Scholars

Adedapo Sijuwade is a social worker with over seven years of experience in humanitarian services, project management & community development. Adedapo has a degree in Sociology and professional courses in humanitarian works. He is particularly attracted to the quest of creating and enabling a safe environment for vulnerable groups. He believes in timely and collective action in response to the plights of marginalized groups, orphans, and vulnerable children to overcome their unpleasant situations through quality intervention, community engagement, and advocacy. He shares the vision of protecting the dignity of human lives and hopes for a just society for all with an emphasis on enhancing the quality of human existence. Adedapo is a social reformer, who is proactive about addressing social issues. His understanding of social issues, such as gender inequality, poverty, child rights, climate change, resulted in numerous achievements among the communities where he worked. He has been involved in various initiatives in his quest to improve the quality of life among vulnerable children to increase school enrollment and retention among teenage girls to avoid teenage pregnancy.

Anmol Motwani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of SZABIST in Pakistan and has four years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. She raised a lot of money for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital while working there, as well as awareness of breast cancer. She has participated in a number of student initiatives to raise awareness across the country. She is presently employed as a social media manager and is preparing to launch her own small business. She thinks that social media has a lot of power and that it can spread her message to people who she couldn’t physically contact. As she plans to pursue her Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences and Sustainable Business, her goal is to raise awareness of climate change among her peers. She is a driven individual striving for the betterment of humanity.

Brittany is a business development and grant management professional who has spent her career fundraising and advocating for vulnerable children and their families. The bilateral and cross-sectoral partnerships she has facilitated among large foundations, the U.S. government, and NGOs have driven sustainable impact through solutions in early childhood development, youth skill building, economic opportunity, health and nutrition, and education. Brittany has supported the development and growth of the foundation and corporate relations at SOS Children’s Villages-USA where she builds partnerships with US foundations and corporations and connects them with the program teams in 136 countries where SOS implements robust development projects. Before this role, Brittany worked at ChildFund International where she managed a donor portfolio of distinguished institutional funders supporting initiatives in 13 countries across the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Starting her career on Capitol Hill, Brittany left the U.S. five years later to work abroad in Hunan, China. When she returned two years later, she took a position advocating for children in the state of California before transitioning to the international development sector. As a foster parent in Richmond, Virginia, Brittany is living the SOS mission every day supporting and advocating for youth in her community. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations focused on World Politics and Policy.

Dwi Rezeki Kirana Bangun is a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Indonesia Open University. She has been working in Indonesia Tax Court for six years and has a strong understanding of taxation and management both in theory and practice. Besides that, she developed an interest in nature and the environment. She is currently participating as a Hutan Itu Indonesia (HII) volunteer, one of the leading organizations campaigning about Indonesian forests. She also participated in fundraising and collected 86 million rupiahs to adopt more than 430 trees in the Sumatra forest. Recently, HII and more than 140 collaborators declared 7 August as Forest Day in Indonesia for the first time. This action is acknowledged by the Minister of Environment and Forestry. Combining her government experience and volunteering in HII, she initiated a movement called Forest is Our Friend (FiOF). Every month, FiOF presents a talk show called ‘Forest Talk’ that invited various speakers from all over Indonesia, such as Dayak Tribe Community, musicians, filmmakers, researchers, and anyone related to the forest. Her main goal is to raise awareness for Indonesian people to know more about the importance of protecting the forest as it is the source of clean air, clean water, and home for millions of people, flora, and fauna. She encouraged people to take real action by planting trees in their homes or protecting the existing forest with tree adoption and visit national parks to support ecotourism.

Godfrey Okumu is a social change advocate/activist with over 19 years of experience in community-led interventions, movement building, human rights advocacy, and management of social change projects in Africa. In his professional life, Godfrey has supported and nurtured grassroots groups and communities on human rights advocacy, campaigning, and networking/social movements. He is an alumnus AVAC HIV Prevention advocate and also an HIV-Cure Academy Fellow. He previously worked for NIGEE, where his roles were to spearhead campaigns on ending child marriage and FGM/C which also included championing for girl’s access to quality education. Previously, he worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a Field Coordinator for a Youth Intervention, where he was part of the team that adapted the eminently known Adolescents HIV/AIDS Evidence-Based Families Matter! and Healthy Choices I&II programs in Kenya. As part of his international assignment, he also worked for Actionaid International Zambia as a National Youth Inspirator. He was appointed to be a member of the International Planning Team for the GNB Global Meeting 2018 under Girls Not Brides. Currently, he is a Global Member of the Girls Not Brides Members Advisory Committee. At Tostan, Godfrey is part of the Program/TTC training team and the focal person for the Tostan’s Training and Replication pathway, where he is supporting Tostan’s two pilot initiatives in Nigeria namely ‘Strengthening Community Institutional Building in the Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP) Planning Grant and Uniting Nigerian Communities to End Violence Against Women and Girls.

Huma Iqbal has over ten years of experience working in Pakistan’s nonprofit sector, and earned her MA from the University of Karachi with a major in Development Communications. Huma is a public health influencer and employs strategic communications to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on policy reforms for family planning services in Pakistan. Working with the Population Council as an Advocacy Manager, Huma lobbies with parliamentarians for stronger legislation on family planning programs, advocates with religious leaders on championing the cause, and leverages the media’s role to influence policy makers and the masses. In her current role, Huma has helped build a new narrative on population, focusing on the balance between population size and resources and breaking away from more traditional and coercive approaches of limiting family size in the past. Previously, Huma worked with Oxfam where she led public and digital campaigns to end child marriages and sexual violence against girls, boys, and the gender minorities of Pakistan. Huma has acquired influencing and leadership skills to influence high-level stakeholders for policy and programmatic action. She has also acquired campaigning skills for effective public and media engagement. Huma is passionate about empowering people and socially and politically equipping them to break structural inequality and live quality lives. Huma likes to explore digital spaces for innovation and freedom of speech.

Iqra Rana is a community expert who has work, training, and volunteer experience in Pakistan, Turkey, Nepal, and the USA, with an extensive focus on the socioeconomic development of youth through education. As a first-generation female student, she excessively cares for the rights and well-being of women and girls. Her experience as an AIESEC community exchange volunteer in Turkey shaped her way forward in education. With four years of experience in the field, Iqra works as a Program Manager at Amal Academy a project supported by Standford University, Acumen, and PepsiCo. She is committed to providing equitable opportunities for students interested in polishing their professional skills through her expertise. Previously, she worked as a Training and Partnership Coordinator with Girl Rising, where she implemented Sunsilk’s Explore More Program in collaboration with Unilever by establishing partnerships with seven grassroots organizations across Pakistan, using the power of storytelling and SEL, enabling 1600+ adolescents. She was selected as the Social Entrepreneurship Fellow by the Arts Council of Pakistan WBCS (Women Building Cohesive Societies) supported by the U.S. Department of State. She is associated with the Pakistan Ski Federation as a National Skier and actively advocates for winter sports for women in Pakistan. She has rich experience in implementing and evaluating sustainable and scalable training interventions that contribute to the educational development of underserved communities in low-resource environments.

Janet Ajala is a dynamic leader who is passionate about championing Women’s Rights. She has over 13 years of experience in the non-profit sector. She currently works with the International Rescue Committee in Nigeria, where she currently serves as a Field Coordinator. She is responsible for the day to day running of the activities of her field location, where she ensures the necessary humanitarian assistance is provided to the thousands of vulnerable individuals displaced by the prolonged armed conflict in Northeast Nigeria, ensuring they have access to the much-needed medical care, education, and women protection and empowerment activities. In addition to her current role, she heads the IRC Nigeria Women at Work Group, a group established by the organization to provide a safe space for women in the organization. Under this group, she provides leadership on all fronts for the over 300 women in the Country program pushing for their interests with the Senior Management Team and ensuring there is more female inclusion and representation in the organization. Prior to joining the International Rescue Committee, Janet worked with the TY Danjuma Foundation as State Coordinator, where she coordinated the activities of the various community-based and faith-based organizations funded by the Foundation to implement Youth and Women Empowerment programs and Health. Janet obtained a BA in English from the University of Ibadan and an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the same university.