Focus: NGO/Social Activism
Paula Moreno
Paula Moreno is Founder and President of Manos Visibles (Visible Hands), a Colombian NGO that implements development strategies to strengthen urban youth organizations and communities of women, with an emphasis on high-risk ethnic communities. Since 2010, Visible Hands has reached more than 500 community leaders and organizations that influence more than 25,000 Colombians. Paula is the former Minister of Culture of Colombia, the youngest woman and first Afro descendant to be appointed as a cabinet minister in the country's history. For her service to the Government of Colombia and the nation as Minister of Culture, Paula was awarded the Order of Saint Charles in 2010 by President Uribe, and in…
More Information
Sisonke Msimang
Sisonke Msimang is a writer and activist who works on race, gender, democracy, and politics. Sisonke works on human rights and Democracy with the Sonke Gender Justice Network, which has been a leading advocate of working with men and boys in promoting gender equality. She has global, regional, and national experience, having worked for the United Nations as well as within the civil society sector and in private philanthropy. Until November 2012, she led George Soros’ philanthropic efforts based in Johannesburg as the Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. She is also the author of a weekly column at the Daily Maverick, a leading South African…
More Information
Hugh Morrow
Hugh Morrow is Managing Director at an Australian financial services company, SuperEd Pty Ltd. He advises a portfolio of for-profit and non-profit organizations that are committed to growth, innovation and impact. He is most interested in the interaction of information technology, organizational behavior, and corporate strategy. His long-term ambition is to bring management capabilities in the social economy to at least the level found in the private sector. Hugh sits on the board of an Australian public company (IPGA) and the boards of the Australian Scholarships Foundation, the Australian Social Innovation Exchange, and the Stanford Australia Alumni Foundation. He has worked for a global strategy consulting firm, held senior roles…
More Information
Maria "Masha" Lisitsyna
Maria "Masha" Lisitsyna is a Senior Managing Legal Officer for Criminal Justice at the Open Society Justice Initiative. She focuses on criminal justice reforms as well as litigation and advocacy on improving protection from torture in Eurasia, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia. Previously, Maria was a researcher for Human Rights Watch, working on civil and political rights in Turkmenistan and the rights of migrant workers in Russia and Kazakhstan. She is the founder and former president of the Youth Human Rights Group, a prominent Kyrgyz NGO specializing in human rights monitoring and education. In 2005, she served as a member of Kyrgyzstan’s Constitutional Council, the body convened to…
More Information
Ana Paula Hernández
As Program Officer for Latin America at the Fund for Global Human Rights, Ana Paula worked on a portfolio that provides strategic support and funding to over 55 human rights organizations in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. She also promoted a broader initiative across Mesoamerica to defend land and resource rights and increase corporate accountability, particularly in the extractive industries. As a leading human rights advocate in Mexico, Ana Paula supported drug policy reform aimed at more balanced approach, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and human rights rather than enforcement and criminalization. She was the deputy director of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center in the state of Guerrero, located in a mostly indigenous…
More Information
Marwa Rashid Al-Khalifa
Marwa Rashid Al Khalifa is a Bahraini artist who has a passion for mixed media art and photography. In order to explore and push new artistic boundaries, Marwa incorporates the use of different materials in her pieces, her work broaching a "spiritual aura" that invites the viewer to meditate and embark on a personal journey. Marwa has exhibited locally and internationally. She received the Bronze Palm Award in the Fine Art Category at the 3rd Visual Arts Forum for GCC Artists held in Doha, 2015. She previously worked as Director of The Crown Prince Training Program for Youth where she equipped young Bahrainis with education and training for the workforce….
More Information
Mustafa Haid
Mustafa Haid is a founding board member of Dawlaty Foundation, a Syrian nonprofit foundation that works with nonviolent activists on capacity-building toward democratic transition and transitional justice in Syria. A Syrian human rights advocate since 2000, Mustafa was under travel bans imposed by the Syrian regime from 2007 until 2011. Mustafa worked as a consultant for Human Rights Watch and for the UN office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) from 2011 to 2012. He has written and edited numerous articles and published research and books on issues related to transitional justice, the Syrian uprising and human…
More Information
Gilbert Doumit
Gilbert Doumit is a founding and Managing Partner of Beyond Group Europe, a change-driven international consulting firm that specializes in three integrated practices: Public Policy & Management, Organizational Learning & Development, and Innovation & Technology Integration, with projects in South Asia, Africa, Caucasus, the Middle East and Gulf countries. For the last two decades, Gilbert has been advising policy makers, the United Nations, the World Bank, development partners, and civil society organizations to innovate and transform their social, economic and governance policies, strategies and systems. At the Yale School of Management, Gilbert has facilitated, for three consecutive years, a leadership development seminar within the Master’s of Advanced Management at the…
More Information
Celine d'Cruz
Celine d’Cruz has been advocating for the urban poor in various roles for more than two decades. She was a founding member and coordinator of Slum Dwellers International and currently serves as Urban Practitioner for the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights. Celine joined the board of Block by Block in February 2017 and has participated in Block by Block projects in Hanoi, Nairobi, Kalobeyei, and Addis Ababa. She currently serves as Vice President and as a member of the Project Committee.  Celine serves on the board for the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers, of which she was a founding member and previous Associate Director. She is…
More Information
Unmesh Brahme
Unmesh Brahme is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of several leadership and strategy coaching firms, including Purpose Partners Worldwide and Coach Partners Worldwide. He is also Co-founder and Director of Transcend Leadership and TruePurpose. He works with clients globally as well as specific to the Asia Pacific region on building organizational and individual leadership quotient through a combination of purpose, mindfulness, and presence-based coaching interventions. Prior to these roles, Unmesh had successful senior management work experience in the social development, education, public-private partnerships, financial services, building purpose brands, social enterprise and investment management, start-ups mentoring, inclusive sustainability, strategy advisory, and co-creating compassionate emerging economies. His body of work has been…
More Information