Economic Development

Simon Mwangi has more than five years of experience working on education, employment, disability, marginalization and inclusion. He is currently the Program Manager for the COVID -19 Recovery and Resilience Program, focusing on inclusive education and inclusive livelihoods. Previously, he served as Program Manager for the professional fellows’ program on inclusive development and as Project Assistant for the Inclusive Disability Employment Project at HI. He volunteered in inclusive education support in informal settlements in Kenya as a teacher support. Prior to joining HI, he was the chair of an organization he founded at Kenyatta University which advocated for the rights of people with disabilities and creates awareness in local communities. Through his strong leadership and interpersonal skills, he has built meaningful relationships with relevant stakeholders so that the projects and programs he has initiated and supported are successful and sustainable. He has awakened the spirit of volunteerism, innovation, advocacy, community service, and activism. His collective efforts in community service were recognized by the Kenyatta University student governing body and awarded Community Service Person of the Year. He recently participated in the Young Africa Leadership Initiative Fellowship in the Public Management track. He enjoys and aspires to focus on young people with disabilities. He believes it is important to put people at the center of development so that progress is equitable and broad-based and people can actively participate in social, economic, and political change.

Opeyemi Oguntomi is a Programme Development and Strategy Specialist with seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He holds a Higher National Diploma and a postgraduate diploma in NGO management from Lagos, Nigeria. He has attended various capacity building trainings in the area of development programs and health and youth-related projects. Opeyemi attended international training on business research methodology and data analysis at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Ahmedabad in India. Opeyemi is currently working with SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, a child-focused organization, as a Youth Development Coordinator, and where he coordinates the implementation of the Johnson and Johnson Catapult project, Grieg Gender Challenge Programme, and the Next Economy program, a Dutch government-funded project in a multi-cultural community. These programs address the root causes of poverty, youth employment, girl-child education, gender equality, and marginalization of children through investment in the socio-economic development of communities and families, by enhancing the capacities of individuals, local groups and parties that impact most on child wellbeing. Opeyemi believes that young people must be supported to live up their full potential.

Patrick Rumanyika is a community development practitioner from Rwanda with three years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Rwanda and a master’s degree in International Development with a specialization in Community Development from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He utilizes his skills and knowledge in the areas of project management, economic development, youth empowerment, and capacity building. He is particularly interested in empowering rural youth and bridging the linkages between community development and agriculture. Previously, Patrick worked with PPIZ in Tanzania as a project leader. In this position, he played a key role in project designing, planning, and documentation processes, as well as developing all essential project documents.

Host Organization: CorpsAfrica

Role at Host Organization: At CorpsAfrica, Patrick will be serving as the Alumni Association Fellow where he will work to build a system that supports former CorpsAfrica Volunteers in their personal lives and professional careers. Patrick will develop a solid framework of communication for CorpsAfrica Volunteer alumni, create opportunities for alumni to stay involved with CorpsAfrica and provide professional support services to alumni, including hiring events and professional development opportunities.

Yi Jun Mock is Co-Founder & President of Advisory Singapore, a fully youth-led nonprofit dedicated to empowering young Singaporeans from all walks of life to make informed career and further education choices. Since its establishment, Advisory has engaged over 156,000 students and youth. Outside of his work with Advisory, Yi Jun is an Advisor to The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, Curator of the Singapore Hub of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community, an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and an alumnus of the US State Department’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. He has volunteered as an Asia-Pacific Youth Representative to the Jury for the UN Environment Young Champions of the Earth, as a Reader for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, and as a member of Singapore’s Films Consultative Panel. For his work in education and overcoming inequalities, Yi Jun has received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award from Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace; the Diana Award, in honour of Princess Diana’s lifetime of service; and a Deloitte-One Young World Scholarship. His research and academic writing has received awards from the likes of Foreign Affairs Magazine, the Credit Suisse Research Institute, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United States Naval Academy. He holds a Master’s of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University, where he studied as a Schwarzman Scholar and BP Fellow; as well as First Class Honours in a Bachelor’s of Politics and International Relations from The London School of Economic and Political Science.

Manoj Das is a Banyan Impact Fellow at the American India Foundation, where is implementing the Government of India’s Forest Rights Act of 2006. Manoj holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master of Arts in Public Policy. He has worked as a Gandhi Fellow in the government primary schools of rural Uttarakhand, where he has increased student learning outcomes of government schools by intervening in the school processes and constantly engaging with stakeholders, including community members, government officials, and school management committees. During his stay in the Himalayas, Manoj gained awareness of the negative impacts of climate change on marginalized sections of Indian society and undertook a number of projects for managing single use plastics and for reviving traditional forms of ecological agriculture in the mountain regions of Uttarakhand. He has also worked with NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think tank of the government of India, during the second wave of covid-19. He contributed to its work in controlling the spread of the virus by getting developmental partners like local non-governmental organizations, faith leaders, and the local government engaged in addressing vaccine hesitancy among tribal communities. Manoj is passionate about sustainable development and international relations.

Debra Nhokwara is a media professional with four years of experience in communication and social development. Debra holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism and Media Studies from the National University of Science and Technology (ZW). She was awarded a Chevening Scholarship and completed her Masters in Gender and Media at the University of Sussex. During her tenure at Nhimbe Trust, she helped in developing and implementing COVID-19 Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) policy framework and a CCI portal to support artists and cultural professionals during the pandemic. She served as a Production Assistant for Bulawayo Arts Festival 2020 and the Amavuso Project. As aCommunication and Information Consultant at Transparency International-Zimbabwe (Bulawayo Region) she trained 30 citizen journalists new writing and investigative journalism skills. She was the editor of Hayibo S’khangele (We are Watching), a newsletter used as an advocacy tool to report corruption cases in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Debra is an experienced Public Relations Officer skilled in crisis management, project management, advertising, managing digital campaigns, planning digital marketing strategies, designing marketing material, and creating social media content. She is proud to have worked at Mike Hamilton Public Relations Consultants and at 143 Communications. Debra is passionate about women’s issues and she is part of project that manufactures reusable pads for disadvantaged women. Recently, she published a podcast called Shadow Pandemics Behind COVID-19 to raise awareness on child sexual harassment during the pandemic.

Host Organization: The Hunger Project

Role at Host Organization: At The Hunger Project, Debra will be serving as the Global Communications Fellow. Debra will work in partnership with fellow Hunger Project communicators to develop robust content and strategies that elevate the voices of individuals engaged in programs in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. The role will sit within the Global Communications team and work closely with members of the communications, program and fundraising teams to ensure The Hunger Project’s brand, messages and impact are compelling, understandable, accurate and widely accessible. Ultimately, this position drives toward the mission of ending hunger by equipping our global team with the resources needed to expand our global movement of partners, supporters, advocates and investors.

Patricia Ainembabazi has more than nine years of experience in both non-profit, private and public sectors, leveraging expertise in policy advocacy, strategic communications, project management, report writing and public relations. She holds a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) in Tanzania and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Nkumba University in Uganda. She’s also completed a Masters’ in International Law, from Middlesex University in the UK. Over the years, Patricia has been engaged in policy Advocacy for Human Rights and Rule of Law at the regional level with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Union), as well as the Pan African Lawyers Union in Arusha Tanzania, both experiences that have led to successful judicial reforms to several African governments, NGOs and individuals. Prior to serving in policy advocacy and community management for judiciaries at the regional level, Patricia worked as a news reporter with the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC-Tv) and well as trading with VOLCAFE specialty Uganda. Informed by a deep understanding of current affairs, Patricia’s main interests are political theory, human rights, international public law and international relations. Prior to serving as an Atlas Corps Fellow, she worked as the Engagement Manager at Reteno & Associates, in South Africa, where she to drove several policy shaping projects as well as community development, with an admirable success rate, ranging from the promotion of civic space and reviewing laws that infringe on basic human rights in sub-Saharan African countries.

Host Organization: FACT Coalition

Role at Host Organization: At FACT Coalition, Patricia will be serving as the Research and Advocacy Fellow. Patritia will join a small FACT Secretariat team and will contribute to the achievement of the Coalition’s 2021-22 strategic outcomes. The position is a hybrid post that combines the Atlas Corps’ tracks on research and writing, communications, and policy and advocacy.

Antsa Razafimbelo is a specialist in project management and has worked with national and international organizations and institutions in many sectors. He has managed and carried out several large-scale projects (climate change, agribusiness, environment, renewable energy). He has expertise in financial analysis, budget management, management of agreements and contracts, cash flow, mechanisms and procedures of entities such as private investment funds, government programs, working with private multinationals and international funds such as GCF, GEF, IFAD, Adaptation Fund. He has worked for private companies such as Nordex Group, Quaero Capital, Energie Team, and for international organizations and multilateral banks such as AfDB, ADB, World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, FAO, GCF, GEF, IFAD, IFOAM – Organics International in many countries: Mali, Niger, Vietnam, Somalia and Sudan, Benin, Cameroon, DRC, Chad, Madagascar, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, Sao Tomé & Principe, France, UK, Germany.

Host Organization: Collaborating for Resilience

Role at Host Organization: At Collaborating for Resilience, Antsa will be serving as Program Management Fellow. He will manage partner collaborations and undertake action research in one or more program areas, and contribute to program development, marketing and communications initiatives. He will help build the organization at a critical moment in its growth by: working to solidify partnerships in Asia, Africa and/or Latin America; delivering action research that builds the capacity of civil society partners to drive governance innovations; and expanding the base of support from philanthropic and international development agencies.

Mialy Rasoanarivony is currently a business analyst at BNI Madagascar. The position allows her a deeper understanding of the economic realities of her country over the past 4 years by assessing the scope of several activities. Surrounding herself with financial decision-makers and leaders has greatly enhanced her risk management, analytic skills, and financial decision making towards large to middle activities. BNI is the first banking Industry implementing the environmental and social management system toward the private sector businesses they accompany. She has a great interest for Development and Environment as SDGs goal to achieve. Madagascar has great environmental potential, as the country deserves to become a developed one regarding all of their resources. Her versatile background in environmental and financial fields up to Master Degrees will help her achieve the perfect intersection of business and environment. She also has focused her environmental studies on waste water optimization for textile companies, hydrological studies, assisting a borehole implementation to meet a company’s water needs with all technical studies, and the bioremediation techniques for soil polluted by hydrocarbons. Those have been done with strong collaboration with the Nationals Environmental and Industrial Centers. In addition to circular economy experiences toward some private sectors. She strongly believes that the sustainable financing accompanied with adapted environmental policies and strategies should be an impactful component for private sectors sustainable development achievements.

Host Organization: Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship

Role at Host Organization: At the Miller Center, Mialy will serve as the Impact Measurement and Management Fellow: Supporting the onboarding of social entrepreneurs onto an impact measurement platform and conducting independent research with SCU faculty.

Edrida Pulungan has 10 years worked in the Secretary-General House of Regional Representatives of Republic Indonesia and expert in partnership. She earned a double Bachelor’s in Economics and Education and also a double Masters in International Relations and Sociology. She currently pursues a Ph.D. in Government Science. She worked as a Parliament PR and was then promoted as a Policy Analyst in research and budget center which has opened her mind about public policy and collaborative government. During COVID-19 to recovery economy, she innovated a penta-helix model for developing creative economy under law no. 24 and proposed her innovation to the minister. She is also active in building partnerships with senators, local, central government, private sector, academician, community, and media to overcome the social and economic problem by initiating discussion Local Heroes Network which involved youth and community. Edrida was awarded as a Government Official by the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform. Edrida was concern with collaborative government, partnership, capacity building, climate change, woman empowerment, peace, and a creative economy. She published books, research, and opinion about global issues. Her book was part of the collection of Global Peace library in Paris, the title” The Peace Message of The Earth” and visited UNESCO. She is a Climate Change Leader trained by Al Gore. She also the Founder of Lentera Pustaka Indonesia which promotes literacy and the Founder of Corps International Government 4.0. She was selected to be part of Global Woman Leader ASEAN by IWB Malaysia. As a future leader, she believed her contribution to the Indonesian government and the US will increase the best partnership in the future.

C Novika Maharani was born in Malang, Indonesia. She completed a Bachelor’s of Law in International Law at Sebelas Maret University. Passionate in the international field, she is currently working as an Analyst in the Deputy of International Economic Cooperation – Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of Indonesia. Her main duties are to analyze matters related to building and maintaining economic partnerships between Indonesia and countries in the American continent countries. The analysis is not limited to trade agreement negotiation, bilateral forum meetings, and dispute settlement in World Trade Organization. Through working in her current unit and institution, she began to learn the importance of partnership as it is stated as 17th SDGs, whether it is between inter-ministries or agencies, and partner countries. Inspired by the importance of cooperation and collaboration between ministries and agencies in Indonesia, she joined a community called Abdimuda Indonesia, with other young Indonesian Civil Servants. Abdimuda Indonesia aims to promote young Indonesian public servants to have a smart mindset to contribute to their work, encourage social movements, also prepare them as the future leader of Indonesia’s government. Other than that, she is also a member of Think Policy, a think-tank for young professionals that undertakes brainstorming and research of Indonesia policy. By joining Abdimuda Indonesia and Think Policy, she contributes and encourages collaboration for young public servants and young professionals to build critical thinking patterns towards various policies and help them to reach self-development opportunities.

Bayu Ramadhan Putra has years of experience in both the private sector and government, which all of which are related to finance, economics, and education. After graduating, Bayu gained experience in marketing and sales at Prime Blue International, LLC then Corporate Banking at KEB Hana Bank, specializing in analysis and feasibility on Indonesian corporate accounts. With the knowledge and experience, he decided to serve in the government where he is currently posted at the Ministry of Trade of The Republic of Indonesia. Bayu’s previous proved to be influential in government work, utilizing it in helping to formulate regulations, increase Indonesia’s trade balance, enhance international trade cooperation, maintain stability in the domestic market especially on basic goods, and elevate local small to medium enterprises to be financially feasible and export worthy. For over the last two years, Bayu has seen first-hand the importance of how information on trade regulation and the economy is evenly spread in the country, also how education plays a huge part in shaping the economy. From previously working with multi-national companies to serving in the interests of the economy of all classes, it was obvious that the level of education and access to information influenced people’s ethics, determination, and mindset. This experience, together with organizational and social activities throughout high school and university, developed Bayu’s passion for fair trade, education, and the development of society, determined to continue working and studying in order to best serve the economy.