Scholars

Abdul Sammad was born in Multan, Pakistan. He has completed his Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgy & Materials Engineering from Institute of Advanced Materials, BZU, Multan, Pakistan. He has 5 years of experience in oil and gas sector, and community service projects with nonprofit organizations. Passionate about social change, he volunteered as a “Rahbar Mentor” for 4 months in underprivileged areas of Karachi for 4 months. He took on the responsibility to sow the seeds of positivity and inspire youth about the importance of education and creating one’s own destiny without fear. Abdul is also involved with Citizen Foundation as “Baghban Ambassador” to raise funds to support and provide quality education in underprivileged areas of Karachi. He was also part of “Amal Academy”, an education startup funded by Stanford University, which provided him with vocational skills. It was a 3-month fellowship in which he invested 150 hours to develop business skills such as communication, leadership, problem solving and teamwork, etc. Professionally, Abdul works for TUV Rheinland Arabia LLC as a test engineer. Previously, he had also spent two years working for Bureau Veritas Pakistan, a global company that provides a range of sustainability services and solutions. He is interested in bringing about social change in the areas of health, education and sustainable development for the people of Pakistan in line with the UN 2030 agenda.

Abiodun Emmanuel Ojo is a logistic manager and humanitarian worker with over four years of experience at Doctors Without Borders. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and a Master’s degree in Economics from Belgorod State Technical University. Emmanuel has worked with Doctors Without Borders as Logistic Manager in Haydan, Yemen to run a state hospital and research the challenges of sourcing water and fuel in this remote region. The United Nations constructed a 80KW solar power system and dug a borehole of 380-meter depth for the hospital based on his work. He previously worked for the same organization in Aweil, South Sudan, where he facilitated construction of two hospital buildings and renovated many buildings to enhance the quality of care. Overall, Emmanuel is passionate about using his engineering skills to achieve global health equity.

Aboud J. Al Ifranji has five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and three years of experience in the UNRWA education sector. A.J. earned a Bachelor’s of Teaching English Language from Al Azhar University in Gaza, Palestine. While working as an English teacher in different UNRWA schools, he helped improve his students’ academic achievement in English in prep schools. While working as a Project Coordinator in Japanese Campaign for the Children of Palestine, he helped improve the quality of education in local government schools across different areas in Gaza, Palestine. Through these experiences, he developed strong project coordination, planning, monitoring, implementation, reporting, and evaluation skills. A.J. also honed his abilities to work with computerized and office programs, use cameras for video recording and editing, and facilitate different types of trainings, workshops, and meetings, especially for teachers and school staff members. A.J. is also deeply skilled in translating oral and written English to Arabic, researching, working under pressure, multitasking, and leading teams. Throughout his career, A.J. has developed a wide variety of communication skills, along with best practices in data collection, validation, summary, and analysis. A.J. enjoys focusing on topics of education development, cultural variety, sports, animation, movies, and music, and has a strong passion for self development and youth empowerment.

Anna Goltermann has two years of experience in the non-profit, government, and legal sectors. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University. Currently, Anna works for the Center for International Private Enterprise as a Program Associate for Europe and Eurasia. Anna’s work focuses on facilitating cohesion in a rapidly growing department, supporting projects in Europe and Eurasia that promote healthy economic environments, and assisting the Regional Director with a wide-range of programmatic responsibilities on a global scale. Anna’s interests involve promoting women’s economic empowerment, advancing human rights and civil liberties in Europe and Eurasia, and conducting research on regional political trends. Prior to her experience at CIPE, Anna received a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to study in an intensive language immersion program in Moscow, Russia where she gained proficiency in Russian and participated in cross-cultural exchanges with Russian university students. During her time at George Washington University, Anna interned at Capitol Hill with Congress-member Karen Bass and worked for the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. With these experiences, Anna cultivated a strong skill set in research, project management, and interpersonal communication.

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.

Bayu Ramadhan Putra has years of experience in both the private sector and government, which all of which are related to finance, economics, and education. After graduating, Bayu gained experience in marketing and sales at Prime Blue International, LLC then Corporate Banking at KEB Hana Bank, specializing in analysis and feasibility on Indonesian corporate accounts. With the knowledge and experience, he decided to serve in the government where he is currently posted at the Ministry of Trade of The Republic of Indonesia. Bayu’s previous proved to be influential in government work, utilizing it in helping to formulate regulations, increase Indonesia’s trade balance, enhance international trade cooperation, maintain stability in the domestic market especially on basic goods, and elevate local small to medium enterprises to be financially feasible and export worthy. For over the last two years, Bayu has seen first-hand the importance of how information on trade regulation and the economy is evenly spread in the country, also how education plays a huge part in shaping the economy. From previously working with multi-national companies to serving in the interests of the economy of all classes, it was obvious that the level of education and access to information influenced people’s ethics, determination, and mindset. This experience, together with organizational and social activities throughout high school and university, developed Bayu’s passion for fair trade, education, and the development of society, determined to continue working and studying in order to best serve the economy.

Belete Hiruy Kellil has over ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector in Africa. He earned his master’s degree in Development Evaluation and Management from the University of Antwerp and a bachelor’s degree in Educational Psychology from Addis Ababa University. Belete is an International Certified Project Manager and a Fellow of the American Academy of Project Management. During his tenure as the Regional Partnerships Advisor at SOS Children’s Villages International in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, Belete significantly improved grant procurement, management, partnership building and donor relations in country offices in Mozambique, Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia. Previously, Belete established and managed Handicap International’s monitoring and evaluation systems in Ethiopia. He has extensive work experience with multiple donors in both development programming and emergency response. He is a board member of a nonprofit organization working with refugees and displaced populations, and a founding member of a local nonprofit organization working on peace building and conflict resolution in Ethiopia. Through these experiences, Belete has gained solid skills in leadership, coaching and mentoring, project management, M&E, donor engagement, and grant management. Additionally, Belete enjoys focusing on youth development and innovation.

Berta Soley has worked in the fields of international development, human rights, social work, and education for more than six years and has a profound interest in gender and social innovation. Berta strongly believes that education is the key to social change. She currently works as a Knowledge Development and Editorial Associate at the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. In her role, she embraces the potential that collaborative development, knowledge sharing, and dissemination have to advance and strengthen a global movement working toward a common purpose. She enjoys collaborating with member centers from around the world and the cultural awareness it brings. Berta holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Faculty Pere Tarrés in Spain and a master’s degree in Development and International Studies from Aalborg University in Denmark. After that, she had the opportunity to gain experience in project management at UNDP Samoa, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and other non-governmental organizations. She has also worked in international relations, research and quality control at two universities in Barcelona. Berta believes that engaged, well-motivated, and healthy teams can contribute significantly to positive social change. It is important to her to see the positive results and impact of her work towards a more just and egalitarian world.