Scholars

Aishani Jaiswal is a New Delhi based research analyst. Having graduated from the University of Delhi with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, her areas of interest lie in gender, minority rights, and public health. She has previously worked in research and media spaces focusing on South Asian issues and tackling online hate speech. In addition to her professional goals, she is also passionate about mental health issues.

Allison Coady is a Senior Development Officer at Partners In Health Canada. Allison served as the Interim Director of Major Gifts at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières-USA (MSF-USA). She joined MSF-USA as the Development Officer for Foundations, responsible for managing strategic relationships with US-based foundation donors. She has extensive international experience working on the ground in 13 African countries in the field of human rights. Prior to working at Doctors Without Borders, Allison was based in South Africa representing Canada’s International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy) and served as Programs Manager for the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI) in Pretoria. During her time with Rights & Democracy, Allison implemented projects aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations in their efforts to document human rights violations and protect the rights of Zimbabwean asylum seekers. At DHPI, Allison coordinated conflict management, good governance, and constitution-making training programs for local leaders in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Allison is a member of the associate board of ALIMA (the Alliance for International Medical Action). She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Pretoria and a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Amana Parveen has developed extensive industry knowledge and academic experience in the social impact sector through her involvement over the last three years. She is a Political Science honors graduate from the University of Delhi, India. Along with her Bachelor’s degree, she completed a diploma in Women Empowerment and Development. She also holds certifications in Human Rights and Legal Literacy. She has worked in a diverse range of impact environments, including education, livelihoods, fundraising, relief, communications, corporate engagement, and advocacy. As part of her currently Fellowship with the American India Foundation, she is developing a communications and branding strategy along with other deliverables for a European Union funded project on the revival of livelihoods for the indigenous and marginalized women artisans across India with Fair Trade Forum – India. Previously, she has worked on a project named “Let’s Reach Out Kerala,” which aimed to offer psychosocial support to guest workers stranded in and outside the state of Kerala, India, during the first phase of the pandemic. After that, she went on to work on a vaccination project to provide Covid-19 vaccines to 200 guest worker families in Delhi-NCR, India. Through her various experiences, Amana acquired considerable skills, such as project management, communications, graphic designing, development of concept notes, collaboration, and research. Amana is a self-motivated and passionate individual who envisions an empathy-driven world.

As Senior Communications Manager, Courtney Calardo oversees the overall development and implementation of BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative’s (UPGI) communications strategy. Prior to joining BRAC UPGI, Courtney was the Communications Manager at Family Planning 2020, where she worked to promote greater access to and information on sexual and reproductive health for women and girls around the world. Courtney brings 10 years of experience in strategic communications with a primary focus on international development. Courtney has provided strategic communications and partnership development support to social entrepreneurs with innovative, evidence-based solutions for major global issues, as well as key implementing partners, and worked to promote the integration of innovation in development programming overall during her time at USAID. With additional experience in the private sector as a consultant, Courtney has supported the development and execution of communication strategies for academic institutions, international governments, NGOs, and the private sector. Courtney graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a B.A. in Journalism and International Studies, focusing on human rights and photojournalism.

Eleanor Parkes lives in Auckland, New Zealand and has a background in human rights and community development. With a particular passion for children’s rights, Eleanor is currently the Director of ECPAT Child Alert, working to end child trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children in New Zealand. This includes advocating for an end to underage forced sex work, domestic trafficking and the proliferation of online sexual abuse material. She has been in this role for three years, previously serving on the organisation’s Governance Board. Previous jobs include working as a Project Specialist and Frontline Campaign Coordinator at Amnesty International NZ and as the Youth Mentor with the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute. Eleanor completed her undergraduate studies in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland. She conducted research for her Masters thesis in Samoa in 2010, was awarded a BRCSS II Masters Field Research Award and graduated with a Master of Arts in Development Studies in 2011. Her research looking at disaster risk mitigation and comparing various development programmes in Pacific Island communities has since been published. Continuing to study part time, Eleanor completed a Certificate in Child Protection from Harvard by correspondence in 2019 and a Certificate in Tackling Human Trafficking from the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies.

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.

Gustika Jusuf is an early-career researcher, activist, feminist, podcaster, public speaker, and occasional writer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Like many millennials, it is not easy to put Gustika into a single box. Gustika currently works at IMPARSIAL (The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor), where her research encompasses the security sector reform policy, conflict, and human rights violations in Indonesia. Gustika is passionate about the intersectionality between gender, the military, statehood, and decolonization. Gustika had recently co-founded Girl, Peace, and Security–named as an hommage to UNSCR 1325–a learning initiative that aims to spark the interest of young women and girls in the defense and security sector, hoping to break from the masculine stigma attached to the field in Indonesia. Presently, Gustika is also involved as a National Consultant in the implementation of the Asian Development Bank’s JobStart pilot project in Indonesia. Gustika earned her Bachelor of Art in War Studies from King’s College London and wrote her dissertation on Indonesian women in peacekeeping. Over the same summer, her essay on the formation of outlaw motorcycle gangs in the United States post-world wars was selected for the LSE Centre for Women, Peace, and Security Conference. Some of Gustika’s writings in English can be found in The Jakarta Post and her personal blog on Medium. Prior to her current endeavors, Gustika interned at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta. Simultaneously, she also fulfilled a role as Youth Advisor to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Indonesia.

Ivonne Casas has more than five years of experience in the financial area, project management, and research in public and private institutions. She has a degree in Business Administration from the Higher University of San Andrés and also studied Public Accounting at the Salesian University of Bolivia. Ivonne has a Master’s degree in Management and Public Policies from the School of Production and Competitiveness at Catholic University Bolivian San Pablo. She completed diplomas related to Sustainable Development, Projects, Gender Equality, Human Rights, Climate Change, and Big Data, among others in Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, and the Philippines. She currently works as a Strategic Management Professional at the Bolivian Institute for Standardization and Quality and is a Researcher at the Climate Change Research Center of the Grothendieck Foundation. She’s an activist at several organizations at the national and international level where sustainable development and human rights are promoted. She holds coordination and leadership positions and was appointed Local Ambassador by the Global Institute for Youth Development of the Philippines, managing to obtain a lot of recognition for her work. She was selected as a young leader by the United Nations Generative Dialogue for Positive Peace program in Bolivia. She’s currently working at the “Network for Monitoring and Defense of Environmental Rights and Rights of Indigenous and Afro-Bolivian Peoples,” which is supported by the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Bolivia and civil society organizations. She is also the Coordinator of a Working Group for the development of an international standard for students at the International Standards Institute of Next Generation.