Scholars

Ambreen Kokab Shah is a technology and transformation consultant, futurist, and professional advisor. Ambreen brings 11 years of diversified corporate experience from across the telecom industry. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications from NED University of Engineering and Technology, she joined satellite company SUPARCO as an Assistant Manager in the Systems Engineering Department. In 2011, Ambreen entered the corporate world by joining Ericsson Pakistan, where she consulted local and international telecommunications giants in the design and optimization of wireless networks, deployment and performance management, presales, and service delivery. Her combined exposure to technical and management issues enabled her to build customer and inter-departmental relationships and develop conflict resolution skills. While earning her Executive MBA from the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi in 2017, she became passionate about social entrepreneurship, especially in the field of education and training. She volunteered as a Baghban Ambassador to transform underprivileged communities with the Citizen Foundation, judged tech projects at universities, mentored Smart City ideation at a hackathon competition, and served as an Innovation Mentor at the 2018 Ericsson Innovation Awards. Ambreen is also a Global Ambassador at WomenTech Network and Circle Chair of Lean In Pakistan Tech. She started her own consulting firm AKS Consulting Space in 2020, which aspires to transform youth, women and organizations through an emphasis on the Sustainable Development Goals. A gold medalist and NLP certified, Ambreen loves to travel and has explored 8 countries.

Awaisha Inayat is a professional psychologist who has a diverse working experience in the fields of counseling, academia, and human resources. She is currently working as People Partner at Arbisoft in People Operations and Development. She has previously led a sports franchise – Bagh Stallions – as their Brand & Communications Manager in the first season of Kashmir Premier League becoming the first female Team Manager of Men’s cricket in Pakistan. After graduating as a psychology major in 2015 from the University of Karachi, she got affiliated with renowned schools as Student Counselor and has also been involved in academia where she served as visiting faculty in 3 universities in Karachi: University of Karachi, Institute of Business Management, and Iqra University. During this time, she successfully published two papers in HEC-recognized journals of Pakistan on the portrayal of mental disability and classroom engagement. Awaisha’s main interest in the social change sector is mental health and well-being. She is inspired by the idea of building healthier communities and has a passion for making a difference in people’s lives. For this end, she founded ‘Rahnuma’ which is a digital platform for counseling, therapy, mentoring, and coaching. It is Rahnuma’s vision to facilitate people in finding their paths and reimagining community mental well-being and support. Awaisha is always looking forward to learning new techniques to empower people and takes pleasure in perpetual growth. She is also working actively to de-stigmatize mental health support in Pakistan.

Basimenye Nhlema is the Chief Operating Officer at Partners In Health, Malawi. In this capacity, she leads the operations department and heads seven sections including Supply Chain, Procurement, Distribution, Transport, IT, Infrastructure, Human Resources, and Administration. Prior to moving to Operations, Basimenye served as the Community Health Director for Partners In Health Malawi for four years. In that role, she managed the Community Health Worker (CHW) program, the Community Programs team, and the Program on Social and Economic Rights (POSER), interdisciplinary teams focusing on community health in a rural and impoverished population. The CHW program had 1200+ CHWs who focused on education and health screening at the household level; the Community Programs team runs an innovative integrated screening program for sexual and reproductive health and chronic conditions among adolescents, women of childbearing age, and the general population in remote areas; and the POSER team provided support to patients’ basic social and economic needs. Basimenye was also part of a team that worked on transitioning CHWs in two pilot sites of Neno district from a paper-based system to a digital platform called Medic Mobile. Basimenye holds a Bachelor of Arts-Humanities degree in Drama and Public Administration from the University of Malawi and a Master’s of Arts degree in Dramatic Arts from Witwatersrand University, South Africa.

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.

Irfan Nur Ilman has 10 years of experience working as Directorate General of Customs and Excise of Indonesia under the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia. He has been working in various departments and earned skills such as public speaking for government officials, customer service relations, and import and export regulations. His experience made him selected to represent his office in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia to compete with other Asia Pacific Countries’ representatives in the customer service program. Irfan was selected to be a part of a team to conduct Information transparency and succeed to deliver its initial program which was the launch of the Bravo Bea Cukai Contact Center. Aside from that, Irfan explored his potential in utilizing social media for a good cause. He co-founded a non-profit organization called Operasi Semut to raise the awareness of the cleanliness of the city via a trash-picking program in social media and was awarded as one of the best programs by The Coca Cola Company. Through his work on social media, Irfan had partnerships with several big companies and acquired skills in social media branding and digital marketing.

Kian Chong has years of experience in the for-profit sector. He earned a Master of Philosophy in Management from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. He is an entrepreneur and has activities in the tech, education, cybersecurity, F&B, and industrial gas industries. His work includes increasing accessibility to improving security awareness maturity for companies and individuals as well as upskilling in emerging technology areas. For work in lifelong learning and digital transformation, one of his companies was awarded the SkillsFuture Employer Award 2021 which is presented by the President of the Republic of Singapore. He is passionate about education and youth empowerment. Currently, he serves as a Global Shaper, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, where he is the Impact Officer of the Singapore Hub and driving impact for community projects. He also serves as a committee member of the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Singapore (OCSS), the Imperial College Alumni Association of Singapore (ICAAS), and Canberra Secondary School in Singapore. He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). Through these experiences, he has developed skills in technology, partnerships, partnerships, and training.

Lorna Kanyuga is a skilled development professional with five years of experience in the social sector. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi. Currently, she is the Kenya Philanthropies Lead at Microsoft, where she coordinates digital training initiatives and entrepreneurship and employability programs. During her time at Yusudi Limited, she led the development, testing and launch of Jijali, an online learning program that uses blended learning techniques to provide personalized entrepreneurship and career training to over 1,400 young people. Previously, she was Life Skills Trainer at the same company, where she developed and delivered career preparation training to over 200 unemployed college graduates and young professionals. Prior to that, she managed the Social Projects Department at the AIESEC office in Kenya, where she led the development and implementation of strategies to grow the international volunteer program. Through these experiences, she has gained skills in project/program management, training, and youth development. In her spare time, Lorna volunteers at schools in informal settlements in Nairobi, where she supports schools in providing life skills training to students and fundraises for learning materials. She is passionate about skills development for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, youth development and the use of technology in education.

Mori Moses Sworo is a lawyer with a focus on humanitarian service, specializing in Housing, Land, and Property (HLP) rights. With over four years of experience, Mori has worked on issues such as customary land rights, land registration and titling, land administration and management, women’s HLP rights, conflict resolution, and project management. He holds a Master’s of Law and a Bachelor’s of Law degree from the University of Juba. Mori has conducted interventions to promote proper land use and natural resource management through information sharing, capacity building, and the development of training materials on HLP rights and Collaborative Dispute Resolution mechanisms. Currently, Mori serves as the Field Office Coordinator for the Norwegian Refugee Council in South Sudan, where he continues to advocate for justice and equal treatment while empowering communities with legal expertise and advocacy skills.