Focus: Human Rights
Nicola Harrington-Buhay
Nicola Harrington-Buhay works as an advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities, notably to increase their possibilities for decent jobs in the workplace. She also represents the International Paralympic Committee at UNESCO. Prior to this, Nicola was Deputy Executive Coordinator for the United Nations Volunteers, promoting volunteerism in peace and development. She was instrumental in introducing the United Nationsâ first volunteer program for people with disabilities. She was previously Deputy Director of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which fosters peer exchange between emerging and developing economies on effective approaches to development. Earlier, Nicola spent several years working for the United Nations. She was the United Nations Resident…
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Rahimah âImaâ Abdulrahim
Rahimah "Ima" Abdulrahim is the Director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia (Established Countries) for Facebook Asia Pacific. Prior to this, she served at The Habibie Center, one of Indonesiaâs leading think tanks focusing on democracy and human rights, for 19 years, serving as their executive director for 9 years (2010-2019). She has 20 years advocating for peace and democracy in Indonesia and travels extensively to speak about good governance, democratization, and the role of civil society in Southeast Asia. In 2017, Ima co-created, with World Fellows Stephen Shashoua (2015) and Abdul-Rehman Malik (2017), CERITA (Community Empowerment for Raising Inclusivity and Trust through Technology Application), a project using the art…
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Evan Mawarire
Evan Mawarire is a Zimbabwean clergyman who founded #ThisFlag Citizenâs Movement to challenge corruption, injustice, and poverty in Zimbabwe. The movement empowers citizens to hold government to account. Through viral videos, the movement has organized multiple successful non-violent protests in response to unjust government policy. Evan was imprisoned in 2016, 2017, and 2019 for charges of treason, facing 80 years in prison. His message of inspiring positive social change and national pride has resonated with diverse groups of citizens and attracted international attention. Evan has addressed audiences around the world, and Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the 100 global thinkers of 2016. The Daily Maverick Newspaper of South…
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Ruchi Yadav
Ruchi Yadav leads and manages The Hunger Project's overall program portfolio in India, which includes strengthening and building the leadership of elected women representatives and empowerment of adolescent girls. She oversees strategic management, program design, policy, and operations. This includes engagement and dialogue with multiple stakeholders, including over 50 community-based organizations across India. Ruchi has close to two decades of experience in the development sector and the communication business. She has worked on women's rights and human rights issues in South Asia and South East Asia. Ruchi is vitally interested in the intersections of gender with politics, religion, caste, and class. She has also worked on womenâs rights and gender…
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Abdul Tejan-Cole
Abdul Tejan-Cole is Executive Director of the African Studies Association (ASA), an association of scholars and professionals in the United States and Canada with an interest in the continent of Africa. Prior to joining ASA, he was Senior Campaign Director of Waxman Strategies, focused on ending deforestation in Africa across all industrial agriculture and on fighting for the rights of workers and communities. A noted human rights lawyer and activist, he has over 25 years of experience fomenting progressive development of human rights, anti-corruption, environmental and social justice, post-conflict reconstruction, transitional justice, and the rule of law. As head of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone, he worked on and…
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Baljeet Sandhu
Baljeet Sandhu is a UK human rights lawyer, educator and pioneer of the global âknowledge equityâ movement. She has designed and developed successful systems-led models of practice in the UK legal, social and investment sectors and is a global thought leader on the value and power of lived experience in social impact work. As a Yale World Fellow, Baljeet supported the development of the Tsai Centre for Innovative Thinking at Yale (CITY), launched in 2017 to serve Yale students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines seeking innovative ways to solve real-world problems. In 2018, she launched the Knowledge Equity Initiative at Yale, a ground-breaking research, education and practice hub exploring the…
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Marvin Rees
Marvin Rees was elected Mayor of Bristol in the United Kingdom in May 2016. As Mayor he sits as one of the leaders of the UK Core Cities and on the Steering Committee of the Global Parliament of Mayors. He is a popular public speaker on issues of race, class, faith, and social mobility. Marvin worked previously in public health as a BBC broadcast journalist and radio presenter and for the international development agency, Tearfund. In 2012 Marvin founded the The City Leadership Programme, a Yale World Fellows-inspired program which targets and equips high ability, high aspiration young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds for national and global leadership. He is…
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Reda Oulamine
Reda Oulamine is lawyer strongly committed to legal reform in Morocco, and is a senior attorney and founder of Oulamine Law Group which specializes in business, corporate law, and legal reform consulting. In 2009, he created Droit et Justice, an NGO that promotes the rule of law and human rights in Morocco by advocating on behalf of vulnerable social groups and working pro bono for impoverished citizens with limited access to justice. Reda served as an election observer in Tunisia, as part of an effort by the Carter Center to demonstrate the support of the international community for democratic transition in that country. Previously, he worked as an attorney in…
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Melvis M. Ndiloseh
Melvis M. Ndiloseh is CEO of the Foundation for Peace and Solidarity, a Cameroon-based non-profit, with outreach operations across Africa, which works to reconcile conflict-ridden communities through human rights and peace education. The organization also runs a pioneering flagship international training program on civilian peace support operations with the goal of building and consolidating deployable African human resource capacity for conflict management and humanitarian operations across the continent. At the international level, Melvis is a highly solicited independent consultant on human rights, democracy, and peace, with viable international consultancy experiences with supranational organizations such as the African Union, UNECA, EU, and IIDEA. She holds a PhD in Politics and Human…
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Wanja Muguongo
Wanja Muguongo is a queer African feminist, social justice activist, and movement builder. She is Founder and Executive Director of UHAI East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative, Africa's first indigenous activist-led fund supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and sex worker activism in Eastern Africa with funding, capacity support, research, and convening. Passionate about work that supports social justice, equality, non-discrimination, and a respect for human rights, Wanja has worked within East Africa's civil society, and in India and Pakistan. She has edited and collaborated on various publications and papers, and she is a Synergos Senior Fellow (2014).
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