Focus: NGO/Social Activism
Minami Tsubouchi
Minami Tsubouchi is an entrepreneur in the field of leadership development with a particular focus on youth under adversity. She founded BEYOND Tomorrow to support young victims of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident that hit the northeast coast of Japan in 2011. Believing that great leaders can rise out of adversity, she has supported more than 700 young adults suffering from traumatic experiences to overcome hardship as budding leaders who can make a difference for society. Minami worked in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attack, engaging in humanitarian assistance, and she worked in Bahrain during the Arab Spring as a member of the Kingdom’s Economic Development Board. Her…
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Muthanna Khriesat
Muthanna Khriesat is Chief Operating Officer of Questscope, an international non-governmental organization committed to social development through youth empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa region. Muthanna oversees institutional partnerships locally in Jordan, regionally in MENA, and internationally. In Jordan he guides collaboration with the Ministries of Education and Social Development and the Department of Public Security. He is responsible for strategic planning and development of technological and financial infrastructure, with special emphasis on cooperation with UN, EU, and US agencies for initiatives with Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordan youth. Muthanna holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Princess Sumaya University of Technology in Amman, Jordan.
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Wanjiru Mukoma
Wanjiru Mukoma has spent most of her career working to improve health and wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in HIV prevention and care, and cross-cutting issues of human rights, sexual, and gender-based violence. She was formerly Executive Director of LVCT Health, a Kenyan NGO and one of the country’s leading implementers of HIV and gender-based violence programs. A researcher, program implementer, and advocate, she has worked in academia and the non-profit sector for the past 15 years. Wanjiru is as comfortable working at the grassroots community level as she is in policy advocacy, championing the rights of the vulnerable and marginalized, especially children, adolescents, young women, and sexual minorities. She…
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Lorna Solis
Lorna Solis is Founder & CEO of Elevate, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing continued education at world-leading universities to young women who have either been forced from their homes by conflict or climate change or are working in industries affected by climate change and looking to further education so that they can use every tool possible to stay in their country of origin. Lorna created Project SHEro as an extension of her nonprofit’s work offering scholarships to refugees – including climate refugees. Project SHEro is a global climate activism documentary series that raises awareness not only about challenges but also solutions. It explores issues such as climate adaptation, climate justice,…
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Jan Jakub "Kuba" Wygnanski
Jan Jakub "Kuba" Wygnanski is sociologist serving as President of Board for Shipyard – Centre for Social Innovation and Research. Kuba starting his career as a Solidarity activist in Poland. He was participating in historical Round Table talks. After 1989, he became deeply involved in numerous initiatives aiming to support civil society in Poland and other countries. He has started several NGOs including the KLON/JAWOR Association and the Forum of Nongovernmental Initiatives, which plays a key role as representative of Polish Third Sector. Kuba was initiator and coordinator of a multi-year systemic project of Polish Model of Social Economy. For over 25 years Kuba has been deeply involved in the…
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Nizam Uddin
Nizam Uddin is Chief Strategy Officer of algbra, a technology-based financial ecosystem dedicated to global financial inclusion by focusing on the underserved and underbanked. Nizam was previously the Senior Head of Mosaic and Community Integration at The Prince’s Trust and Head of the Mosaic Initiative. Nizam has a strong interest and background in overcoming the societal and economic challenges that prevent disenfranchised and minority communities from fulfilling their potential. He is a 2019 US State Department International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) participant and a Trustee of: SOAS, University of London, Robert. F. Kennedy Human Rights UK, and Belong – the UK's Cohesion and Integration Network (COIN). Nizam was awarded an…
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Heather Stevens
Heather Stevens is a career civil servant, whose most recent posting was Director of Workforce Policy in the Department of Health, Northern Ireland, where she was responsible for advising government Ministers on all matters relating to the health and social care workforce including the numbers of health professionals trained, regulatory matters, and terms and conditions including pay negotiations. Prior to that she was head of the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners, the regulatory body for recruitment to the Civil Service, following a spell in the voluntary sector working as a Director in the National Youth Agency in the United Kingdom. The Agency aims to promote the voice and influence…
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Gavin Sheppard
Gavin Sheppard is an innovative cultural entrepreneur who uses art and music as tools for youth inclusion and economic growth. The Remix Project, which he co-founded in 2006, was created in order to help level the playing field for young people from disadvantaged, marginalized, and under-served communities. The Remix Project provides top-notch alternative, creative, educational programs, facilitators and facilities to at-risk youth wanting to enter the creative industries. This program model has been replicated internationally, and Gavin has been an architect of and has helped to create a hemispheric network of youth arts organizations to promote best practices. Gavin is also Founder of Public Records, Inc., a Toronto-based record label,…
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Raheel Khursheed
Raheel Khursheed has 15+ years of experience helping global tech firms grow exponentially. In very short periods of time, he has helped launch some of the world’s most popular tech firms in some of the world’s toughest markets. Currently splitting time between Toronto, Boston, and Kashmir, Raheel is the co-founder of Laminar, a 21st Century Streaming/Video infrastructure OS/platform. Prior to Laminar, Raheel successfully co-founded Anthro.ai, an AI X Anthropology startup that specializes in supercharged insights at scale. Anthro.ai continues to deliver high quality research projects to a select set of global clients. Before taking the entrepreneurial route, Raheel led Snapchat in India as their sole expert guiding the integration of…
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Mustafa Damdelen
Mustafa Damdelen is President of the Cyprus European Union Association, which works on European Union-funded projects and aims to achieve a united Cyprus within the EU. Formerly, as director of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, Mustafa was one of the leaders and spokesmen of an NGO movement of 103 organizations, having led a successful “Yes” campaign for a UN plan for the solution of the Cyprus problem. The success of the “Yes” campaign convinced the EU and UN that the Turkish Cypriot community should not be isolated, and with the free movement of people on the island, Mustafa and his colleagues in the Chamber of Commerce played an important…
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