Scholars

Alexander Gunkel is a serial entrepreneur using space technology for social and environmental good. Alexander’s company Space4Good leverages satellite earth observation, geographic information systems, and artificial intelligence to provide geospatial analytics to global impact initiatives for data-driven decision making and increased transparency. The company is active in nature conservation, agriculture, smart cities, disaster relief, and peace and justice. Space4Good provides its insights to clients such as The Red Cross, The World Bank Group, The Carter Center, and The European Commission. Additionally, Alexander co-founded Skytree, which invented a CO2 recycling process to reduce global CO2 emissions, as well as RoadEO which is developing a global road quality monitoring and prediction platform to improve road safety and comfort. He is actively mentoring “Tech4Good” entrepreneurs in university-related incubators as well as accelerators, including in Startupbootcamp and Google LaunchPad. Before starting his entrepreneurial career, Alexander studied mechanical engineering and business administration and worked as a Project Manager at the European Space Agency. He is a Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative Fellow of the German Marshall Fund and believes in the power of social entrepreneurship to drive positive societal and economic change.

Almamoon Almashaqba has seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Al Albyt University in Jordan. Almamoon worked as a Technical Youth Assistant with a youth capacity building project for community engagement in Jordan under the Norwegian Refugee Council program. In this role, he helped increase the accessibility of the labor market for youth by building their capacity and mitigating local market employment challenges. He provided a set of systematic training for Jordanian and Syrian youth aged between 16 and 26 years old, including: positive thinking, employment skills, and communication skills. Previously, Almamoon worked as a Protection Case Manager with the International Catholic Migration Commission to assist the most vulnerable people in the community. Through these experiences, he developed solid knowledge and experience in project life cycle management, program development planning, setting indicators, implementing, and monitoring and evaluation. Almamoon worked with the International Rescue Committee in the Child Protection Program based in refugee camps in Jordan as a Child Protection Case Worker in unaccompanied and separated children to provide protection and make reunification with their families. Almamoon enjoys focusing on the topics of protection and livelihoods. Almamoon has a strong passion for youth empowerment.

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.

Bisan Abu Harb completed her Bachelor’s degree in business administration at the Islamic University of Gaza. She completed several short courses for professional development, including leadership, reporting, gender and crisis management. While working as a UDOC assistant at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) under the Emergency Relief Program, she helped improve living conditions to enable non-refugees internally displaced by the 2014 Gaza conflict to return home. Previously, Bisan worked at MAAN Development Center as a team leader in the UNMAS funded project “Risk Education ERW Awareness”. In addition, she worked as a team leader in the same organization in another project namely “Promoting Conflict Preparedness and Protection in Gaza Strip”. She also worked as a project assistant for the project “Supporting women leadership in Gaza Strip” where her success story started as she got to know well all the non-profit organizations working in this field and contributed significantly in strengthening the human security of women in vulnerable areas. Bisan has volunteered in many programs and organizations as she believes in community participation. During her professional career, she developed strong project management skills, networking and communication skills, and event planning skills. Bisan is interested in focusing on gender issues and has a strong passion for helping IDPs and refugees survive. She is interested in various things such as art, photography, humanitarian work and most importantly making a difference in people’s lives.

Chloe Alexander graduated from Bentley University in 2016, where she combined her Business degree in Accounting with Liberal Studies in ethics and social responsibility. She was recognized for her civic leadership, was an active leader in the Bentley Microfinance Group, and continues to volunteer as a business competition judge each year. For three years, Chloe provided internal audit consulting, managed business services, and provided business process improvement services to banking and technology clients. After an opportunity to visit a refugee camp and meet with asylum seekers in Jordan, she decided to take the leap to pivot her career into the public and social sectors. In 2019, Chloe joined the Peace Corps as a Community Economic Development Volunteer in Ukraine, where she completed language, cultural, and technical training to successfully partner with local organizations seeking to build their capacity for social impact. Chloe hosted English-speaking clubs, assisted with grant development activities, and facilitated organizational capacity assessments to identify training opportunities. All Peace Corps volunteers globally were evacuated due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, which led to a new opportunity for Chloe to further develop grant management skills at a government agency and reconnect to her hometown of Prince George, Virginia, USA. Chloe is passionate and extremely curious about many facets of international development, including activating the private sector to bridge resource gaps between the needs of vulnerable groups and limited public and nonprofit capacity, social entrepreneurship as a tool for economic development, and the interconnectedness of religion, gender, and economic development.

Ekene Ibekwe has four years of experience in the non-profit sector. He completed a Non-profit Leadership and Management program and earned a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology from Imo State University in Nigeria. While working as a Team Head at Best Nurture Academy in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, he led the team to provide quality education for over 350 children in rural communities at little or no cost. He inspired his team to develop learning curricula and community engagement strategies that encouraged young people to seek education and stay away from the vices that consumed the community. Ekene has collaborated with non-profits to provide educational services to the underprivileged children in neglected rural communities. This was to make education accessible to rural community children and give them hope for a better and brighter tomorrow. Ekene promotes moral and literacy awareness through his programs. As a peer health educator, Ekene has trained teenagers on HIV/AIDS and adolescent reproductive health. He has empowered young people through peer education programs to become peer educators, thereby multiplying the effect of knowledge transferred. Through these experiences, Ekene has developed strong project management, curriculum development, stakeholder and community engagement, communication, and leadership development skills.

Emily Brandt is a doctoral student at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she studies non-profit and citizen participation in poverty alleviation policy implementation. She previously earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of North Texas, where her capstone project researched the Yugoslav Wars’ domestic policy implications. With eleven years of experience in non-profits working in domestic violence prevention, economic development, women’s financial independence, and arts education, Emily is passionate about sustainable non-profit growth, financial transparency, and community support for development initiatives. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Emily credits her time working with the YWCA of Armenia with igniting a passion for grassroots development, women-led initiatives, and non-profits’ role in improving lives.

Faten Juma has more than nine years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Faten has been working with the United Nations for Relief & Work Agency (UNRWA) since 2010. She earned a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Business Administration from Al-Quds Open University in Palestine, and a two-year diploma in Commerce from Gaza Training/Community College. Working with UNRWA as Human Resources Associate has enabled her to contribute significantly in developing the internal policies to ensure strong governance and effective accountability systems. Faten has worked on maintaining positive morale and trust through increasing the engagement and structural communication among employees. While she was working at the Recruitment Office, she made constant efforts in improving the quality of living standards for refugees on infrastructure, educational, health, and humanitarian aid through recommending the most competent employees to ensure delivering best services. Also, she has made many achievements in bridging the gender gap and realizing gender equality principles by her outreaching efforts and powerful networking skills. As an HR professional, her ultimate goal is to contribute in building a thriving and prosperous economy through managing the human capital by establishing an institute for people management and development. Faten has a great eagerness in utilizing her proven knowledge and expertise to benefit her venerable community and has assiduously played a key role in supporting it by sharing innovative ideas and launching initiatives properly while volunteering in community associations. She is well-known for having constructive insights about human resources and keeping abreast with the latest international approaches.