Trade and Investment, USAID Creating Economic Opportunities, Palladium Gabriela is a Senior Development Professional with more than 20 years’ work experience with excellent ability to interact with different audiences, generating support and collaboration networks; is fellow of the Vital Voices Leadership Program and fellow of Leadership Program for Social Change from the Seattle Foundation. She has a MsDegree in Development Management from American University.

Partner, Africa Experts Incorporated, Nana is passionate about promoting health and development in a holistic, equitable, and sustainable manner. She obtained an MPH from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and has ten years of experience in the NGO sector and academia designing, implementing, and evaluating sustainable development and sexual and reproductive health programs in several countries including Benin, Congo (DRC), Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Swaziland.

Founder, Lessons Earned Robbie is an entrepreneur and women’s business advocate who helps empower young business women to excel and take their seat at the table, with equal pay and respect. Hardy has helped countless women tackle challenges in their careers. With Upsetting the Table, she has created a powerful fable that will show readers how the advice given may be applied to their lives and their careers.

CEO, Clinica de Psicologia SB Scarlet has a MS Degree in Neurophysiological Psychology with 15 years work experience with patients, university teacher and radio talk host on Psychological day to day issues; a great public speaker, ability to interact with different sociocultural stratums, with a gender emphasis.

Executive Director, Georgetown University SFS Graduate Career Center Anne coaches and mentors industry leaders, executives and students as they look to move into the next phase of their career. Anne is an ICF certified Executive and Leadership Coach (PCC) and Career Management Coach. Anne leads the vision and strategic initiatives for career and leadership development in the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.

Senior Vice President for Human Resources, Chemonics Mina has more than 20 years of development experience and experience designing and leading cross-departmental activities in home-office and field-office settings. She began her career in Serbia and Kosovo working on emergency and transition programming. Later, as home-office manager, she managed teams and conducted short and long-term assignments across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. She served as Chief of Party for USAID’s Community Engagement Project in Jordan.

Senior Learning Specialist, USAID/LEARN Eva developed the Network Pattern Cards to make social network analysis accessible and applicable to everyday challenges. In her 10+ years of professional experience she has spearheaded organizational change in the international development context, as facilitator, researcher, and executive coach.

Global Partnerships, Ashoka Jeanine is currently a member of Ashoka’s Corporate Alliances Team, which offers a partnership program to co-create impact solutions with corporations, thereby working towards transforming their culture and generating new business strategies. She likes to think about how to measure the unmeasurable, and is consulting to two DC-based incubators on measuring the impact of their work supporting diverse entrepreneurs.

Director, Chemonics’ Asia Region Noelle is a project leader and development specialist with over 17 years of experience in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Her technical experience includes institutional capacity building, public policy reform, environmental governance, and civil society strengthening, and implementing economic growth and private sector-led approaches. She was Chief of Party for both the USAID Build Indonesia to Take Care of Nature for Sustainability (BIJAK) project and the USAID Indonesia Program Representasi (ProRep) project.

Founder, Jay Consulting Hortense coaches clients to find and close gaps between the leader they are and the leader they want to be, bringing alignment and authenticity to their leadership. Hortense inspires clients to let go of self-imposed limitations so they make great gains in their potential and leadership growth. Known by her clients as an intuitive professional, she blends humor and joy with results-oriented drive. She is Member of Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches.

Vice President of External Relations, Creative Associates International Jessica directs Creative’s external engagement in support of its international development mission. Jessica is a seasoned development professional with over 20 years of experience managing the implementation of education, civil society, and countering violent extremism projects throughout Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Washington, D.C. Previously, she led Creative’s Center for Stabilization and Development.

Project Coordinator, ACDI/VOCA Johana has supported programs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Colombia. Her experience working with diverse teams in implementing countries and HQ have led her to navigate challenging times of ‘crisis’ under varied circumstances. Johana speaks English, Spanish, French, and German.

Program Assistant and an Adjunct Faculty member in the Master of Arts Program in International Development (IDMA) at Gallaudet University, a bilingual university that uses American Sign Language and English. Maegan is also an alum of the IDMA program and has been involved in International Development since 2008 when she participated in an exchange program with Mobility International USA (MIUSA) to Costa Rica. During her graduate studies, Maegan completed multiple internships including the Youth in International Development and Foreign Affairs program hosted by the United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD). Maegan also worked as a researcher with the U.S. State Department under the Special Advisor of International Disability Rights, Judith Heumann. Building on the work she conducted as a graduate intern, Maegan secured a position with CBM International as the Disability Inclusive Development (DID) Learning Coordinator for CBM International. She supported the DID team in fostering and maintaining learning and knowledge management that increased capacity development in the DID Community of Practice. In addition to her current position at Gallaudet, Maegan also consults, trains and presents to various organizations about the importance of inclusion, fostering thinking processes and practices that promote inclusion of intersectional identities.

CEO, Enlightened Leadership, LLC, Julie Rosenberg, MD is a pediatric oncologist and global healthcare leader. She works as a business executive as well as a leadership coach who helps leaders develop themselves, their teams and embrace conscious living. Much of Julie's leadership philosophy and the framework for her coaching stems from her in depth knowledge of yoga, meditation and mindfulness.

Compliance Manger, Chemonics Kate holds a BA in Philosophy and Political Science and a JD with certification in International Law. Kathryn self-identifies as biracial (Native American/White) and comes from a disadvantaged socio-economic background. She is passionate about increasing the representation of people like her in global development, and is currently working with her alma mater to establish a program to guide and assist under-resourced, high-achieving high school, undergraduate, and graduate students pursuing a career in global development.

Senior Director, DAI’s Center for Digital Acceleration (CDA), Krista is responsible for leading DAI’s digital strategy across business units and managing and growing a portfolio of digital projects. She has served as a senior trainer, including for the Digital for Development curriculum roll-out to the UK’s DFID headquarters and field offices. Krista is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She holds a Masters in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Bachelors in Geography from Clark University. 

President and Owner, PeopleBiz Inc Margery works with people who are ready to get out of the box and lead more productive, purposeful, meaningful lives. Margery owned and managed a manufacturer’s rep agency for 29 years before selling it to her employees and putting her focus on PeopleBiz. She has been actively involved with non-profits for many years and was a long-time member of Social Venture Partners Dallas.

Founder and President, KAUR Strategies Indira established dTS to inculcate equality, accountability, and sustainability in development. With work in 90 countries, dTS was named USAID’s Small Business of the Year in 2014. In 2015, Indira sold dTS and founded KAUR Strategies in 2017 to provide expert advisory services. Indira served as the Chairperson of SBAIC, was a founding member of CIDC, was a board member at the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and currently services on the Board of Let’s Make it Possible.

Founder, Frontwood Strategies Nell is an award-winning strategist, Nell Callahan works with the nation’s top brands & advocacy campaigns.

Executive Director, Coptic Orphans Support Association Nermien has overseen the organization's expansion into development programs in literacy, girls’ empowerment, microfinance for widowed mothers, and interfaith initiatives to strengthen Egyptian communities for sustainable impact. Ms. Riad is a recipient of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area's Community Human Rights Award and the Women’s Forum Excellence in Leadership Award.

Managing Director, ACDI/VOCA Olya’s career spans over 20 years in senior positions in the US and overseas. At ACDI/VOCA she leads the Project Operations department in ensuring high quality project implementation. Previously, she served as the Deputy Chief of Party for the USAID Mexico Crime and Violence Prevention program and the Philippines TB in the Private Sector Initiative, as well as Communications Director for USAID/Macedonia.

Adjunct Professor, American Business School of Paris Palena specializes in working with global development professionals who want to extend their personal and social impact. With over 20 years experience working with development partners in the areas of SRH, women’s empowerment, and institutional strengthening, she currently works as a coach, mentor, and international development consultant. In her spare time Palena is a lecturer on Masters’ courses in Management, Leadership, and Human Resource Management in France and the UK.

Outreach and Internship Program Manager, Chemonics Roya is in the unique position of being charged with widening the net of who knows about Chemonics and who believes they’re a fit for Chemonics. Prior to Chemonics, she was a Program Officer at World Learning. Previously, she worked for a human rights organization in their Cambodia and U.S. offices.

Founder, The Association of Zambian American Nurses (AZAN) Nyuma is a healthcare professional with over 15 years of experience as an emergency and trauma nurse. Nyuma is a May 2019 candidate for graduation from the Executive Masters in Leadership (EML) program at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

Technical Assistance Manager, USAID/LEARN Samantha is an organizational development professional with 10+ years of experience as a workplace facilitator, trainer, executive coach, and mediator in the international development, USG, and nonprofit sectors. A former journalist, she holds an MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Senior Vice President and Senior Director of Development Creative Associates International, Sharon spearheads Creative’s business development strategy. Prior to joining Creative, Sharon managed international development projects for the Urban Institute. She advised local governments worldwide on performance-based budgeting, strategic planning, service delivery, and civic engagement. Sharon has an MA from the Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research.

HR Associate, Women Global Health, Temi is the HR Associate of Women in Global Health, an organization with a growing community of supporters from 90+ countries, chapters in 4 continents, including a DC chapter. Temi is also Founder of Global South Solutions,LLC.

Deputy Director of the Public Partnerships Division of UNICEF, Megan is responsible for mobilizing more than $ 4 billion in revenues annually. She has worked in international cooperation for 20 years in some of the most complex situations in the world including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kosovo and South Sudan. She is known as someone that can navigate politically and operationally complex situations and build diverse global teams. She was previously Deputy Chief of Staff for UNICEF’s Executive Director and acted the Special Coordinator for Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Workplace Harassment. Megan holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and has published on engagement in complex emergencies.

CEO and Founder, Lynne Gilliland Consulting Lynne’s great interest, passion and expertise is enabling exceptional leadership. She coaches and advises both new and seasoned leaders around the globe in public, private and nonprofit organizations. Past careers include being a senior manager at an international NGO and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica.

Senior Director, ACDI/VOCA Tamara has over 20 years of experience managing and implementing multi-million development programs in the Balkans, West Africa, and the Caucuses. In her years managing and leading multicultural teams, Tamara has dealt with numerous difficult situations at every level and provides mentoring and leadership.

CEO, Authentic Influence Group Shelly teaches Persuasive Speaking at the Wharton School, of the University of Pennsylvania. She has led vaccine advocacy for GSK, worked as a healthcare lobbyist, and served as a staffer in state government. Shelly has an MPA from the University of Pennsylvania, a Marketing certification from Wharton School (of UPENN), a BA in political science. She has a certification in body language training and the big 5 personality from a behavioral research lab.

Technical Director, FHI 360 Six years ago, Whitney Moret started her first job out of grad school pushing paper in a largely administrative role. She was able to rise to the level of Acting Technical Director of the $40M ASPIRES project FHI 360, where she is the technical focal point for a portfolio of research, technical assistance, and pilot activities related to economic strengthening for vulnerable populations.