Cohort 09 | Hilton Prize Scholars (Cohort 2022)

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.

Joan Wuya holds a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from the University of Jos in Nigeria and a Certificate in Strategic Human Resource Management from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She is an experienced human resources professional who has dedicated most of her life after graduating from the university to working in the nonprofit sector. She is an expert in human resources and culture and has a strong understanding of labor laws, compliance issues and benefit plans. She successfully implements process improvement and staff development initiatives to drive achievement of organizational goals. She is an empathetic coach and mentor, helping her team and organization achieve set goals and strategic action plans through staff development parameters. Her current role as HR & Admin Coordinator is to support the growth and infrastructure that will enable IRC Nigeria’s country program to manage its strategic action plan. She also provides technical support and capacity building to the HR team in the field offices in Northeast Nigeria. Joan Wuya’s primary motivation is to build a highly effective, strategic HR function that ensures IRC Nigeria’s country program has the structure, culture, and talent needed to effectively deliver HR services, so that the teams she works with are adequately equipped to support the displaced and vulnerable communities and individuals in Nigeria.

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.

Weamie Tahn is a graduate of a master’s degree program in Finance at the Cuttington University School of Graduate and Professional Studies in Liberia. He is a grant management and compliance professional with ten years of experience. He currently works for Partners in Health (PIH), an international nonprofit organization that provides life-saving health care to people in the Global South. As Grants and Compliance Manager, he has spent the last four years helping the Ministry of Health improve the health system in Liberia by managing more than ten public sector grants. He promotes and ensures compliance with internal policies and donor regulations. Previously, he has worked for various international organizations such as Development Alternative Inc. (DAI), Mercy Corps, and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) as Senior Grants Officer, Subawards & Compliance Officer, and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, respectively. Weamie is passionate about mentoring and building capacity for grants management for nonprofits and civil society organizations so that their projects benefit historically marginalized communities. He has found his professional calling in training, developing, and managing long-term, impact-oriented projects.

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.

Shibu Vijayan is a medical doctor specializing in public health serving as Global Tuberculosis Technical Director at PATH. With experience in developing, deploying, evaluating, and scaling health service delivery platforms in collaboration with governments and partners, he has played a critical role in building partnerships for scaling tuberculosis projects in India. His work focuses on the adoption of digital technologies to transform the patient experience as they move through treatment by introducing artificial intelligence tools and digital adherence tools. He has led flagship tuberculosis projects worldwide for PATH and co-authored international guidelines with the Stop TB Partnership to promote private sector, digital tools and new diagnostic tools. In addition, Shibu represented PATH on the WHO Core Group on Private Public Mix (PPM) and the Stop TB-led Working Group on New Diagnostics, and published articles in peer-reviewed journals on PPM, diabetes, and TB and health systems. Shibu worked at all levels of the health system, from a primary health center to secondary and tertiary teaching hospitals, in health care delivery and in management of the national TB program. As a survivor of tuberculosis and a physician, he now wants to streamline the delivery of health services that is resilient to pandemics and improve the quality of services.

Mpho Marole is a passionate professional with over thirteen years of experience and an unwavering commitment to gender equity. Mpho has been an instrumental change agent at Partners In Health in Lesotho (PIHL) since 2016. Initially, Mpho served as an Executive Assistant, responsible for high-level coordination with internal staff and external stakeholders. Her strong verbal and written communication skills fostered institutional transparency and cross-departmental collaboration. Thanks to her flexibility and innovation, Mpho has led PIHL’s communications department as Communications Officer since 2020. She is responsible for organizing and developing content for internal and external audiences, writing and publishing digital content, annual reports, and other marketing materials. Her passion for storytelling is evident in her photographic documentation of PIHL programs and projects. In 2012, Mpho earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Sociology and Social Anthropology. Mpho then joined the public health sector at the Elizabeth Glasier Pediatric AIDS Foundation as a Qualitative Research and Data Clerk. She then supported technical transformation at Ingcongwane Investment Holdings through detailed budget management, client relations and supporting operations management. At Bafokeng Consulting and Projects, she combined her interpersonal and technical skills to improve the company’s public relations and client relationships. Mpho understands the social injustices affecting her community. She believes that the intersections between women’s health and unequal socioeconomic opportunities are systemic and therefore require a horizontal systems change approach in which storytelling plays a key role. Mpho aims to raise awareness of the determinants of health faced by women in Lesotho and the changes needed to address these challenges.

Sara Brihuega graduated from Kingston University in London with a double degree in International Relations and French and earned a master’s degree in International Development with a focus on Disaster Risk Reduction from King’s College. Sara’s doctoral research at Pablo de Olavide University focuses on bilingual education in the United States and Central America, with particular emphasis on migration patterns and the impact of bilingual and bicultural awareness in children and youth. Sara has several years of experience in international development with a focus on Latin America and Asia, as well as experience supporting bilingual and bicultural children and youth initiatives for a variety of organizations in the United States. Her career has included managing youth and refugee programs, international education initiatives, and disaster risk reduction projects. Sara has extensive experience in international program development and design, project management, and monitoring and evaluation. Her work has ranged from developing and managing child and youth education programs, to supporting migrants and informal settlement communities, to human trafficking, livelihood and women’s empowerment, education, and environmental issues. Sara is multilingual and fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English and has a good knowledge of Italian, French, and Visaya Filipino.

Revelation Nyirongo has more than four years of professional experience in nonprofit, nongovernmental and governmental organizations. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences at the University of Malawi. While working as an mHealth & Data Warehousing Specialist, Revelation’s work in remote Neno district in Malawi, has helped improve data management collected by Community Health Workers using pioneer mobile health technology. His work has resulted in more people being screened and existing clients in HIV and NCD programs being effectively followed up and visits being properly managed. Prior to receiving the Global Health Corps Fellowship as a Medical Informatics Specialist working on Electronic Medical Records, Revelation worked at the High Commission of India in Lilongwe and as a lecturer at a local college. Revelation has participated in various volunteer projects and youth and leadership development positions. These experiences have solidified his grant and project management skills. He enjoys discussing topics related to youth leadership and development, personal and professional development, and has a strong passion for global health equity.

Masalu Luhula is a Land Tenure Specialist at Landesa’s Tanzania office and an advocate of the Supreme Court of Tanzania. He is the former coordinator of the National Working Group on Land-Based Investment in Tanzania. He has eight years of experience working on land rights, responsible investment in real estate and land, and has published on land rights and investment. Masalu is also serves as a lead ambassador for Tanzania for the Lex: Lead Group.

Jayashree S. has four years of experience coordinating and managing research in ophthalmology and coordinating ethics committee activities. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Periyar Maniammai University in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. During her work as a coordinator, she had the opportunity to interact with research participants and listen to their needs. The role as Ethics Committee Coordinator motivated her to protect the safety, rights, and welfare of research participants. Through these experiences, she developed strong skills in project coordination, training, planning, monitoring, and reporting. Her desire to protect the welfare of participants has led her to advocate for sustainability. Jayashree is committed to identifying areas where a sustainable approach to healthcare is needed and finding a reliable and innovative solution to meet that need without compromising patient safety.

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.