Scholars

Abeer Sheikhasan earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Applied to Economics from Birzeit University in Palestine in 2012. Three years later, Abeer earned a Master’s degree in Statistics Applied to Economics from the same university,. She also had the opportunity to experience teaching in a private basic school for about three months, and research assistance in her university for another three months. Immediately after that, she became a government employee at the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics as a statistician, where she currently works. As a government employee at the National Statistical Office of Palestine, she participated in many international training courses: including in Belgium, Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Japan. She learned intensively in the field of statistical analysis in support of inclusive development policies and price indices, and moderately in data science and big data techniques for official statistics. During her amazing experience in Japan, she learned R programming as a new tool for data analysis and she conveyed that knowledge by conducting several training courses for her colleagues.

Ainemagara Isa is from Kampala, Uganda. He is a graduate of Agriculture from Makerere University and pursuing a Master’s degree in Agribusiness. He has 10 years of experience in local economic development. Ainemagara currently works with Heifer International where he provides leadership to a consortium project titled “Learn for Agribusiness Project” implemented in partnership with Edukans. Under this project, he has established farmer institutions that enable 3,200 farmers and 7200 secondary beneficiaries to receive critical services and inputs for sustainable development. He previously worked with Edukans where he led the agri-skills program, bridging employment opportunities for out-of-school youth through designing curricula and training programs. He worked with Alliance One Uganda as an Extension Technician where he led the company’s technical skilling program. Isa built the capacity of 800 farmers enabling the company to achieve its business targets. He worked with World Vision Uganda as a Market Facilitator where through his engagement skills, 4000 smallholder farmers accessed markets with Aponye (U) Ltd among other services. He worked with Excel Hort Consult as a Value Chain Specialist where he helped the organization invest in relevant value chains through conducting informative analyses and capacity building of its staff and partners in Uganda and East Africa. Ainemagara is passionate about sustainable environmental development and youth business inclusion. He is a member of several platforms such as Agri-Pro Focus, Youth and Agro-Ecology Business and Learning Track in Africa, as well as Markets in Crises under the SEEP network.

Alena Kondiurina has more than seven years of professional experience in the field of business and financial analysis. Alena holds a Master’s degree in World Economy and a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Management from the Higher School of Economics. Currently, she works as a manager at the international consulting and audit company KPMG AO and focuses on financial analysis of various businesses. She has volunteered with multiple NGOs around the world such as microfinance companies in India and community organizations in Kenya, Uganda, and Cambodia. The core focus of Alena’s volunteer work is women empowerment and helping them improve their financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills. She organized financial literacy courses in several communities in Kenya and worked alongside NGOs in entrepreneurship projects for women in India, Uganda, and Greece. In 2020, she completed a fundraising strategy development project for Russian NGOs. Through her volunteer work and primary job she acquired skills such as management and coordination skills and financial acumen which are all essential for any organization. Through her participation in the Virtual Leadership Institute, Alena wants to develop a plan to bring forward financial literacy initiatives in rural and urban areas in Russia.

Ali Zafar is a program management professional with six years of experience in the nonprofit sector and he earned two Master’s degrees in Applied and Development Economics from Pakistan and Germany, respectively. He has worked with federal and provincial Governments in Pakistan, UN agencies and international development organizations. The focus of his work is establishing partnerships with stakeholders in government and non-government sectors, formulation of policies and programs, and developing knowledge and learning pathways for existing and future projects for portfolio development, specifically on areas of gender, innovation management, and sustainable development. Ali is currently working as a Planning and Coordination Analyst at UN Women Myanmar, where he supports the formulation of program strategies and implementation of action plans through the integration of systems and design thinking program management approaches. Prior to this assignment, Ali was working as a Social Policy Analyst with UNDP on design, localization, and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Pakistan. During this time, he led and prepared SDGs’ Implementation Framework for Punjab, conceptualized and steered District Localization Plan for SDGs, wrote reports on data gaps and interlinkages, and built institutional structures with a diverse level of stakeholders. In recognition of his research work, Ali was selected to represent Pakistan as a Young Economist at the fifth Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting on Economic Sciences in 2014. For his achievements as a professional, he was selected by the U.S. Department of State to represent Pakistan as a Governance and Society Professional Fellow in 2018.

Amanda Creary completed her graduate studies at Mercer University, gaining her Master of Public Health degree. She has been working for Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), a program at The Task Force for Global Health, a non-profit subsidiary of Emory University. She previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supporting grants, proposals, contracts, and the Office of Budget Services. At TEPHINET, Amanda provides project management, logistical and programmatic support for multiple projects and special initiatives. Most recently, she has worked with Polio Eradication efforts in Pakistan and supports the in-country Field Epidemiology Laboratory Training Program. She has a passion for healthcare, humanitarianism, and servitude and excitement to use knowledge, skills, and mentorship to continue a career in global health. During Amanda’s free time, she volunteers as a patient advocate, helping low-income families and individuals with medical debt forgiveness, which has also influenced her career in the public health sector.

Astari Raihanah currently lives in Sarmi Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia. She earned her Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Economics of Statistics from the Institute of Statistics (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Statistik Jakarta). Since then, she works as a Statistician for the Indonesian Government in the Statistics of Sarmi Regency Office, where she is actively involved in the economics and trade-related surveys and censuses conducted by the Indonesian Government. She also has experience in statistics-related conferences in Malaysia and Thailand. During her experiences in these conferences, she learned Bayesian Data Analysis and R programming as a new tool for data analysis in official statistics. In her meantime, she also volunteered for local communities by teaching basic skills such as reading, writing, and basic math for underprivileged young children from remote areas in Papua.

Ayunda is a communication professional with years of experience working for both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Currently, she is focusing on the communication for development (C4D) field where she is interested in any work related to behavioral and social change. She believes that communication plays a crucial role in helping social change in the community. She is currently working for the International Labour Organization and involved in several projects related to labor issues. Prior to joining the United Nations, she worked as a Public Relations and Communications Manager at SOS Children Villages, an INGO that provides care for children who lost or at risk of losing parental care. As a communication professional, Ayunda does not dedicate herself to a particular development issue, but she is very interested in children, public health, and equality topics. Before dedicating herself to non-profit organizations, she used to work at Public relations firms where she developed her skills at developing and executing communication strategy plans for multinational and technology companies. She is now pursuing her calling as a C4D expert and wishes to explore opportunities and collaborations with more international development organizations. Ayunda holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Indonesia majoring in Communication. She later awarded by Chevening Scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in Communication for Development (C4D) at the University of Reading, the United Kingdom.

Bashar Timraz has eight years of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors. Bashar earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administrations from Al-Quds Open University in Palestine. Bashar has diverse work experience in administration, coordination, security, reporting, and project management. In his current role as Operations Coordinator in the Field Security and Risk Management at the United Nations for Relief & Work Agency (UNRWA), he provides emergency response to around 13,000 staff members working in 300 UNRWA installations, guarantees a safe work environment for the UNRWA employees, follows up and reports all security incidents as needed, and organizes and maintains security files on all issues related to assessments, security plans, and more. Through his work with UNRWA, Bashar works with staff from different backgrounds, experiences, and working styles. Thus, he has developed strong communication, teamwork, risk-management and problem-solving skills. Previously, Bashar worked at the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs in the projects and planning department, and was responsible for preparing the Ministry’s projects, operational plans, and reports. Working with the government has enabled him to develop report writing skills, strategic thinking, and communication skills, along with the ability to organize media events. Bashar is particularly looking to challenge himself and learn new things focusing on the topics of humanitarian, operations, and economic development.