Adam is an Information Technology Executive with over 15 years of experience in a variety of industries including Government, Healthcare, Disaster Response and Humanitarian Aid. He served over 8 years in the United States Army. Adam is a Clay Hunt Fellow and was the 2014 recipient of the Clay Hunt Spirit of Service Award. He is a Registered Maine Guide and enjoys spending free time outdoors with family and friends.

Adele is Senior Advisor, Digital Health, at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she is leading the development of a new strategy guiding the Agency’s investments in digital technologies to support global health programs and outcomes. She is co-chair of the 200-member Digital Health & Interoperability Working Group and serves on the advisory groups of a variety of development and humanitarian initiatives including the Global Digital Health Network, the GSK mVaccination initiative, the Humanitarian Innovation Fund, and TechnologySalon.org.

An affiliated expert and former fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, she has appeared in news outlets including the BBC, Financial Times, National Public Radio, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. Previously she was founder and managing director of Catalyst Advisory, LLC, providing strategic, technical, and advisory support to organizations using communications technologies to strengthen global health, humanitarian assistance, and global development efforts. Prior to that she was Senior Director of Technology Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation, where she managed a $30 million partnership with Vodafone that leveraged digital technologies to strengthen global health and humanitarian work.

Adele has authored and edited numerous reports on trends at the intersection of digital technologies and international development, including Fighting Ebola with Information: Learning from the Use of Data, Information, and Digital Technologies in the West African Ebola Outbreak Response (co-author) and Disaster Relief 2.0: The Future of Information Sharing in Humanitarian Emergencies (editor).

A native of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area she now resides in her hometown after a decade spent living in New York City, Paris, and Cape Town.

Alan Grundy has over 8 years starting-up and implementing emergency response cash-based programs in difficult environments including Venezuela, Ukraine, Philippines, Pakistan, and Greece. As part of CRS’ Humanitarian Response Department, Alan supports agency country programs and partners to build their cash readiness to respond capacity; he occasionally deploys to emergencies as well. Alan’s technical focus is on cash in emergencies, with a specialty on rapid deployment and cross-border cash and voucher delivery systems, with the goal of distributing cash assistance immediately after a crisis.

Alexis Bonnell is the Division Chief of Applied Innovation and Acceleration in the U.S. Global Development Lab of USAID. Alexis has delivered humanitarian and development programming in over 25 countries, in almost every sector from education to stabilization. Her more than 20 years of experience in management and communications has provided her incredible opportunities to work on/with: Wall Street, “Dot.coms”, Middle East Peace Plan, Afghan and Iraq Elections, global emergency response coordination  and major logistics operations. Her focus is how to leverage science, technology, innovation, and partnership for greater impact. Alexis founded the Global Innovation Exchange, and has been lucky enough to see USAID invest in more than 1,000 social innovators and entrepreneurs, changing millions of lives around the world.

Andrea Ulrich is the Deputy Director of Operations at Development Gateway, a technology and data-for-development nonprofit. In her role, Andrea specializes in developing technical tools to help development agencies and governments use data to develop evidence-informed policies and deliver more effective healthcare services.

Andrea has previously developed tools, programs, and products to improve healthcare outcomes in more than 20 countries. Through her prior work at the Inter-American Development Bank, she helped define the investment strategy for digital health projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a former management consultant and engineer, she designed a cloud-based clinical data repository, conducted spatial analyses of high-risk individuals for HIV/AIDS in India, and built medical devices for resource-limited settings.

Andrea holds a degree in Bioengineering with a concentration in Global Health Technologies from Rice University.

Dr. Andrew Lustig is a worldwide humanitarian Naturopathic Doctor/EMT/I and the President/Founder of Global Outreach Doctors.

He has provided medical care in hospitals, ambulances, local clinics, mud huts and even under trees around the globe. For the past ten years Andrew has worked in disaster and poverty conditions in remote regions of the world including Haiti, Africa, Nepal, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Lesvos (GR), Syria border (JO) and the Amazon Jungle.

He was a member of the Disaster Medicine Assistance Team of NM. Andrew provided medical care for many years at annual large scale events including Bataan Death March (attended by 20,000 participants), Burningman (attended by 50,000 participants) and LovElution (attended by 10,000 participants).

As a humanitarian, Lustig has worked with solitary confinement, life sentence and death row inmates at the super max State Penitentiary of New Mexico.
He’s organized large scale events and raised substantial funds for his dear friends, the Maasai people of Kenya to build schools and provide food. Lustig and has given speeches and appeared in print, radio and television.

For two decades in Andrew’s prior life chapter, he was an owner/CEO of a diversified media corporation with 1000 associates in NYC and locations across the country. He lives in Venice, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Dr. Andrew Schroeder is responsible for all analytics programs, monitoring and evaluation, data collection, business intelligence and data visualization, geographic information systems, and geospatial analytics. Schroeder has developed and implemented a number of projects at Direct Relief to demonstrate programmatic impact, including Mapping Global Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS; Spatial Analysis of the Global Diflucan® Distribution Program; development of GIS-based laboratory monitoring in Ethiopia; and USA Safety Net Mapping, which was cited in the New England Journal of Medicine. Schroeder has also presented findings from his research at Direct Relief at prominent conferences, including the Global Health Council and the InterAction Forum.

Schroeder earned his Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Analysis from New York University and his Masters of Public Policy (MPP) from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, specializing in quantitative and qualitative social analytic methods, information technology policy and international development. Prior to Direct Relief he worked as an assistant professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and as a research fellow in globalization and communications at the City University of Hong Kong.

Belete Temesgen is the Senior Technical Advisor for Cash and Market based programming at WVI. His roles include providing technical support to field programs during market analysis, program design and operations. He is also responsible in building capacity on CVA and developing/updating manual/guidelines and tools. Belete worked in Africa, Asia and Middle East Regions.

Ben Phillips has worked in the international humanitarian and development sector for more than 27 years.  This work includes field-based postings in seven countries, and support or oversight of those in many others.  He first implemented cash-based assistance in Tajikistan in 2007, and for the past four years has promoted the expanded use of cash-based programming in his current capacity with ChildFund. He currently lives in Maryland, with his wife of 25 years and two daughters.

Robert G. Ottenhoff, a veteran in philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, and entrepreneurship, is president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP). Prior to joining CDP, Bob spent a decade as president and CEO of GuideStar, an industry leader in the use of providing high-quality data to help donors make better decisions and improve nonprofit practice. While there, Bob developed a sustainable business model which supports free and fee-based services to more than 10 million users. He also led efforts to build partnerships with more than 150 leading U.S. and community foundations, and oversaw the development of www.guidestar.org into a nationally respected, comprehensive source of reports and services on more than 1.5 million nonprofits.

Bob has more than 25 years of management experience in public broadcasting and high-tech companies, including nine years as chief operating officer of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Bob is known for his entrepreneurial spirit, strong technology focus, and quest to make an impact on the world. In addition to his role at CDP, he serves on the board of Inspirit Foundation (formerly Vision TV); Link TV; and Write on Sports. He also serves on the advisory committee of the Netherlands-America Foundation. He previously served on the board of the Grameen Foundation, USAAAFRC Trust for Philanthropy and the e-Philanthropy Foundation. Bob holds a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College and a master’s degree in planning from Rutgers University. He frequently writes and comments on nonprofit and philanthropic issues, and has been quoted in a variety of media, including television, radio and print publications such as NPR, the New York Times, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes.

Brent D. Anderson has worked in the global procurement market for over 30 years serving in various capacities at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the United Nations.  He currently heads the United Nations Development Business office in Washington, DC and works closely with the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) with a specific focus on the World Bank and the IADB.  He oversees publication of procurement announcements and the World Bank and IADB Monthly Operational Summaries.

Chairman Emeritus\Chief Executive Officer.  Black Emergency Managers Association International (BEMA International), to promote African Descent homeland security and emergency management professionals within the U.S., Caribbean, Middle East, and Africa.  Comprised of members within each of the critical infrastructure sectors:  healthcare, Fire\EMS, energy, transportation, water & food security, education, federal, state, county, regional governments, and ‘whole community’ for community engagement.  BEMA International is also a member of the United Nations Global Compact, U.N. Water Mandate, Global Water Partnership, and the U.S. Water Partnership.

Mr. Sharp is a retired U.S. Air Force Emergency Manager with over 24 years of service as a planner, logistician, exercise design & developer, trainer, and served as an inspector general Air Force Air Combat Command for base level ‘all-hazards’ emergency management of National Guard, and Active Duty units.

Chase manages GlobalGiving’s extensive portfolio of disaster grant programs. He serves as the grants manager for all current and prospective nonprofit organizations that receive disaster relief and recovery grants from GlobalGiving. He is also responsible for directing a number of international giving programs in close collaboration with GlobalGiving’s corporate partners. Prior to GlobalGiving, Chase worked in Thailand and Colombia with local organizations in the fields of education and ecotourism. He holds his Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Mercer University.

Daniela Giardina is Oxfam’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Advisor with specific focus on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, activities based in Boston. She has over ten years of experience working in the water, environment and sanitation sector with non-governmental organizations in East and West Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Central Asia in humanitarian relief and in recovery/development programs. This work has included technical assessments, project design and proposals writing, project management and coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building of local partners among other tasks. In 2015 she was involved in the Ebola prevention and preparedness program in West Africa and in 2016 in the new displacement in Northern Darfur. She holds a PhD in Sanitary Engineering and Sustainable Development and Master Degree in Engineering for the Environment and the Territory.

David Meltzer has 30 years of experience in the satellite and humanitarian industries.  Mr. Meltzer currently leads GVF which is the largest global trade association for the commercial satellite industry.  As GVF’s Secretary General, he leads advocacy efforts on behalf of the industry with national and international regulators while providing members with benefits in areas such as online and classroom training, organizing industry conferences, and leading industry working groups on topics that include international regulatory matters, sustainable space operations, and disaster relief.

Prior to leading GVF as its Secretary General, Mr. Meltzer worked for sixteen years at the world’s largest communications satellite operator — Intelsat — and served as Intelsat’s General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs.

Following Intelsat, Mr. Meltzer served for thirteen years at the American Red Cross leading its international disaster relief and development activities and served as the American Red Cross’ General Counsel for over five years.

Mr. Meltzer has extensive experience working with senior members of government and has made numerous appearances before media, the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, ITU, and other national and international organizations.

“Being raised in a loving family that emphasized treating others as you wish to be treated combined with the act of sharing and giving back is in my blood. For me, it is like nature, simply a purely natural thing to do.”

Dinese learned very early how to give back via volunteering and engaging in social responsibility. In the 60s and 70s, both her mother and father worked as volunteers for the US Peace Corps and for local NGOs. Dinese tutored children and youths from lower socio-income families as a volunteer during her high school years in New York City and later during her university years studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In Germany, she worked on a voluntary basis as President and Vice President of the MIT Club of Germany e.V. from 1999 until 2004. Under her leadership as president, the number of dues paying members doubled. She also led the MIT Club of Germany’s first Biotech Conference with more than 140 participants. This conference raised over 35,000 Euros and this sum was donated for scholarships.

During Dinese’s previous career in the investment banking sector, she forged strong relationships with C-Level executives at global corporations and built an international network of debt and equity funding sources including venture capital and private equity funds, and banks.

Since founding Grace Impact gGmbH in 2014, Dinese has invested her own money in social projects and companies together with donations received.

Edward Wilson has over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical supply chain management, including managing complex multi-country public health projects, creating and leading project teams, and building and maintaining positive and productive client relationships with governments and international organizations. As indefinite quantity contract Manager for the USAID DELIVER project, he oversaw a global supply chain that procured and delivered $1.5 billion worth of medicines and medical supplies to 114 countries and a global technical support team that provided supply chain technical assistance to 65 countries.

In addition to serving as PFSCM Director, Edward is also Director of JSI’s Center for Health Logistics, overseeing 30 projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America that improve access to medicines and medical supplies for a range of clients, including foundations, bilateral and multi-lateral donors, and private companies. His current interests include driving continuous improvement through improved data visibility and use, building partnerships at the national level to drive supply chain transformation, and helping national governments move from operating public health supply chains to being stewards of the public’s access to medicines.

Edward has a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and a Master of Science degree from the George Washington University.

As Executive Director of PQMD, Elizabeth (EJ) Ashbourne is responsible for furthering PQMD’s commitment to championing and advancing standards in medical supply and service donations by developing the vision, strategy, and execution of the organizations five pillars of work.

Prior to joining PQMD, EJ was most recently the Managing Partner for EJA Consulting, a small private firm specializing in strategic planning, fundraising, international development and joint venture support, mission driven event management, and all aspects of non-profit turn-around. Prior to that, EJ spent 17 years at the World Bank in a number of senior level positions, in the areas of private sector partnerships, global public health, infectious disease, and health management information systems.

Eric James, PhD, is Executive Director of Field Ready. He has nearly two decades of experience leading disaster relief and development projects for a number of NGOs worldwide. He is author of several books including Managing Humanitarian Innovation (see his author site: ericbooks.com). He also regularly teaches on development-related topics as an adjunct at DePaul University and University of Minnesota. Eric is also an Affiliated Expert of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.

Ethan started his career in the non-profit world, helping to found and grow an organization in college that now raises over $1M annually for a Children’s Hospital. From there, he held various positions across the spectrum of corporate healthcare in Philadelphia. He went on to found a consumer facing mobile platform and now works at Dreamit Ventures where he looks to invest in high-growth digital health and med-tech startups.

Goulda A. Downer, PhD, FAND, CNS, RD, LN, is an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine at Howard University. At the helm of the Howard University multi-million dollar Telehealth Training Center (HU-TTC), she is tasked with implementing an HIV Curriculum eLearning technology training program nationwide. The Center is designed to help strengthen the U.S. HIV clinical workforce and to provide culturally competent clinical care in order to reduce HIV disparity invulnerable populations. An expert in nutrition and food security, Dr. Downer has served as United States Agency for International Development’s subject matter expert in Food Security, Food Aid and Emergency/Disaster.

Holly Welcome Radice is the Cash and Markets Technical Advisor at CARE. She leads the NGO’s  global cash and voucher assistance strategy, capacity building and technical assistance globally. Holly has over 20 years’ experience in humanitarian and development contexts with experience Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

Jana Mason is Senior Advisor for External Relations and Government Affairs at the Washington, D.C. office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She represents the agency’s interests with the U.S. government—particularly the State Department and Congress—and with nongovernmental organizations. Prior to joining UNHCR in 2008, Jana was Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee (IRC). She was previously with the U.S. Committee for Refugees for 11 years, where she served as policy analyst for the Asia/Pacific region and advocated for refugee protection and assistance. During this time, she assessed refugee and asylum situations in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, China, and elsewhere. Jana has worked in the refugee arena since 1983, which included a position as assistant director of refugee programs for the State of Virginia. She has a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a master’s degree from the University of Virginia, and a law degree from Georgetown University.

I have worked in the identity management and biometric field for 18 years. My career has enabled me to work both in the US Government as well as numerous international markets. Some key highlights to my background have been: Implementation of identity management systems, deployed and managed teams on one of the largest biometric systems in the world, organized one of the first partnerships to build a compliant HSPD-12 system, managed and designed the TBCMS (Tactical Biometric Collection Management Systems) for the Navy, business development and engineering efforts that led to a National ID program for Haiti, Operations manager on various projects for the 2012 Presidential elections in Brazil, enabled DoD & Federal employees to authenticate on mobile devices using their federally issued PIV & CAC’s.

Jeremy is the Director of Government Affairs for the Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee). Prior to joining Alight, Jeremy held several different positions at the Peace Corps, and worked in a variety of capacities on Capitol Hill, including serving as the staff director for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight. Jeremy joined Alight as the organization was testing new ideas in the humanitarian world. These new approaches resulted in Alight receiving the Peter F. Drucker Award for Non-profit Innovation in 2012 and being named one of Fast Company Magazine’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019.

For 25 years, Mr Robins has helped large and small organizations find answers to their communications problems in austere, remote and hostile locations across the world.  Over the years, embedding with the teams in the field, John has come to understand the challenges in these environments. Together with the entire Codan team, John provides the best fit communications solutions for disaster response teams and for organizations providing aid in conflict zones around the world.

John Zoltner is the Senior Director of Technology for Development and Innovation for Save the Children. John has more than 20 years of professional experience designing, implementing and evaluating initiatives that take advantage of the power of innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to achieve social impact in resource poor environments. He leads STC’s global technology for development work, focusing on initiatives that increase program efficiencies, increase their reach, and amplify their impact. Immediately prior to STC, he founded FHI 360’s TechLab, an internal unit dedicated to creating or adapting technology solutions to strengthen the organization’s programmatic work.

As Counselor for Technology and Security Policy at the U.S. Department of State, Joseph Burton works to promote U.S. national policies concerning the continuity and protection of information and communications technology (ICT) services across cable, satellite and cyber networks, while ensuring that evolving technologies are considered during the development of national technology policies.   Mr. Burton also serves as Executive Secretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy.  Previously, Mr. Burton was with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration where he held positions as a Senior Telecommunications Industry Analyst, and as an International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service.  As an International Trade Specialist, he counseled U.S. companies on international market entry and promotion strategies and was selected for temporary assignments as head of the Commercial sections at the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Malaysia as a Commercial Officer.

Over the last 14 years, Kate has sought to merge the worlds of economic growth and human development, exploiting mutual benefits, working directly with entities from the World Bank to International NGOs and leading projects for African and Latin American companies, European Development Financing Institutions (DFIs) and various African governments. Kate has studied and worked in North America, Latin America, Europe and Africa.

Today, Kate leads Social Impact Partnerships with International NGOs and Foundations for Oracle NetSuite, leveraging NetSuite’s 20 years of experience in non-profit technology to redesign and co-create technology solutions for the international NGO community.

Mr. Mitsui has been with the United Nations for over 27 years, having worked in various capacities within the United Nations Procurement Division.  These have included diverse assignments in management and procurement of a broad range of goods and services for headquarters and UN peacekeeping missions.  Before joining the Procurement Division in September 1991, he worked for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna, Austria and its field office in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from 1988 to 1991.  He also worked for a trading firm in Japan for 7.5 years and was engaged in marketing, procurement and shipping activities. Mr. Mitsui holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University in New York, U.S.A. and a Bachelor of Arts from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.

Krista Miller is Vice President for SunDanzer Refrigeration Incorporated.  Based in the USA, SunDanzer focuses on bringing real-world, and sustainable refrigeration products to the off-grid market.

Graduating with a Master’s Degree in Accounting, Krista spent her early career as a Certified Public Accountant.  Upon returning home to Tucson, AZ in 2003, she became a General Contractor building solar efficient sustainable homes and volunteering in her community to serve economically disadvantage students with a private education.  With a passion for finance, green technologies, and the community, SunDanzer’s cost saving and energy independent solar refrigeration for the international market place is a natural fit.

Krista will share examples of how solar refrigeration technology has changed people’s lives in Moroccan off-grid homes, Kenyan milk-cooling farms, and Tanzania’s health facilities, which will bring their nationwide vaccination rate to 98%.

A collaborative, empathic, and detail-oriented leader and bridgebuilder,
I combine humanitarian and development experience with deep knowledge of tech for social change.

I work to realize technology’s potential to bring about better aid, development and social justice practice. This means addressing systemic gaps in accountability, ethical requirements, capacity, infrastructure, and capital, and unjust and unequal concentrations of power in the Global North. I believe in patient progress through principled process.

Mostly, this means that I help people understand and solve problems together. To do this, I draw on twelve years’ global experience in technology, social change work, and entrepreneurship. I lean on ideas and methodologies from humanitarian aid and development, applied research, software product management and human-centred design, to create spaces people can think, perform, and collaborate in. I share what I learn, and pay my blessings and privilege forward wherever I can. And I lead close-knit and high-performing teams.

I contribute substantive research at policy and systems level, particularly
around data ethics, monitoring and evaluation, context analysis, and inclusive and accessible technology. I also lead close-knit and high-performing teams. My approach is to set clear goals together, and create a culture of accountability, team spirit, and compassion. This usually works well, when combined with access to snacks.

I started my career at the British Red Cross, working on humanitarian policy, accountability, and learning. In 2010, I joined FrontlineSMS, where I helped turn open-source desktop software into a non-profit business and cloud platform in just two years. At SIMLab, I lead a team that translated that experience into practitioner-facing tools and frameworks, and argued for improved, more ethical and more evidence-based practice. In 2018 I consulted on responsible data, evidence, and product, project and organizational strategy, and joined the Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation, working on data ethics and new technologies like blockchain. In March 2019 I join the Digital Impact Alliance as Senior Director of Insights and Impact.

I have served on the Board of ELRHA and am a trustee of the CDAC Network and a funding committee member for the Humanitarian Innovation Fund. I live in Washington, DC, with my husband and daughter and our yellow lab. I love to grow things, read things, and host chaotic but delicious feasts.

I am Lena Wahlhed and I am Director Alliance Development at HemoCue AB in Sweden. I am a clinical chemist by education and have been working within this discipline until 2001 when I joined HemoCue. Doing good has always been close to my heart and in 2016 I launched the theme Embrace Health. Embrace Health in maternal and child care, embrace health in NCD also in HIV as well as in people having to leave their homes for various reasons. It is about creating awareness, sharing knowledge as well as offering point of care solutions. It is about taking a shared responsibility for sustainable healthcare for everyone.

Linord Moudou is a seasoned-Journalist with Voice of America (VOA) Television and Radio where she is a host, reporter and producer. She is a news anchor and health reporter with VOA.

Moudou has covered extensively the MDGs and now the SDGs including issues on Universal Health Coverage, Maternal and Childhood Health, Gender Equality, Poverty Reduction, WASH and Climate Change. Moudou has interviewed various newsmakers such as Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, then United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon and Namibian President Hagee Geingob. She is a Thomson Reuters Foundation fellow and a United Nations Foundation fellow.

As Director of Humanitarian Programs, Liz leads Airlink’s operational responses connecting nonprofits and the aviation sector to deliver disaster responders and supplies in the wake of humanitarian crises worldwide. She joined Airlink from InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focused on disaster relief and sustainable development programs. While with InterAction, Liz deployed to the field on a number of occasions to advise on humanitarian policy and program implementation.

Liz previously worked within the private-sector, managing renewable energy infrastructure programs with Siemens Wind Power, which required close collaboration and partnership with a range of international stakeholders. She has also delivered significant change programs within the UK public sector, and served for eight years as a logistics officer with the British Army, which included a deployment to Iraq in 2003, where she worked closely with the local civilian population on infrastructure reconstruction projects. Liz recently completed a Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Affairs from the University of York, UK.

Liz lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and son, and enjoys running and cycling.

Luc Severi is a Senior Energy Access Specialist at Sustainable Energy for All, focusing primarily on the energy access gap in the health sector and the humanitarian sector. Luc holds a Master’s in Commercial Engineering from KULeuven and an MSc Development Management from the London School of Economics. Prior to starting his current work, Luc worked in Mozambique, Senegal, and Liberia, for several international NGOs and social enterprises, including SolarNow, Save the Children International, and the UN Foundation. Throughout his career, Luc has been an active participant in the green & circular economy, working primarily with renewable energy solutions for off-grid and rural households, schools, health centres, and refugee camps.

Mahnaz M. Harrison, President, CEO and Co-founder of Last Mile4D, is a seasoned health executive that designs innovative community-centric health, education and economic empowerment solutions using mobile solar technologies and ICT. She has worked in international development projects in Georgia (Fulbright Scholarship), Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya among other locations.  Her many years of experience includes managing or advising officials, non-profit and profit organizations and boards on business strategy, organizational alignment and strategic change. She has led the process and guided the clients to strategic action, and performed management skills training for top tier management. She is a seasoned health executive with a broad range of work in health management, health system strengthening, health policy development, women’s health and women in health, gender-based and domestic violence, project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. She has devised innovative health care programs, collaborating with many stakeholders to successfully move these projects from the pilot phase into full implementation. Her health management and familiarity with the political economy of the Caucasus led to her having been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the Republic of Georgia, where she worked with governmental and nongovernmental Georgian stakeholders to draft a Comprehensive Cancer Control Policy. She co-edited the Country’s Non Communicable Disease (NCD) Policy. She also has worked with the Georgian National Museum, an umbrella organization managing 12 museums and three research institutes to assess their competency areas critical to change management and transition from Soviet era operation to modern management. In addition, Mahnaz sits on the board of World Pulse among other international and national boards.  She has consulted with the World Bank.  She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Advance International Studies/SAIS.

Dr. Michael Mylrea is a Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity and Blockchain Lead and at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Dr. Mylrea has over 17 years of experience working on cybersecurity with leadership positions in industry and government. He leads several cybersecurity R&D and blockchain projects, including the largest federally funded blockchain cybersecurity project. He is a Senior Advisor to WA IoT Council, George Washington University (GWU) I3P and Rocky Mountain Institute. He completed his Doctorate at GWU focused on cyber resilience, graduate degrees and coursework at Tufts Fletcher School, Harvard Law School, WGU (MSIA), Tel Aviv University (Fulbright); and double majored at University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Mylrea is proficient in several foreign and computer languages.

Mike O’Brien is the Global Director for Health and Nutrition for Relief International. Mike has been working in domestic and international health for 17 years and has a primary interest in the transition of humanitarian programs to development. He has a B.S in Health Education and an M.S. in Community and Public Health.

Mr. Hamid H Azad has a track record of working in the charity, international and community development sector for over twenty-five years. He has a wealth of knowledge in developing and implementing relief and development programmes worldwide. He brings with him over 18 years of experience in a variety of senior management positions with a number of charities and community development organisations. His depth of knowledge on community affairs made up of different faiths and cultures has been his strength in setting up and developing programmes and projects that cater to their specific needs. Currently, he is the Chief Executive Officer of Muntada Aid. Muntada Aid is a UK registered global NGO operating in 30 countries in Africa and Asia. It focuses on Education and Child Development, Healthcare and Wellbeing, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Economic Empowerment and Emergency responses.

Hamid is a qualified barrister and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration (MCIArb). As a development professional, he has worked with various international and national organisations in various policy, strategic and management capacities.

Dr. Morris Koffa is an Environmental Engineer by profession and currently works in the industry for over 20 years. He earned his PhD in Public Policy and Administration with concentration in Disaster and Emergency Management. He is a co-founder and Executive Director of the Africa Environmental Watch for over 15 years and still counting. He has and continues to work on environmental and disaster management issues in Africa with specific focus on the Mano River Union (MRU). The MRU is comprised of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Cost. He is an author “The Ebola Epidemic in Liberia: Some Environmental and Disaster Management Implications”

Najat Abdulrahman is the Executive Vice President, Strategic Global Business Development, Yahsat.

Najat joined Yahsat, in 2013, with 25 years’ experience within the Telecom industry, she has been involved in Product Marketing, Channel development and Business Development within the UAE and the international domain.

Najat currently leads the Strategic business development team which involves systematically mapping and networking an ecosystem to drive enterprising transformational opportunities.

Her key focus is building long-term relationships and exploring synergies with strategic partners including Government, Humanitarian and global/Multinational Enterprises. With particular focus on vertical solutions.

Neeta Bhandari joined PEPFAR in September 2015 and serves on the Private Sector Engagement Team.  Prior to PEPFAR, she was based in Nairobi serving as Regional Director of GBCHealth Kenya, where she facilitated public-private partnerships and supported multinational and local company engagement on global health issues.  She also served as Senior Manager of Membership for GBCHealth New York.

Prior to GBCHealth, Neeta consulted for a variety of clients in the life sciences and healthcare industries at Deloitte Consulting, including large and mid-tier pharmaceutical companies.

Neeta also has experience working in health systems financing with the World Health Organization, and in healthcare finance serving as a business analyst at AmeriChoice of New York.   She has also served as an independent consultant for various organizations including Evidence Action in Nairobi, Kenya where she served as a partnership development advisor, and the World Bank, where she evaluated an urban health pilot program in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Neeta holds a BA in Biology and Economics from the University of Virginia, and a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University.

Direct USAID Global Innovation Lab-funded program focused on expanding mobile and broadband Internet access to poor and rural areas in developing nations to increase access to digital platforms and applications supporting economic development, government accountability, improved health and educational services, and mobile money solutions. Partnering with CSR programs from a wide range of private sector technology companies (including Cisco, Microsoft, HP, Intel, Facebook, Oracle, & EMC) and some of the largest humanitarian NGOs (including CARE, the International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, & World Vision) to identify innovative ways to leverage technology and improve public policy to address this digital divide.

► Support regulations and policies that enable the safe, robust growth of digital financial systems and build critical market infrastructures.
► Support USAID’s goal of building strategic partnerships to create enabling policies and regulations, develop new business models, and provide relevant local content that makes mobile technology accessible to underserved populations.
► Facilitate the use of mobile data tools that empower decision makers to adapt their programs, eliminate errors in collecting and transcribing paper forms, and perform power analyses and visualization.
► Develop monitoring & evaluation strategies, performance frameworks, and project outcomes; and lead periodic implementation reviews to assure progress and identify remedial actions.
► Ensure compliance with USG regulations and private partner needs, including establishing compliance standards for new projects.
► Serve as primary focal point with USAID, private sector CSR programs, and NGO partners.
► Manage budget pipelines and conduct monthly reviews to ensure accountability of all project activities and timely reporting of finance deliverables.
► Identify prospective business development opportunities across both private and public sectors

Mr. Richard Blewitt joined the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) as Head of Delegation and Permanent Representative to the UN, New York on 1 July 2018.

Before joining the IFRC, Mr. Richard Blewitt served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, a post he has held for the last five years.

Prior to this appointment, he was the Chief Executive Officer of HelpAge International for 6 years. During this time, he led HelpAge to win the Hilton Prize for its groundbreaking work on ageing and development.

Mr. Blewitt was active in the World Economic Forum for four years, attending the annual meetings in Davos and giving leadership in the area of social protection and pension reform.

He has also held several key leadership posts with humanitarian agencies such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as Director of Movement Cooperation then Acting Director of Policy and Communications; and the British Red Cross Society as Director of Strategy, Planning, Coordination and IT. He has served as a Consultant Advisor with the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Other key assignments include Save the Children Fund where he was posted in Ethiopia as a Deputy Director, and then Regional Food Security Advisor at the East Africa Regional Office in Nairobi. He also worked for the London Borough of Lambeth, Brixton and the London Borough of Ealing, Paddington in the United Kingdom. He began his career in the Ministry of Education, Wad Medani, Sudan, as an English Teacher.

Mr. Blewitt holds a BSc (Hons) in Management from the University of Surrey, United Kingdom and an MA in Politics and Government from the School of Oriental and African Studies (London University), United Kingdom.

Rob Ryan-Silva is an international development professional with nearly 25 years of experience using systems approaches to achieve development results. Rob joined DAI in 2002.

As Director of the DAI Maker Lab, Rob builds hardware and capacities around building hardware in support of DAI’s projects worldwide. Previously, as Project Director for the five-year, $185 million RESPOND project, Rob worked with government ministries, academia, multilateral organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and donors in Africa and Southeast Asia to create new opportunities to build the capacity to prevent and respond to outbreaks of emerging infectious disease. He has led DAI’s Governance practice, worked on redevelopment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and managed efforts to contain avian influenza. He attributes his success in these disparate areas to an approach that emphasizes understanding the perspectives and incentives of partners and using that understanding to create space for collaborative work toward common objectives.

He has experience working with projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development in Afghanistan, Egypt, El Salvador, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Pakistan. Prior to joining DAI, Rob managed operations for the Egypt field office of the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), and worked for other international development organizations.

Professor Samson Williams

Principal Consultant, Axes And Eggs – A Think Tank & Digital Advisor based in Washington, DC

Adjunct Professor, University of New Hampshire School of Law – Blockchain, Cryptocurrency & Law Program

Adjunct Professor, Columbia University – Blockchain, AI, Cryptocurrencies and FinTech

Email: samson@axesandeggs.com

Samson is a classically trained anthropologist, finance and public health expert who advises Fortune 100 companies, Executives and startups in Dubai, Washington, DC and Dublin, Ireland.  Samson’s focus is helping firms understand the latest trends in  fintech, alternative investments, blockchain, AI, health and digital transformation, so that they can make strategic and profitable decisions for their bottom lines. Follow Samson on Twitter/Instagram @HustleFundBaby or reach out to him on LinkedIn to follow the latest insights in his academic and market research.

Sam Stephens is the chief executive of the Clean the World Foundation, overseeing all aspects of the organization globally. He has over 15 years of international development experience and is actively engaged in several global institutions including the World Health Organization, Global Impact Council, and World Economic Forum.

As Anera’s presient, Sean leads staff of 120 in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Washington, DC, delivering $70 million of humanitarian and development assistance annually to refugees and vulnerable communities. He oversees a wide range of programs – from distribution of relief and medical supplies to building community infrastructure and education programs – that improve thousands of families’ lives every year.

Before joining Anera in September 2017, Sean worked in international development and policy roles in Washington, DC, Europe and the Middle East, including at USAID, the Club of Madrid, the US Congress, the United Nations’ World Food Programme and Creative Associates International.

Ms. Tausi Suedi is a multilingual global public health policy professional whose passion and work primarily focuses on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in marginalized communities mainly in low- and middle-income countries. With a public track record reflecting more than a decadelong of international work experience in RMNCAH, understanding of cultural complexities and the vast global health landscape, Prof. Suedi brings a unique and amplified voice to address health disparities in underserved urban and rural areas particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to teaching International Health at Towson University, in January 2019, she accepted her newest role in maternal and child health with the Baltimore City Health Department where she serves as the Maternal and Child Health Deputy Director of Centralized Intake. “It’s a timely opportunity to contribute to changing the current narrative of maternal health in Baltimore City and across America”, says Ms. Suedi, who remains involved in CSI’s reproductive, maternal, infant, and adolescent work in sub-Saharan Africa.

Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, AAHIVS, DTM&H is currently the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the county of Santa Cruz (California) Health Services Agency. With training in tropical medicine/infectious disease, internal medicine, preventive medicine/public health, and epidemiology, he has worked extensively with vulnerable populations both in the US and abroad. In terms of populations, he is most drawn to working with special populations, including migrants (namely refugees, asylees and victims of human trafficking), the LGBTQ (with a special focus on transgender populations), the homeless, and Native Americans. In terms of fields of medicine, most of his experience is in HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, TB, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), travel medicine, as well as general primary care and community health. Academically, his research interests are in HIV, hepatitis C, tropical and travel medicine, and transgender health. Tyler is a member of the board of directors of Global Outreach Doctors.

Expert in the humanitarian and development field, Valerie, has been working for more than 18 years in management and strategic planning positions in international organizations, UN and NGO’s. She has managed more than 15 emergency and development programs in conflict or disaster areas and rural and urban settings in Bosnia, Rwanda, RDC, Colombia, Ecuador, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, Palestine.

Today she is heading Save the Children response to the Venezuela migration crisis in Colombia for children and adolescents to survive, learn and be protected from any risk or threat from their migration situation.