Fellows

Omitogun Abolaji has more than five years of experience in enterprise building, startups, and social entrepreneurship. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Geography from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He founded Zmcorps a network of young individuals that support several community developmental initiatives by engaging fresh university graduates posted for National service within the Northern state of Zamfara, Nigeria. Through his activities at ZMCORPS, he encouraged and promoted several socio-cultural integrations and developmental activities especially trough fundraising & donations. He leads, contributed and participated to many community development activities including organizing learning programs, sessions for uneducated and fresh graduates, fundraising for sport, dance and drama amongst communities and schools, Skill acquisition, empowerment and training in cosmetics in Zamfara state. In his quest for self-improvement, Abolaji acquired skill and knowledge from several institutions including the African Managers Initiative, Enterprise Development Center (Lagos, Nigeria), Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation University of Ibadan. He is a 2015 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Foundation Alumni. Abolaji Keen interest in business and startup has found him worked with several startups including WAWOOH. While at Wawooh, a fashion tech startup for discovering African fashion designers and promoting trade and investment opportunities in African fashion Industry, we lead and played a pivotal role leading the startup from ideation to execution and in developing successful business strategies. In his spare time, he is a business development and a Start-up coach; and have helped in mentoring and securing over $50,000 in business funding for several startups.

Host Org: Making Cents International

Role at Making Cents International: As the YouthLead Fellow, Abolaji will support the newly launched online platform YouthLead.org, a website to inspire, support, and foster connections among young changemakers around the world. In addition, Abolaji will participate in the planning of the annual YP meeting and contribute to social media and youth outreach.

Aida Merabet has over ten years working experience with different nonprofits and corporations in the fields of business empowerment for women and youth educational programs in Algeria. She earned an MBA in Management Marketing from ESG Paris. Aida is the Founder of the social enterprise “Power Harmony Solution.” Previously, Aida worked as the Middle East Partnership (MEPI) Alumni Local Chapter Coordinator, where she strengthened commitment to civic activism, thus creating an environment where alumni can work together to bring positive change to the region. She helped empower young people to work for their economic success as an Education & Training Officer at Injaz El Djazair. As a Hub Manager for the Middle East and North Africa Business Women Network (MENABWN), she was responsible for leading and managing a program to support business women in Algeria. She has also served as an Algerian Country Officer Alwane-Algeria, with Women’s campaign International, an initiative that seeks to empower Algerian women to hold decision-making positions and to enhance their leadership roles so that they can become role models for the region. She also enjoys volunteering, whether it be as the Under Secretary General for Algeria’s national Model United Nations conference or as the Algeria Country Coordinator for the World Peace Initiative Foundation’s Project Peace In and Peace Out (PIPO).

Host Organization: Atlas Corps | American Express

Role at Host Organization: Aida will support the overall strengthening of leadership development in the nonprofit sector through a partnership with American Express. In her role, Aida will help to expand the American Express Leadership Academy franchise. Building on the American Express role in supporting best-in-class leadership practices and capacity building, she will coordinate and grow the alumni network; manage and coordinate the global Alumni Summit, help develop and improve communication and dissemination of best practices and provide overall project support for the Leaderstories.org website.

Akriti is a dynamic professional with a passion for building communities and a 6+ years of experience in alumni relations under her belt. She’s the kind of person who knows how to connect people, inspire engagement, and get things done!

Akriti’s career journey has taken her through both for-profit and non-profit sectors and her unique blend of experiences has shaped her into an alumni relations expert. In her most recent role at the prestigious Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Akriti wore many hats as the Alumni Coordinator for the India system. She dived into four main areas: Learning and Development, Events Management, Communications, Alumni Induction and Database Management, to ensure that the alumni network stayed organized and thriving.

Before her BCG adventure, Akriti was managing the Alumni Relations Office of Ashoka University, where she had the unique honor of being a founding member. In this role, she served as the bridge between the university administration and its valued alumni, forging meaningful connections. Akriti also led the university’s alumni fundraising program which contributed towards scholarships for socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

Akriti holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Delhi University, following which she embarked on a transformative path that led her to the esteemed Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University. This postgraduate diploma in Liberal Arts ignited her passion for the intersection of humanities and inclusive leadership. It’s here that she discovered her belief in the driving forces behind growth—innovation and adaptability.

Akriti is a slow solo traveler and a storyteller at heart. She finds solace and inspiration in exploring new places at her own pace. Slow solo traveling allows her to immerse herself in different cultures, savor local flavors, and discover the beauty of the world, one destination at a time.

Host Organization: American Red Cross

Role at Host Organization:As a Learning and Development Fellow, Akriti will be supporting the Learning and Development efforts for the department. She will help facilitate access to, utilization of and learning from existing data, evidence and knowledge generated from past operations both within the American Red Cross and with the RCRC Movement.

Aldo has six years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He holds a degree in Marketing and Communications and two postgraduate diplomas in Fundraising and Project Management & Education and Employment of Youth. Since he was 17 years old, he has been involved with social development organizations. Aldo was a volunteer at Amnesty International Mexico as well as a Program Officer in a human rights foundation. In 2008, he founded the nonprofit organization, Puerta Joven (“Youth Door”), which provides internet access and arts and technology programs to improve the education of the youth in poverty (with a primary focus on indigenous and people with physical disabilities). As the Founder and Program Coordinator, he gained experience to get support and funding for his own programs and projects from international aid agencies and foundations such as: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), UNPD Mexico, UNESCO Brazil, Oxfam, and the Adobe Foundation. As a fundraiser, he has also done campaigns to get individual donations through media campaigns and mobile phones. Aldo was named Action Partner by Oxfam International Youth Partnerships. He has participated in key global forums like the World Youth Conference, organized by UN agencies where he was a member of the Global Council of NGOs and was also invited to run workshops about Fundraising. Aldo has knowledge in graphic design, web development, social media, and nonprofit marketing.

Host Organization: National Audubon Society

Alexandra has 9 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She received a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) and a Master’s degree in International Cooperation for Development from Ortega y Gasset University Research Institute in Madrid, Spain. She was the Institutional Development Coordinator at Center Prodh – a human rights nonprofit in Mexico – for 8 years. She was also a consultant for AJWS. She has experience in strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, as well as knowledge on methodologies such as Logical Framework Approach and Theory of Change. She has worked with U.S. private foundations and the EU-Mexico cooperation. Her experiences have provided her with an understanding of the main human rights issues and confirmed her deep commitment with social justice and strengthening of civil society. Alexandra enjoys processes of learning, cultural exchanges, the outside and the arts.

Host Organization: Southwest Economic Solutions

Role at Host Organization: Alexandra will develop, implement, and
evaluate processes that integrate the work of SWES both programmatically and technologically.
Her work will culminate in both the implementation of new programs as well as an actionable
recommendation for integrative practices for the future.

Amani Osman has over nine years experience in the nonprofit sector. She is a graduate of Criminology and Sociology from Royal Holloway University of London and has spent her life between the UK and Sudan. In her most recent capacity as Communications Officer for International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amani was responsible for all forms of communications for IOM Sudan including but not limited to; media relations, press releases, human interest stories, IOM Sudan website, global campaigns and events, social media accounts, advocacy efforts and local government relations. She designed and developed a monthly interactive newsletter, as well as creating and launching from scratch the new IOM Sudan website. Amani acquired skills in utilizing social media and print media, newsletters, calendars, fact sheets, information briefs and advocacy reports. Project planning, monitoring and evaluation systems, quality assurance, budget management and capacity development among others have all been essential components of her previous job roles. Whilst working as Grants Manager at GOAL Sudan, Amani successfully developed comprehensive multisectoral project proposals gaining the organization over twelve million dollars in funding for projects in health, WASH, protection, nutrition and livelihoods. Through her work with different international organization in both London and Sudan, Amani has gained skills in research, communications, monitoring and reporting, grant and proposal development in numerous fields; including conflict resolution and peace building, human and women’s rights, child protection, and democracy and governance. With a strong passion for and firm belief in human rights, gender equality and protection, Amani is interested in focusing on developing human rights standards and increasing awareness in Sudan on child protection, law enforcement and peace building. She is also committed to capacity development of local organizations, in turn assisting those less fortunate through conceptual understanding of participatory approaches and sustainable development interventions.

Host Organization: American Red Cross

Amina is a Procurement Professional with four years of experience working with international and humanitarian organizations. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Language, Literature, and Civilization from a Tunisian University in Tunisia. Over the past years, Amina has been working on development projects to improve private sectors and youth participation in civil society. Currently a Procurement Officer at FHI360, a $48,552,142 USAID project to increase youth participation in civic and political life. Starting in December 2021, her role has been of great help to the improvement of youth participation in civic life by procuring goods and services that impact directly and indirectly on youth participation in civic life. Previously, Amina worked as a Procurement Officer and was then promoted to Procurement Specialist with the USAID Tunisia Accountability, Decentralization, and Effective Municipalities project, a 4-year, $54 million U.S. government program to support the needs of Tunisia’s municipalities, implemented by Deloitte. She served as the lead procurement liaison between the USAID team, Tunisian municipalities, and local suppliers. Some of the procurements she led supported essential services, including road rehabilitation, energy, street lighting, waste management, municipal parks, healthcare, and government-wide IT procurements. In less than two years, Amina supported over USD 5,000,000 of local procurements for the Tunisian government on behalf of USAID. One of Amina’s most notable impacts in 2020 was leading the US government’s emergency response operations to supply the Tunisian government with USD 1,500,000 of COVID-19 equipment to over half of the country’s municipalities. She led the end-to-end process and coordinated with several awarded vendors to quickly manufacture and deliver the required items. Her efforts led to the delivery of 75,837 items and 1.5 million liters of cleaning solutions to 151 municipalities, and the Ministry of Local Affairs. Deloitte U.S awarded Amina an “Outstanding Performance Award” in 2020.

Host Organization: CARE

Role at Host Organization: As a Supply Chain Fellow, Amina will support CARE’s supply chain transformation project and help drive key milestones. As one of the core team members, the Fellow will work with corporate partners and the senior team to review the organization’s supply chain to assess gaps, plan development, and prioritize needs. The Fellow will also support the implementation of supply chain policies and training across the organization’s different country offices.

Andrea studied architecture in Los Andes University, with a minor in Asian Studies and Language and Italian Culture. Then she did complementary courses in Project Management and Finances in the same university. Andrea worked as a fellow with Atlas Service Corps in 2008 and worked in Washington DC in an organization called Think Impact, as International Development Officer. In 2009 she coordinated the Global Development Ambassadors program in South Africa. In 2010 Andrea came back to Colombia and she founded Heart for Change, a nonprofit organization that designs and implements social impact projects through volunteerism and citizen participation in Colombia and Latin America .

HFC has since mobilized more than 2.000 volunteers to Colombia and has partnerships with the Ministry of Education (MEN), the Ministry of Commerce and Tourism (MINCIT), The International Cooperation Agency from the Presidency (APC), The National Training Service (SENA), PNUD, Embassy of Sweden, Purpose, among others. Andrea has worked as a representative in Colombia and a consultant for Partners of the Americas, ITDP and Ventures, and she was selected in 2015 for Gerente Magazine as one of the 100 most influential leaders in the Colombian society, in the category of nonprofits and social activists. She loves animals and reading.

Host Organization: Student Movement for Real Change / ThinkImpact