Region: Liberia

Thynn Thynn Hlaing

Thynn Thynn Hlaing is a development professional who has been working in humanitarian and long-term development programs for more than 15 years. Her primary focus is on women’s rights and women’s empowerment issues. Currently Thynn Thynn serves as Country Manager for Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) for their program in Papua New Guinea. She is leading the team and all the elements of CHAI's operations in Papua New Guinea for successful footprint to support PNG's government on their improvement of health financing and its outcomes for the most vulnerable. She previously worked as the Country Director of Oxfam International in Sierra Leone over 4 years from 2013 to 2018. She…

Ibrahim Fawzi Ajami

Ibrahim Fawzi Ajami is a Liberian medical doctor born of a Lebanese father and a Liberian mother. He has lived in Liberia his entire life, surviving its 14-year civil war and years long Ebola crisis. During the outbreak, Ibrahim created an initiative to raise awareness of the virus in communities on the outskirts of Monrovia, in addition to working in an Ebola Treatment Unit as a volunteer. In 2017, he founded the Medical Consortium Outreach Program, which seeks to combat the lack of immediate access to primary healthcare in Liberia by stemming illnesses at their source. Ibrahim is also a Fellow of the President’s Young Professional Program (PYPP), an initiative…

B. Elias Shoniyin

B. Elias Shoniyin is an international affairs, development, and policy professional, with over nineteen years' experience in nonprofit and public service, in multiple senior positions where he has made significant contributions to the post-war recovery and development of his native Liberia. He served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia in two successive administrations and intermittently serves as Acting Foreign Minister in the absence of the Minister. An important part of his work was administering the Liberian Foreign Service. Elias’ leadership has inspired strategic reforms in all spheres of the Foreign Ministry and the diplomatic service of Liberia. He played a pivotal role in deepening Liberia’s post-conflict cooperation with…

Korto Reeves

Korto Reeves is currently the global Head of Women's Rights in ActionAid International, a social justice federation in 43 countries. Over the last 13 years, she has worked with the organization in several positions, including Country Director in Liberia from 2010 to 2016. She has 20 years of professional experience working across Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and with USAID and UNDP. She is an African feminist and strategic civil society leader in Liberia and on the continent. A significant contributor to shaping feminist discourse on multiple and intersecting issues in the region, she is a member of the Urgent Action Fund-Africa and Sustainable Development Institute boards. As a…

Chrishan Thuraisingham

Chrishan Thuraisingham is a public health financing specialist with a background in international capital markets. He currently serves as Interim Deputy Director of the Infectious Diseases Advocacy Team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Previously he was CEO of Thuraisingham Associates, a strategic advisory firm providing services and advice to international and domestic health organizations in Africa and Asia. Before that he served as Senior Program Director for Results for Development Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding solutions (through the sectors of Global Education, Global Health, Governance and Market Dynamics) to development challenges that prevent people in low and middle-income countries from realizing their full potential. Previously, Chrishan…

Yale Greenberg World Fellows Interview Series: B. Elias Shoniyin

Good Society Forum: Health on the frontlines in developing countries during COVID-19