Technology & Engineering

Alison B. Omiste is a Systems Engineer and lawyer, both with mention of excellence. She has studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Hradec Králové University, Czech Republic, and Advanced Studies in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at Washington College of Law. She is an activist for human rights, gender equality, and freedom. She is a former IACHR intern and lover of technology, particularly its use to build a fairer, more transparent, and equitable society. Alison has been a trainer and speaker in various academic and technological spaces and is the Co-Founder and current National Director of “Mujeres TICs Bolivia” (Women ICTs Bolivia), an organization that seeks to reduce the digital gender gap. Her organization has trained more than 500 women from peri-urban and rural areas of Bolivia on issues of technologies and digital inclusion and has impacted more than 2,000 people with different digital inclusion programs and workshops in STEM areas. She works in constant contributions and investigations presented as amicus curiae before the IACHR and has participated as a team coach and judge in international Human Rights competitions. She is the Vice-curator of the Global Shapers hub and a member of the Ladies of Liberty Alliance and Students of Liberty. Alison is also a Fellow of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and of the Ban Ki-Moon Center for Global Citizen. She is a CISCO instructor with experience as a mentor in digital education.

Maria Jose Lopez Oporta is Chemical Engineer at the National University of Engineering in Nicaragua, specializing in environmental management with an emphasis on water and design of drinking water supply, among other studies and courses in environment and food, she has worked as a volunteer leader for non-profit organizations in WASH program for rural communities in her country, as well as designing a water system for rural communities also she has worked as an administrator in a wastewater treatment plant project. She has collaborated in urban and rural water and sanitation research programs to improve water quality, She won first place in the sanitation area of the E-Hackathon Cewas and Young water Solution. In addition to being a professional, she is also an entrepreneur throughout her years, she has been working on personal projects, She is creative and believes in empowering women.

Roger Figuerola Vila is a farmer from Ordino, Andorra. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Forestry from the University of Lleida, in Spain, in 2016. He spent his last tuition year in Brno, Czech Republic, as part of the Erasmus program. During his university years, he became a linguistic volunteer to help exchange students integrate into the university and the local community. For the past two years, Roger has been part of an eco-farm project that hopes to educate people on alternative agriculture methods that are both sustainable and profitable. At the farm, he is in charge of research and the day-to-day work. Between 2019 and 2022, Roger worked at an ecological food shop, where he managed the bulk section and had the opportunity to learn about the cooperative movement and the sustainable food industry. In 2019, Roger worked in a forest engineering firm in Catalonia, gathering and processing field data to elaborate forest management plans for surrounding villages. In 2018, he went on a year-and-a-half trip around Europe and South America, where he and his partner hitchhiked and volunteered at several projects related to farming and self-sufficiency. This was an eye-opening experience that introduced him to the world of permaculture and community living. After graduating, he worked for a while at a research center where he collaborated on projects ranging from cartography of invasive species to climate data management. Roger’s main interest revolves around environmental issues and the distribution of society’s resources.

Saleta Ameixeiras is a Forest Engineer from the University of Santiago de Compostela with a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Basque Country and a Social Innovation and Responsibility Diploma from the University of A Coruña. She has studied in various countries throughout Europe and Latin America learning about foreign languages and cultures. Her international experience makes her feel comfortable in multicultural environments and allows her to develop her ability to adapt to different working styles and groups. After her studies, she worked in the Environmental Impact Assessment department of TRAGSATEC, a Spanish state-owned company. For more than three years of working directly with political offices, she learned intensively about the field of environmental impact assessment projects, local and regional legislation, and procedures with public institutions. Afterwards, she started in a new position at ALLCOT, where she currently works as a Climate Change Consultant focusing on renewable energy projects. Since working at ALLCOT, she has learned about the carbon markets and different international carbon credit certification standards. She is also deeply skilled in working under pressure, multitasking, and teamworking. Since 2020, she has been a climate leader after completing training by the Climate Reality Project, an organization created by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and whose goals are to create climate leaders all over the world to raise awareness about climate change. Saleta is passionate about sustainability, ecosystem restoration, climate change, and believes in communication and climate leadership as the way to change climate change.

Shaidy Baltodano is passionate about assisting entrepreneurs in the creation, management, and growth of their businesses. She pursued an MBA and a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation as part of her personal development and to better prepare herself to mentor others. She also worked as an Electronic Engineer. Her current occupation is Intellectual Property Engineer. She has prior experience analyzing inventions to determine whether they are novel or not.

Virnia Patzi is an experienced and highly skilled Chemical Engineer. She brings extensive experience in procurement, operations, and research in the upstream oil and gas industry. A native of Bolivia, Virnia is a global operations expert, having managed projects and driven complex business operations in Canada, Tanzania, Colombia, and Paraguay. She brings profound experiences in operations management across diverse industries. She also manages projects from product design to research, engineering, and maintenance.

Samhita Vadapalli is serving as an American India Foundation (AIF) Fellow with Satya Special School, in Puducherry. She is a Biotechnology and Genomics graduate and has completed both a Bachelor of Science, and a Master of Business and Science in Biotechnology from Rutgers University, New Jersey. Her previous work experience has included bioinformatics research, genetic experimentation, and data analysis, where she worked on a wide range of research projects focusing on the karyotyping of embryos, drug target development, and molecular docking simulations. In addition to this, she has served as a tutor with the Petey Greene Program and worked with incarcerated students to help them fulfill their educational goals in New Jersey’s correctional facilities throughout her undergraduate studies. Her area of interest lies in the utilization of data mining and informatics within the public health and developmental sectors for the establishment of improved healthcare interventions and management practices. She firmly believes that scientific innovation must be accompanied by inclusivity and accessibility in order to develop long-term and sustainable solutions to some of the most pressing issues in our world today. Her goal for her career is to partake in the building of healthier societies through innovative biological research and grassroots work.

Nimrah Perveen is a software engineer. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Maths & Physics and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Mass Communication. She is the Founder and CEO of the startup KleanArth. She is working as a Web and blockchain developer in the business incubation center, PITB. She has maintained a full scholarship during her bachelor’s. Her project got selected for the Prime Minister Youth Innovation Award 2023 and its training Bootcamp at UET, Lahore. She has done her first International Leadership program at University College Cork, Ireland. She was also a team leader in the entrepreneurship program at Saarland University, Germany. She has completed an Introduction to Leadership course from Wedu, Bangkok. Nimrah is a part of Your Big Year Organization, Social Shifters Incubation Program, IOC Young Leaders Program of the International Olympic Committee. She is the Ambassador at NetMission Academy, Hong Kong, and the Kectil Program, and is a Young Leader at Atlas Corps and Aspire Leadership Institute 2023. Her project was selected as a startup under the NEP of NIC. She completed her Game Development course at Michigan State University, USA. She has attended many seminars organized by AWS, Google, Microsoft, ASEF, etc. She has participated in hackathons like Appathon by TIE University, Heckfest by Remote base, AI by LABLAB, etc. She also participated in a hackathon at the 23rd Summer University ASEF, Singapore. She is a Student Brand Ambassador at the State Bank of Pakistan. She has strong skills in graphic designing, digital marketing, SEO, freelancing, MOS, entrepreneurship, drawing, etc.

He / Him / His Pakistan 11 Taimur Ashfaq has five years of experience in the energy sector of Pakistan and earned a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore. While working with Mari Petroleum (Pakistan’s third-largest exploration and production company), he completed a Strategic Leadership fellowship from the Al-Sharq forum. Through this fellowship, he defined his trajectory of service delivery in correlating energy, climate change, and education in Pakistan for inculcating behavior-based change mechanisms among the community. Taimur has immense volunteer experience in the education sector, and he enjoys focusing on topics of climate change awareness, youth empowerment, and leadership diversity.

Nayab Zahra is a student of STEM with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Nayab has obtained 232 academic certifications in different fields, particularly in STEM. Nayab Zahra is the recipient of the 2017 Jabir Ibn e Hayan award for her practical and theoretical demonstration of the eradication of plastic components by driving natural polyolefin. In 2020, she won the Al Farabi medal for her prototype on conventional medicine using AI named bio conductor modular. Nayab won the award of Harkat 2021 from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Iran. In 2021, Nayab was awarded the National Youth Award for her research and work from the age of 12 till now (2012-2021) in the category of literature, education, technology, and innovation.

Nazeer Ahmed has more than eight years of experience in the education and nonprofit sectors. He is an alumnus of the American English E-teacher Program, and a member of the National Youth Assembly of Pakistan. Nazeer earned a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Education from the University of Balochistan. Currently, he is working with the Education Department Govt. of Balochistan as a secondary school teacher and teacher trainer. Previously, Nazeer worked with the University of Minnesota as a mentor in an online course named Transitioning to Teaching Language Online Course TTLO to help Pakistani lecturers and professors to develop an online language course that is relevant, engaging, and as a result – successful. He also worked with the US Department of State’s program English Microscholarship program to teach teenagers how to foster a sense of service-learning expertise to advance their language proficiency through real-life examples. Nazeer volunteered as a program organizer in the Women Teaching Women English (WTWE) to support women and youth to have a stronger voice within Balochistan and became more confident and effective peace brokers within their homes, neighborhoods, and communities. Through these experiences, he always shows a high level of commitment, open-mindedness, fairness, and willingness to mentor and assist others. Nazeer loves to educate and empower youth especially girls and adult women through English language instruction and training in communications, life skills, conflict resolution, and confidence-building.

Muzaffar Ahmed has two and a half years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan, and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Renewable Energy from NED University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan. He has recently co-founded and works as the CEO starting last year at a cleantech startup in Pakistan called Burq 7 Tech, which is developing an IoT-based electricity monitoring system for household consumers to control their bills and empower them to become responsible and eco-friendly users. He was a founding member and technical curriculum designer for CARE For Seven on their Bright Hands project – teaching young individuals in energy-poor areas hands-on skills to build, operate and maintain simple clean energy devices. His work included product research and its working principle, component calculations, technical report writing, circuit design, and developing the technical curriculum. In 2018, he was selected as an SDG-7 Talent to join UNLEASH innovation lab for the SDGs, supported by the UNDP, Deloitte, and Dalberg Advisors. He worked with a team of social scientists, engineers, public policy strategists, and Dalberg consultants to develop a data analytics platform for third-party vendors providing energy solutions to rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. Muzaffar is very passionate about the issues of clean energy accessibility and energy efficiency because he believes that solving these problems can help developing and under-developed countries in their economic growth.