy, Livestock and Environment for Land O’Lakes, International Development Division based in Nairobi, Kenya. She studied Fisheries & Wildlife Management and Biology at the University of Missouri and Applied Economics and Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont.

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Miyon Kautz
Director, Marketing & Engagement, VisionFund/World Vision

Miyon Kautz has been a part of the World Vision organization since 1995. World Vision’s focus on relief, development, and advocacy work for over 70 years has continued to keep her engaged and enthusiastic about working to build a better world for the most vulnerable. Miyon has served in a variety of marketing and fundraising roles serving various donor groups including major donors, sponsors, corporations, and one-time donors. She lived in Lusaka, Zambia and worked for World Vision Zambia on a USAID-funded project focused on HIV & AIDS care, and managed the communications department. While there, she learned the challenges of being a woman living in a rural area – and the opportunities women have to thrive once given access to financial services. It was because of these possibilities that Miyon went to work for VisionFund International, World Vision’s microfinance subsidiary, serving vulnerable clients in 28 countries with women clients representing 69% of their client base. Reaching the most vulnerable with the goal of ending intergenerational poverty is key to VisionFund’s mission.

Miyon holds an MBA from the University of Washington and a BA from Whitman College.

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Taylor Leyden
Program Manager, Energy & Sustainability, Microsoft

Taylor Leyden develops and executes renewable energy and innovation strategies to support the decarbonization of Microsoft’s global portfolio and the grids it operates in. Ms. Leyden focuses currently on commercial pathways to achieving Microsoft’s public sustainability commitments, such as the 2030 100/100/0 goal, for which she leads programmatic development. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2020, Ms. Leyden worked in commercial solar project finance and project development at Sol Systems. She was responsible for the deployment of rooftop and distributed utility solar projects, led market entry across the US East and Midwest, and helped establish the company’s development arm. Ms. Leyden holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University.

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Tony Machacha
Board of Directors, Ecologists Without Borders

Tony Machacha was raised on a farm in western Kenya and immigrated to the United States in 2001. His endless curiosity led him to obtain a dual MS in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Sociology from Iowa State and started his career supporting the establishment of a new generation of farmers and ranchers from immigrant communities with support from the USDA, the WK Kellogg Foundation, and Heifer International. He joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2010 on the Agricultural Development division, where he led training and technical assistance efforts with small-holder farm projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He recently worked for Public Health-Seattle & King County as a Business Officer, and currently leads the Capacity Building unit at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Tony enjoys cooking food from new recipes, mountain biking, tinkering with machines, and most recently exploring the beautiful waterways of the Pacific Northwest.

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William Mafwalal
Program Manager Just Economies, Oxfam Nigeria

My name is Mafwalal William Samuel. I am a native of Ron in Bokkos LGA of Plateau state Northcentral Nigeria. My education was all in the north of Nigeria from elementary to university. I have as my highest degree a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. I love to serve people. I am the first of 9 siblings from a single mom. Both my parents are still alive. I have a small family compared to my parents’, 3 boys: 11, 13, and 16 years old. My wife of 18 years is a lawyer by profession and works for the government of Nigeria. My position in my parents’ family prepared me for the love I have of serving others because I was brought up to accept responsibility without complaining. I see serving others as being responsible. I love football! I support Chelsea football club of London and the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

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Abdul Mahdi
Dean of Students & Community Affairs, Ashesi University

Prior to Ashesi, Abdul was the Director of Full-time and Professional MBA Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Champaign. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an MBA from Governor State University in Illinois. Abdul has 15+ years’ experience in designing, forecasting, marketing and implementing programs to yield results in corporate and non-for profit sectors and 13 years of experience in higher education working with a diverse population of faculty, staff and students.

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Anjali Makhija
Trustee, CEO, S M Sehgal Foundation

Anjali Makhija is the Trustee and Chief Executive Officer of S M Sehgal Foundation with over 30 years of experience in the development sector pertaining to gender equity, food security, water security and community leadership across rural India.

Plays a key role in organization development , stakeholder engagement and people management with professional specialization in women leadership, life skills education and rural governance. She is currently leading the operations of S M Sehgal Foundation in India, with focus on Agriculture Development, Water Management, Transforming Schools and citizen participation. She is a certified Corporate Director-Institute of Directors; member of Internal Committee of Marks and Spencer, member of National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI) and member of Advisory Committee of University Outreach Program of MDU. She is also the honorary President of Haryana Agriculture Council of Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI).

Anjali has a masters in Social Work and bachelors in Economics (Hons) from Delhi University; and a certificate on Leadership Foundational Principles from HarvardX

As a CEO of Sehgal Foundation, Anjali ensures that women’s empowerment remains a cross-cutting theme across every program. She plays a key role in integrating gender equity into all internal policies and program implementation. Anjali exemplifies her belief in maintaining an organizational culture that empowers the women at every level to promote greater individual and group leadership.

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Reilly Martin
Senior Program Manager, Open Contracting Partnership

Reilly Martin is the U.S. senior program manager at Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) where she leads on working alongside governments, civil society, and for-profit businesses to ensure that public contracts support local communities and economies through technical assistance, community building, and advocacy.

She comes to this work with experience in procurement, technology, human-centered design, and digital services in state and local government and knows firsthand the need to co-create solutions with local partners.

Reilly is based in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in the U.S. Midwest. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the outdoors.

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Sun McElderry
Founder, esgEvolution

Sun McElderry is the founder of corporate sustainability consultancy esgEvolution and has spent more than twenty years in corporate sustainability, strategy, and communications advising executives at companies such as Coca-Cola, MetLife, and Carter’s.

Sun also helped to develop the UN Global Compact Network USA, founded the Black Corporate Responsibility Leaders Network, and edited the New York Times bestseller Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, which traced the roots of modern corporate responsibility to the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy.

He enjoys cycling, paddle boarding, and photography, and lives on Bainbridge Island, Wa. with two teenagers who generally tolerate his antics.

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Aaron Milner
Senior Consultant, Sassenach Inc

Aaron Milner (he/him) is a senior consultant with a background in global development. In his earlier career, Aaron led think tank research projects in Washington, D.C., working to improve refugee support systems, humanitarian aid delivery, infrastructure, and global development finance and policy. He earned his Master of Global Policy from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s in international relations from the University of Texas at Austin. Between degrees, he was a management consultant. A Texas native, Aaron admits that hiking, skiing, and exploring the Pacific Northwest are not without charm.

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Hilda Flavia Nakabuye
Founder, Fridays for Future, Uganda and Future Rising Fellow 2022

Hilda Flavia Nakabuye is one of Uganda’s most powerful youth climate activists. She founded Uganda’s Fridays for Future movement and has spoken at major global convenings around the world to advocate for climate justice. One of her environmental concerns is the revitalization of Lake Victoria, which is contaminated by industry and plastic dumping. She leads community education and clean ups on the lake and visits schools and communities to empower girls and women to join the fight against environmental degradation and climate change. She has represented her continent and frontline communities at international conferences and events, including: COP25 Climate Change Conference, C40 World Mayors Summit and the Women’s March4Climate in London, among others. Hilda’s Future Rising project will be a short film illuminating her work in local communities to deploy sustainable solutions to preserve the ecosystems in and around Lake Victoria.

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Teddy Nalubega
Electrical Engineer, Solar PV Trainer, Remote Energy

Teddy NalubegaTeddy is an Electrical Engineer, a Renewable Energy practitioner and a solar PV trainer in Kenya. She has trained many men and women in Strathmore Energy Research Centre (SERC) for both local and international programs such as the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) which involved training technicians and starting solar PV training programs at the technical training institutions in Kenya. She has received various training under Kenya solar PV training curriculum as a trainer and the German solar PV training programs for new solar technologies. She headed a team that set up a solar PV testing laboratory in Strathmore University and has good knowledge of quality assurance for solar PV products. She is currently the chairperson of the Women in Energy and Energy Entrepreneurship (WISEe), an energy cooperative registered in Kenya and provides trainings in Renewable energy and minstalls small solar PV systems. She is fluent in English, Luganda, Spanish and basic communication in Swahili.

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Kimani Nyambura
Co-Founder, Kenya Kids Education Fund

Kimani is the co-founder of Kenya Kids Education Fund, an organization that focuses on stocking rural schools in central Kenya with learning materials that encourages and develops quality education. Born and raised in rural central Kenya, Kimani is an advocate for education and the localization of resources in global development solutions.

Kimani brings lived experience from his upbringing. He picked coffee beans with his family for $2 a day and attended secondary school through a scholarship from the Hilde Back Education Fund, as featured in the award-winning HBO documentary “A Small Act.”

Kimani continued his college education in the United States and recently graduated with an MBA.

Last year, Kimani was part of the Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) Vision and Call internship where he worked with the U.S.-based ACE team on marketing and communications projects, and supported the ACE Transition Partners. He also serves as the North American ambassador for the Hilde Back Education Fund and has traveled extensively across the United States to promote education as a human right.

Kimani is excited to join leaders, pioneers, and community leaders of global development at the Global WA Goals Makers Conference again this year.

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Chimdi Onwudiegwu
Associate Partner, Dalberg Global Development Advisors

Chimdi is an Associate Partner and Country Manager in Dalberg’s Lagos office. She advises on strategic planning, performance improvement and investments. At Dalberg, she has worked in a variety of sectors, including agriculture, education and youth employment, renewable energy, health, investment for development and financial inclusion. She has worked with multilateral organisations, governments and foundations.

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Zulumoke Oyibo
Co-Founder, Inkblot Productions

Zulu is a film executive and producer. She is co founder of Inkblot Productions, a leading film production company in Nigeria, creators of Nollywood blockbusters like The Wedding Party franchise, The Set Up, Up North, Love Is War, The Arbitration, ETC. Her productions have been celebrated at several festivals around the world including the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, which showcased two of her films – The Arbitration and The Wedding Party. Zulumoke is a trained and certified lawyer at the Nigerian Bar. Her experiences gathered in myriad industries and the corporate world influence her stories, choices and creativity.

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Ben Packard
Harriet Bullitt Endowed Executive Director, EarthLab, University of Washington

Ben PackardBen Packard serves as the Harriet Bullitt Endowed Executive Director of EarthLab at the University of Washington pushing on boundaries to develop innovative, just and equitable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthLab does this by connecting across sectors and academic disciplines to inspire and incentivize new partnerships that bridge the UW and the wider community. Before coming to EarthLab, Ben served as the Global Managing Director of Corporate Engagement at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In this senior management role, Ben was accountable for TNC’s overall corporate engagement strategy in service of the mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. From 1998-2013 Ben worked at Starbucks Coffee Company, serving as vice president, Global Responsibility from 2008-2013. He was part of the original team at Starbucks that established the world-class sustainability strategy for the company. Ben received a BA in History (1989) from Kenyon College an MBA & Certificate in Environmental Management from the University of Washington Foster School of Business (1998).

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Tim Prewitt
President and CEO, The Hunger Project

Tim PrewittTim Prewitt is an international executive, CEO and board member with more than 20 years of experience leading global teams to deliver impact at scale, through agricultural development, social enterprises, gender empowerment, impact investment, community-led development, and policy reform. He joined The Hunger Project as President and CEO on February 1, 2021. Prior to joining THP, Tim served as CEO of International Development Enterprises (iDE). Tim has lived and worked in China, Romania, Nigeria, Kosovo, the UK and Afghanistan, and has experience in more than 30 countries. He is a highly regarded speaker on agriculture, poverty and economic development, and has spoken at the World Economic Forum, Clinton Global Initiative, and World Food Prize. Tim is a Fulbright Fellow and holds an MBA from China-Europe International Business School (CN), and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology from the New School (USA) and Lancaster University (UK).

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Greg Snyders
Partner, Dalberg Advisors

Greg Snyders is a partner with Dalberg, an impact-focused advisory firm dedicated to global development. Based in Seattle, he advises clients on the development of strategies and the design of new initiatives to deploy resources for impact across the spectrum of capital, from philanthropic to commercial. As co-lead of the firm’s Finance & Investment practice, he has over a decade of experience in structuring impact investment vehicles across sectors including renewable energy, financial services, sustainable agriculture and conservation, and works fluidly across the private, public and philanthropic sectors.

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Irene Naikaali Ssentongo
Head of Programs, The Hunger Project-Uganda

Irene Naikaali Ssentongo has been serving as the Head of Programs at The Hunger Project-Uganda since 2017. She provides strategic leadership and guidance in the implementation of the Epicenter Strategy, a community-led development model that places communities at the forefront of their own development. She has mobilized district leaders across 13 local governments of Uganda to build and strengthen the social capital necessary for sustainable change. Prior to joining The Hunger Project, Irene worked for Catholic Relief Services as a senior grants officer. There, she coordinated a $23M annual grant budget funded by PEPFAR for AIDS Relief in Uganda, as well as medium-term grants from the EU, World Bank and the United Nations Development Fund. Irene holds an MBA from International Health Sciences University and a BSocSc in Public Administration from Makerere University.

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Gabriel Walder
Chief Operating Officer – Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE)

Gabriel came to ACE three years ago after prior work with international adoption agencies – All God’s Children International & Loving Shepherd Ministries. ACE runs eight primary and secondary schools in Lusaka, Zambia. During the pandemic, they successfully maintained critical services, keeping children safe and connected. Children in these schools have performed consistently above those in government schools. Gabriel has a Master of Science in Global Politics and Culture from the University of Illinois and works tirelessly to uplift the vulnerable through international development. Gabriel lives in the Portland, OR area with his wife, Lindsay and their children, Martell, Esme, Leo and Jude.

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Seinne Lai Zaw
Graduate Student, Daniel J. Evan’s School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington

Seinne Lai Zaw (She/Her), was born and raised in Yangon, a capital city of Myanmar. She had worked in different non profit organizations since she has graduated from University of Medicine, Yangon in 2006. Her initial first five years of profession was devoted in managing different health related projects such as working for people living with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, drug users and reproductive health. She received her master degree in Public Health from Mahidol University, Thailand in 2011. Since 2013, her professional experience has focused on managing different development programs while leading different local nonprofits organization. Scope of work includes providing strategic directions for different development projects in the organization, monitoring and evaluation, establishing organization development and networking. The most exciting part is building human capital, capacity development and working with inclusive community-based development model. Followings are key qualifications:

Her theme of leading and managing organizations and programs is passion, insightful thinking, leadership with heart, empowerment, desire, effort and consistency. She is currently studying Master of Public Administration at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance as a Fulbright Scholar.

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KJ Zunigha
Associate, Linksbridge SPC

KJ Zunigha (she/her) is an associate at Linksbridge SPC with 12 years of experience in global development with an emphasis on monitoring and evaluation, project management, and creative strategies. Prior to Linksbridge, KJ worked at PATH and Global Partnerships. She brings a wide range of expertise in global health, agriculture, microfinance, and social enterprise development. KJ earned a Master of Public Administration and a BA in International Studies from Seattle University.

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