Human Rights & Civil Liberties

Blondie Ndebele has a decade of experience in the field of journalism and the non-profit sector. She holds a Master of Science Degree in International Relations from the University of Zimbabwe and a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Journalism and Media Studies from the National University of Science and Technology. As Communications and Marketing Fellow with Global Fund for Children, Blondie provides a wide range of content creation, editorial, digital media, and design support to the organization’s global Communications and Marketing Team. She also contributes to tangible communications and marketing efforts that grow and engage Global Fund for Children’s audience, amplifies partner and youth voices, and shares the organization’s work, impact, and learning. Her work in the community development sector has helped her develop skills in leadership, advocacy, project management, community engagement, relationship building, facilitation, research, and documentation. As a practitioner of communication for development, Blondie has strived to provide stakeholders with unlimited access to information on a wide range of issues and amplify voices of vulnerable groups. She has constantly provided vital information for communities to make informed decisions on social-economic and political issues. Blondie was inspired by her passion for equitable growth and development to undertake voluntary work with entities that assist orphans and other vulnerable groups. She has also contributed immensely in addressing issues that include children’s rights, justice for women, inclusion of people with disabilities and environmental justice in rural communities.

Host Organization: Global Fund for Children

Role at Host Organization: As the Communications & Marketing Fellow, Blondie will meaningfully contribute to tangible communications and marketing efforts that grow and engage Global Fund for Children’s audience; amplify partner and youth voices; and share the organization’s work, impact, and learning. The Fellow will end the Fellowship with a published portfolio and professional experience and skill sets in communications, digital marketing, public relations, thought leadership, international development, philanthropy, children’s issues, and the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit organization.

Tabish Bilal is a development sector professional with experience across domains such as education, curriculum and fellowship design, community work and mobilization, prison reformation/ rehabilitation/ reintegration, gender-based violence, and disaster management. He has completed both his Bachelor’s in Economics and Master’s in Human Resource Management from Jamia Millia Islamia University (New Delhi). After a short stint in the corporate HR sector, Tabish quickly moved to the social space. His work experiences range from working in remote villages of Satpura Forests with tribes in Central India, setting up a school inside Delhi Prisons and working with schools in the lower Himalayas in Northern India. As a Global Engagement Programs Fellow with Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, Tabish’s current responsibilities incorporate program management at GLO. His portfolio also includes COVID relief emergency services in the first and second waves of the pandemic, where he and his teammates worked to provide essential services like the Auto-Ambulances in Delhi, boosting vaccinations among slum-dwellers in Delhi-NCR region through e-rickshaws operating as vaccine express, supporting understaffed government hospitals with manpower to combat the overflow of patients, transportation support to migrants going back home and a direct cash support pilot program to COVID-affected families across India. Through these experiences, Tabish has developed a strong niche for program management, partnerships, analytical and operations skills. Tabish is enthusiastic about youth empowerment, alternate education, and human rights within the social sector domain.

Host Organization: Northwestern University, Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

Role at Host Organization: As the Global Engagement Programs Fellow, Tabish will play a role in managing global engagement programs at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. The Fellow will be working within different fields, including assessment, event planning, program/partnership management and development, marketing and recruitment, curriculum development, and alumni engagement.

Mamoudou Ndiaye is a trained lawyer. He holds a master’s degree in private law from the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Cheikh Anta Diop University. He has more than ten years of professional experience, seven of which he spent at Tostan. He worked successively as an in-house lawyer in a bailiff’s office, as a parliamentary assistant in the National Assembly of Senegal, as an expert partner in the EU-funded Support Project to Improve the Quality of Parliamentary Work (PAAQTP), and as a consulting partner in gender auditing. In 2013, he joined the NGO Tostan, first as an intern in the Human Resources Department, then as a Project Assistant in the Program Department, and finally as a Project Manager. Now he is a project manager in the Project and Grants Management team (GPS). Mamoudou Ndiaye also specializes in project management. He is well versed in peace and security issues (he is a trainer on these topics at Tostan), child protection (he wrote his master’s thesis on this, Treatment of Pedophilia and Related Crimes by the Senegalese Judiciary), and human rights in general.

Dr. Papy Kilongo Mulailwa is a motivated general surgeon with more than ten years of progressive experience in clinical and programmatic medical practice. Dr. Papy currently works at Partners In Health in Sierra Leone as the Clinical Services Lead at Koidu Government Hospital. His responsibilities include coordinating all clinicians in the various clinical departments and program planning. Prior to assuming this position, Dr. Papy worked for more than four years as a consultant and chief of general surgery at this PIH-Sierra Leone supported hospital. He was instrumental in improving the surgical care of patients throughout their clinical course, building the capacity of the surgical staff, designing and implementing quality improvement projects, mentoring medical and paramedical staff, and building systems in this low-resource setting. Dr. Papy also served in various clinical and programmatic roles, focusing on quality patient care, mentoring, and capacity building. He worked as a consultant general surgeon in Manisa, Turkey, and as a medical officer in pediatrics in Bukavu, D.R. Congo. Papy holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine from the Bukavu Catholic University in D.R. Congo, and a specialty degree in general surgery from Aegean University in Turkey. Dr. Papy is passionate about making preferential healthcare accessible to the most vulnerable and marginalized patients, especially through specialized surgical treatments. Dr. Papy strongly believes that strengthening surgical and clinical skills through education, mentorship, and systems building is key to achieving this goal.

Eleanor Parkes lives in Auckland, New Zealand and has a background in human rights and community development. With a particular passion for children’s rights, Eleanor is currently the Director of ECPAT Child Alert, working to end child trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children in New Zealand. This includes advocating for an end to underage forced sex work, domestic trafficking and the proliferation of online sexual abuse material. She has been in this role for three years, previously serving on the organisation’s Governance Board. Previous jobs include working as a Project Specialist and Frontline Campaign Coordinator at Amnesty International NZ and as the Youth Mentor with the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute. Eleanor completed her undergraduate studies in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland. She conducted research for her Masters thesis in Samoa in 2010, was awarded a BRCSS II Masters Field Research Award and graduated with a Master of Arts in Development Studies in 2011. Her research looking at disaster risk mitigation and comparing various development programmes in Pacific Island communities has since been published. Continuing to study part time, Eleanor completed a Certificate in Child Protection from Harvard by correspondence in 2019 and a Certificate in Tackling Human Trafficking from the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies.

Berta Soley has worked in the fields of international development, human rights, social work, and education for more than six years and has a profound interest in gender and social innovation. Berta strongly believes that education is the key to social change. She currently works as a Knowledge Development and Editorial Associate at the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. In her role, she embraces the potential that collaborative development, knowledge sharing, and dissemination have to advance and strengthen a global movement working toward a common purpose. She enjoys collaborating with member centers from around the world and the cultural awareness it brings. Berta holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Faculty Pere Tarrés in Spain and a master’s degree in Development and International Studies from Aalborg University in Denmark. After that, she had the opportunity to gain experience in project management at UNDP Samoa, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and other non-governmental organizations. She has also worked in international relations, research and quality control at two universities in Barcelona. Berta believes that engaged, well-motivated, and healthy teams can contribute significantly to positive social change. It is important to her to see the positive results and impact of her work towards a more just and egalitarian world.

Nikos Alexiou has more than six years of experience in nonprofit administration and project management. Nikos obtained his first degree in International & European Studies from Panteion University in Greece. He then pursued postgraduate studies in IPE at the University of Sheffield, where his dissertation focused on the topic of common European migration policies. After an internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a brief practice as a researcher at the Institute of International Economic Relations, he joined METAdrasi, the leading NGO in Greece in the field of migration and refugees. As a Field Coordinator, he was present in Moria, Lesvos, during the humanitarian crisis on the Greek-Turkish border in 2016, when millions of Syrians were forced to flee their country and seek safe conditions in Europe. He was responsible for a large, multinational team of interpreters representing the organization on the island. After almost two years in Lesvos, he moved to METAdrasi’s HQ, where he rose to the position of project manager. Nikos enhanced his language and data protection skills after being selected as a Blue Book Trainee for the European Commission in 2021. After a 5-month period, he returned to METAdrasi, to become one of the organization’s young leaders in program management, continuing to work on immigration, human rights, and child protection issues. From his experience with the Hilton Humanitarian Prize Laureate Virtual Leadership Institute, he hopes to broaden his horizons while enhancing his career profile and leadership skills.

Rêber Jahwar grew up in Iraq, a country torn by conflict. But that did not stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a “computer geek” in the traditional sense of the word and enrolling in computer science studies at the University of Duhok. Currently, Rêber works at Women for Women International and manages one of the departments of the country office. He coordinates various activities within the organization, such as monitoring projects, developing accountability tools, and contributing to research aimed at finding marginalized women who could be included in future projects. Previously, he worked at a German NGO, Welthungerhilfe, where he started as a Senior Database Office before rising to become a MEAL expert, managing M&E activities of more than six projects in different areas of Iraq. He has also worked as a software engineer in a private IT company. Rêber discovered his passion for humanitarian work after his country experienced yet another crisis in 2014 when the so-called Islamic State took over large parts of northern Iraq. Rêber has worked as a Database Officer and Analyst, as well as a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer for NGO ACTED and PIN. Rêber strives to connect technology, humanitarian aid, and communities in need and provide leadership to his community. Driven by his passion, he motivates his colleagues with his professional commitment and innovative mindset.

Edrisa Keita is from Sukuta in the West Coast Region of the Gambia. For the past five years, he has been the National Coordinator of Tostan Gambia, after five years of previous experience working with the organization as a partner and Assistant National Coordinator. He holds a postgraduate degree in Population and Development Studies at the University of the Gambia. He has also completed training in Entrepreneurship and Promotion of Income Generating Activities at The National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development in Uttar Pradesh, India. He holds a Professional Training Certificate in Project Planning, Management, and Evaluation from the Pan African Institute for Development West Africa; and a certificate in Business Management and Administration from the Institute of Commercial Management from the Nusrat Commercial Management Center. Before his current role at Tostan, he held positions as a teacher, an Accounts Clerk in the Ministry of Finance, a Regional Programme Officer at the National Women’s Bureau, a member of the Gender Action Team and Technical Advisory Committee, and a Chairperson in the Gambia Red Cross Society. He has also participated in development platforms with different agencies: the UN Development Assistance Framework for the Gambia (UNDAF) working group, the National Gender and Women Empowerment Survey, and the development process of the National Women’s Act of 2010.

Ingrid Arinez has over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector. While studying for her law degree at Catholic University in Bolivia, Ingrid worked in the Center for Rights and Capacity Building (CDC), where she visited inmates in Bolivian prisons and advised them about their rights, which resulted in the creation of a permanent aid program to advise inmates about their litigation. Later, she joined the Bolivian Institute of Agricultural Reform as a consultant for the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), where she worked on educating dwellers in agricultural return issues. This effort prepared indigenous people and rural dwellers to better understand their land rights and be able to resolve land return issues. While in attending the University of Arkansas to pursue a Masters in Law and Public Policy Ph.D., Ingrid worked as a summer camp project director for Familia Corazon in Tijuana Mexico where she developed an educational/recreational long-term plan for children between the ages of eight to fifteen. The plan resulted in a new business collaboration between nonprofits and the private sector. After concluding her Ph.D. studies, Ingrid joined Heifer International, where she currently works as a Bilingual International Program Manager, guiding international offices through the project cycle by delivering technical assistance in project monitoring, reporting validation, and strategic planning, as well as leading multinational program and project initiatives, impacting a variety of sectors from gender equality, social justice, food security and business sustainability.

Catherine Menéndez is a passionate communications specialist who seeks to create a positive impact in the world through her work in media. With over 10 years of experience in the fields of marketing, communications and media, Catherine graduated in Journalism and Communications in 2014. She had the opportunity to coordinate and lead volunteers for FUNTER, a non-profit organization in El Salvador, that provides therapy for people with health conditions or impairments. Previously, she was the spokesperson for APROASA, the local dog shelter in her hometown. One of her most notable achievements was developing The Anual Fundraiser in 2010, which continues on to this day. Since then, she has had the opportunity to work with several organizations in the non-profit sector. Catherine has gained skills in marketing, advertising, public relations, creative writing, social media, storytelling and human resources through her years of work within the private sector. At the moment, Catherine remains committed to providing proper education and resources for the youth in El Salvador and supporting the efforts of local and international initiatives by assisting with strategies, communication plans, and creating compelling campaigns to raise awareness on how education is the key to enhance the quality of life for all human beings, especially the ones below the poverty line in El Salvador, where she grew up. At the same time, she supports the collaboration of local entrepreneurs and companies from her country in the development of social corporate programs, creating better opportunities for people and encouraging leadership in them and in their communities.

Host Organization: Glasswing International USA

Role at Host Organization: At Glasswing International USA, Catherine will be serving as the Partnerships & Marketing Fellow. She will work side-by-side with senior staff to gain practical experience in business development, client relations, and marketing by using customer questionnaires and focus groups to support Glasswing’s customer database, collaborating closely with the US Communications team and Strategic Partnerships team, and helping to develop and execute marketing strategies with target audiences. Catherine will play an important role in further developing relationships with key stakeholders at Glasswing, including partners and current/potential clients.

Syed Faisal Aljunied is a policy and program evaluator in the Singapore Government. His current role involves reviewing programmes that promote digital readiness and inclusion. Cumulatively, he has five years of experience in government and health care. He has progressively made an impact in the local and global health scene through research, monitoring and evaluation, and digital transformation. His previous efforts have galvanized stakeholders to collectively come up with practical solutions to achieve objectives. Notably, his efforts have (i) created public awareness on mental health in prisons to initiate policy reforms, (ii) improved quality of healthcare services in Singapore’s largest hospital and (iii) contributed to knowledge on health safeguards in investment treaties at the World Trade Forum. His professional journey thus far has allowed him to publish opinion pieces on (i) being a change agent and (ii) global mental health. Faisal also engages with the wider community by participating in international conferences such as the UN Youth Assembly and World Bank Group Seminar. He then capitalized on these international experiences in a global innovation lab where he co-created a digital health solution with other professionals to facilitate eldercare using design thinking. Formally, he has a Master of Public Health from The University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Science in Science Communication and Biology from The Australian National University. His Master’s dissertation was a mixed-methods research on public health in international investment agreements, which was presented at the 2020 World Trade Forum.