Focus: Government/Politics
Onur Burçak Belli
Onur "Burçak" Belli is a Syrian-Turkish journalist. For most of her career, Burçak has focused on conflicts in Turkey, where she has been based for the past five years, working for Die Zeit, a German weekly newspaper, covering conflicts and crises in Turkey and the broader region. With 13 years of experience writing for international media outlets, her reporting is often through a lens of comprehensive rights and freedoms, writing in feature, long-form, or non-fiction storytelling styles. In 2010, Burçak was based in Damascus covering Syria’s reform plans and the Sunni-Alawite divergences amongst the ruling elite. She then moved London, working for the BBC as a broadcast journalist, before returning…
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Ala Qasem
Ala Qasem is a public policy maker and member of the Economic Team advising the Presidential Leadership Council and senior cabinet members in the Republic of Yemen. Ala is also CEO of DeepRoot Consulting, a prominent social enterprise that is focused on Yemen’s development. He previously served as Managing Director of Yemen’s delivery bureau where he led government negotiation efforts to develop a rapid stabilization program for the interim capital Aden, secure debt relief from the IMF, and participate in the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative. In 2013, Yemen went through its largest ever political dialogue exercise which included 556 delegates from all political parties and factions. Ala served as…
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Angela Orozco-Gomez
Angela Orozco-Gomez is Minister of Transportation for the government of Colombia. She was previously a partner at Vali Consultores S.A.S and Before CEO of her own consulting firm – Research & Opportunities, where she worked to strengthen the Colombian export and manufacturer sectors. Angela previously headed the Colombian Flower Exporters Association, Asocolflores, participating actively in the Colombian defense strategy for counteracting the Antidumping Processes and Duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce in the 1990s, as well as the Colombian Flower Sector lobby before the U.S. Congress between 1995 and 1998. As the country's top trade official, Angela helped design and implement a negotiation strategy in preparation for Free…
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MartĂn Lousteau
MartĂn Lousteau is National Senator for the City of Buenos Aires and Vice-President of the Senate, previously serving as Ambassador of Argentina to the United States. Before that he was acting as a Member of Parliament representing the City of Buenos Aires to which he was elected in October 2013. In 2015, MartĂn was a candidate for Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires of the ECO coalition, of which he was a founder, and received 48,4% of total votes in the ballotage. He also served as Minister of Economy and Production of Argentina (2008), and as Minister of Production in the Province of Buenos Aires (2005). During 2006 and…
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Paul Kwengwere
Paul Kwengwere is Founder and Senior Partner of PMK Associates, a Malawian consulting firm working in development. He has undertaken numerous assignments, including an assignment with the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development where he worked on donor and aid harmonization in the water sector, ensuring effective and efficient government processes. Previously, Paul was policy director for ActionAid Malawi, where he sought to reduce poverty and disease in Southern Africa. Prior to joining ActionAid, he held posts in the government of Malawi, the Malawi Central Bank, and the Malawi Investment Promotion Agency. Paul was also a research assistant for the Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation…
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Garentina "Tina" Kraja
Garentina "Tina" Kraja is an independent researcher and consultant on issues ranging from transitional justice to violent extremism and malign influence. She advised Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga (2011-2016) on foreign policy and security issues and lectured at R.I.T. Kosovo on religion and globalization, international relations, and politics. She started her career as a journalist covering the war in Kosovo, initially for Koha Ditore, Kosovo’s first independent newspaper, and later as a correspondent for The Associated Press for nearly a decade. Tina was one of the first journalists to report on the emergence of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army and extensively documented war crimes during the war. As the war intensified,…
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Belva Devara
Belva Devara is CEO and Co-Founder of Ruangguru, the largest education technology enterprise in Southeast Asia, across Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore. Ruangguru has impacted over 20 million K–12 students through high-quality learning videos, quizzes, and live tutoring on web and mobile platforms. Its affordable subscription cost allows for high student adoption across lower-income segments and in more rural regions. In addition, Ruangguru has served over 10 million lifelong learners through online professional courses and corporate training. With venture funding of over $205 million, Ruangguru is most recently included in the list of the 50 most innovative companies in the world by Fast Company, ranking #25 overall and #2 in…
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Sahar Albazar
Sahar Albazar is an Egyptian MP and the Deputy Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Egyptian House of Representatives. She is also the President of the forum of young Parliamentarians representing more than 179 countries. Before that, she was an advisor to the Minister of Social Solidarity and a social protection consultant at the World Bank on youth employability in Egypt. In addition to her experience in the governmental sector and international organizations, she has worked at several Forbes top 500 companies including P&G, J&J, Abbott, and BP. Sahar was named a Young Global Leader in 2022. She holds an MPA from Harvard University.
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Alexander Evans
Alexander Evans is a Professor in Practice of Public Policy at the London School of Economics. A career diplomat, he has worked as an advisor to the Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street, Strategy Director in the Cabinet Office, and Director Cyber in the Foreign Office. He has served as British Deputy and Acting High Commissioner to India and (briefly) Pakistan, led the United Nations Security Council expert group on Daesh, Al Qaida and the Taliban, and was a senior advisor to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke in the U.S. Department of State. He has also been the Henry Kissinger Chair at the Library of Congress, a Senior Fellow at Yale, and…
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Naasu Genevieve Fofanah
Naasu Genevieve Fofanah is an entrepreneur and author with extensive gender and global public policy experience. An award-winning women's and girls' rights activist, she has championed controversial issues globally. She launched Susue Women's Finance during the COVID-19 pandemic to influence government policy on women's business and access to finance. Susue Women's Finance and Sierra Leone Commercial Bank formed the Women's Bank Initiative to offer low-interest loans to female entrepreneurs. The Bank of Sierra Leone Financial Literacy Working Group elected Naasu Co-Chair in 2022. Naasu previously served as Sierra Leone's first Special Gender Adviser to ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma. She made gender equality and women's (GEWE) a priority in the National…
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