FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nalat Black, VP of Education, education@una-atl.org 

Atlanta, GA, February 1, 2023 - The current UNA-Atlanta Board of Directors would like to thank and acknowledge the immediate past Board of Directors for their work and dedication to our chapter:

Tiffany “Irene” Coulibaly, President, 2020-2022
Steffani Salter, VP of Advocacy, 2020 -2022
Jacqueline Harris, VP of Communications, 2020-2021

All board members are unpaid volunteers with a passion to advance the work of the United Nations in our local community. Special thanks to Ms. Coulibaly for spearheading the Window Seat to the World program and the Phyllis D. Bailey Humanitarian scholarship, giving high school students the opportunity to tour the United Nations in New York City and some college funds.
The current UNA-Atlanta Board of Directors include

Dr. Selen Beduk, President and Interim Treasurer, 2022-2025
Tracy Gray, VP of Advocacy, 2022-2024
Nalat Black, VP of Education and Interim Secretary, 2022-2024
Ikoie Norman​, VP of Fundraising, 2023-2025

All board members were elected by the Chapter’s current members (individuals who are paying membership dues to UNA-USA and non-dues paying Youth members who are 25 years of age or younger). 

Additionally, Dr. Selen Beduk was elected by UNA-USA members in a Special Election for the Southeast Region as a Southeast Regional Representative. Dr. Beduk will be working with three Southeast Regional Representatives to advance our mission to educate, inspire, and mobilize Americans to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations and its agencies:
Dr. Eileen Davis-Jerome (Broward County Chapter, Florida)
Sanskriti Deva (Wake County Chapter, North Carolina)
​Aaron Tate Wimberley (Miami Chapter)
###

We will explore the interrelatedness of food security with the Global Goals, youth engagement and empowerment. 

We're celebrating the 77th anniversary of the United Nations with the theme Nourishing Peace, looking into how the UN supports food security and peace together, and the opportunities to stand with the UN on these goals. We recognize that food security is closely related to many of the Sustainable Development Goals, including youth mental health. We recognize the critical role of youth in achieving the Global Goals and peace building. It is imperative that we ensure our youth are mentally fit and resilient in order to create sustaining peace, and proper nutrition is vital to a person’s mental well-being. We are bringing “Actors, Actions and Solutions” together.
Speakers at the webinar will shed light on

1. The actions being taken to address the challenges of sustaining peace
2. The current resources that empower youths in creating sustainable communities
3. Actions individuals of all ages can take to raise awareness on youth engagement in peace-building efforts with an emphasis on food security and mental well-being.

Nadi Albino has over 20 years’ experience in international development. Working intimately in the fields of Education, Youth, Early Childhood Development (ECD), policy development/analysis and much of the social sector. Ms. Albino has gained proven competencies in programming; program management: coordination: and delivery, in collaboration with government, the private sector, women and youth globally. She has an in-depth perspective on African and Asian development issues, with a strong track record of advancing gender equality, and working in fragile, post conflict and emergency environments. She is currently the Deputy Director for UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and was the UNICEF Representative in Lesotho until end March 2019.

Ms. Albino has worked in various capacities with girls/women, youth, and children, making her a flexible and proactive team player. She demonstrates strong collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills useful attributes for any team. She is politically astute, which has contributed to ‘big picture’ transformation in development interventions. 

Ms. Albino holds a Doctor of Education (University of Fort Hare); with post graduate qualifications in Education and Change Management (University of Sussex), Policy Development and Analysis (University of Maastricht), Managing Education Sector Reform (World Bank Institute), Business Administration and General Management (Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and Conflict Resolution/Management (University of Birmingham).
linkedin.com/in/nadi-albino-3339413
@riveryei

Alicia Rivera is the Chief Financial Officer of Feeding Georgia Families who works to acquire sponsors and donors, and to coordinate community partnerships.

Alicia believes in the importance of giving with an open heart to those in need. At Feeding GA Families, there are no requirements or judgment, just a group of people dedicated to giving those around us, and each other, a helping hand in the moments it is needed the most.

Alicia has worked with Feeding GA Families as a co-founder and CFO for over 12 years. She has established partnerships with over 150 nonprofit organizations to distribute food across the state of Georgia and has established a nationwide distribution program to reach more people in need. Alicia holds a Bachelor of Arts with a course emphasis in Business Management, Psychology, and Public Service from Ashworth University.

Dr. Jairo Garcia is an expert in urban sustainability and climate change. Dr. Garcia is the CEO of Urban Climate Nexus, the North America Curator for United Nations Habitat, a Sustainable Development Goals Educator Fellow, and long-term collaborator and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and The Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Garcia is the former Director of Climate Policy with the City of Atlanta and the lead author of Atlanta’s Climate Action Plan. He received the 2017 Individual Climate Leadership Award by the EPA, and the 2021 Green Ring Award by the Climate Reality Project for this demonstrated an exceptional commitment to climate communications and climate action activism. His areas of research are in urban climate vulnerabilities with a focus on urban heat and food security. 

Jamal Hill is an American Paralympic medalist who is dedicated to helping others learn how to swim with the ultimate goal of overcoming the drowning epidemic. The drowning epidemic claims over 350,000 innocent lives every year, mostly persons underaged 25, and mostly like bing in a low income community. As a Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Swimming Medalist for the United States of America, Jamal uses his global platform to provide swimming education resources, opportunities, and inspiration to millions around the world, including young people with disabilities.  

Jamal is the founder of the Swim Up Hill Foundation which focuses on reaching low-and middle-income communities of colour both nationally and internationally that are at the greatest risk of drowning. To date, the organization has established partnerships across the United States, as well as international programmes in Colombia, Portugal, and within countries in Northern Africa. 

Jamal is inspired to build an international network that removes the stigma associated with disability, fosters the inclusion and well-being of persons with disabilities into sports, and empowers an ever-expanding and inclusive aquatics global community for decades to come.

AY Young is a producer, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur who powers his "Battery Tour" performances using renewable energy. He was recently named a United Nations (UN) Youth Leader for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and performed at President Biden’s inauguration. AY is currently working on a Global Goals album, labeled Project17 in collaboration with earth's biggest artists and companies to create one song for each of the 17 SDGs. He is on a mission to collaboratively make our planet a healthier, kinder, and more sustainable world together with a network of some of the most high-powered companies in the world. Let’s get plugged-in—it starts when we come together. Join the conversation at @aymusik and visit aymusik.com.

Szilvia Fodor, PhD is a psychologist, and works as an Associate professor at the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. She has courses on the psychology of teaching and learning, gifted education, school organizational psychology and positive psychology at school, and she is also involved in supervising MA and PhD students. Her main fields of research are positive psychological aspects of gifted education, the psychology of optimal/high achievement and school organizational psychology. 
​
Besides teaching and research, Szilvia is active as a consultant for whole-school positive psychological interventions aiming to enhance wellbeing and mental health among students and staff and developed a complex e-learning material about positive psychological concepts and interventions for educational purposes. She held several online/offline workshops and trainings about wellbeing and mental health for teachers and young adults both in Hungary and other countries of Europe (e.g. Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia). She was the program coordinator of the Hungarian Templeton Project, which is a pilot program for the personalized support of exceptional cognitive talents. 

Dr. Fodor is a regular consultant of the European Talent Centre, Budapest, member of the international advisory board of the European Talent Support Network and serves as the Vice-president of the ECHA (European Council for High Ability). She is an advocate of global wellbeing and sustainability, and an enthusiastic disseminator of scientific knowledge.

Okan Dursun is recognized as one of the 17 Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the start of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2022.

Okan is the Co-Founder of Twin Science, the world’s first ed-tech company that combines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning with SDGs education for young people to raise them as tomorrow’s changemakers. Twin Science has reached more than one million young people with Twin STEM Kits and the Twin mobile app in over 70 countries. Twin Science has been recognized as a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum, won BETT Awards 2020 and the Silver Play for Change Award from Toy Industry of Europe. 

As a student, Okan started his journey with the Young Guru Academy, one of Turkey’s leading NGOs, while studying at university. He was selected as one of the 50 young talents among 50,000 applicants to develop impact-driven projects for refugees, orphans, the visually impaired, and others through volunteerism. 
​
Passionate about eliminating inequality in education worldwide, Okan has also been leading a social responsibility project called the World Science Movement (WSM). The project aims to give children better access to STEM education. WSM has reached over 500,000 underprivileged children in Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Turkey. Okan believes that no curious mind should be left behind and he is dedicated towards working for this purpose until reaching all young people around the world. 

Arda Seckiner is a Sophomore at Innovation Academy in Fulton County, Georgia and a budding entrepreneur: "In my fifteen years of life, many things have happened. When I was young/toddler, my parents said I was a cute kid who would eat anything and everything that would be put in front of me. For example, my parents would display blueberries for me to eat, however I would play with them and smush them, then eat them. However, as I grew up, I thought I started to mature, however I had a long way to go. When I first started school, I was quite timid, however as the years went on and on, I began to become more and more social and open to new people. Furthermore, this is when I started to observe the people around me and the people I knew, so this led to me wondering how the people I knew were different from me. Then I went to the dentist for the first time, I fell in love with the science and was fascinated by the fact some man took a sharp chisel and scraped my teeth. However, my dentist also said I could keep my teeth clean by brushing and flossing. So, I would do it everyday so that I could follow his orders. However, one day I noticed that some people had come to school without brushing their teeth, so I asked why, and they said that they didn’t have the materials to do so. When I heard this, I knew I had to make a difference, so my mission is to give less fortunate kids in my area a chance to have a clean and healthy mouth."

Avi Karamchandani is UNA-Atlanta's Youth Envoy: Global Goal 3, Good Health & Well-being. He is a passionate, adventurous, courageous student at Lambert High School. He has many interests ranging from mental health and synthetic biology to basketball and cooking. He works hard through challenging situations and puts his best foot forward in any position. Ever since he was a young boy, he has wanted to find solutions to global issues and problems. At the age of 12, Avi decided to do just that with Fittoday: a platform devoted to improving the overall health of youth across the world. Mental health in children will no longer be overlooked; Fittoday allows children to easily convey their emotions to adults, caretakers, teachers, and parents. In addition, Fittoday allows adults to set certain physical activities schedules for child/student. Data entered through a child/student is immediately relayed to the adult, which can be viewed on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Avi is a student of Lambert High School's class of 2025, the founder/creator of Fittoday, a part of the Boys Track & Field team, the Lambert International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team, and a Black Belt in Karate. ​

Alíz Kun, U.S. Department of States Fellow for Community Solutions  Program.

Rachel Bowen Pittman, Executive Director of United Nations Association of USA, shares with us the meaning of Nourishing Peace.

Special thanks to our partnering organizations:

Co-hosts

The 2022 International Women's Day webinar builds upon the successes of the 2021 Women's Empowerment Roundtable Summit, connecting social good influencers with communities. The Child Well-Being Initiative was created as a result of the 2021 Women's Empowerment Roundtable Summit, where children from Western High School (Baltimore, MD, USA) are participating in cultural exchange initiatives with their peers at the Sister School Global Initiative (Lagos, Nigeria). Please click HERE to learn more.

CELEBRATE #UN76 with us! You’re invited to virtually join UNA-Atlanta, Ray C. Anderson Foundation & Drawdown Georgia via Zoom on October 28th at 4:00 P.M. EST, for a celebration of the United Nations' 76th Anniversary. We'll have a conversation on Georgians' state-of-the-art efforts, which deserve to be heard on a national and international level, with a special themed event, UN DAY 2021: Creating a Blueprint for a Better Future: Drawdown Georgia and Local Climate Action.

You can find out more about Project Drawdown here.

Mariyam Midhfa Naeem is the Deputy Chef De Cabinet at the Office of the President of the seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly. She provides strategic direction to the President of the General Assembly in executing his priorities and mandates, in particular for the Sustainable Development thematic cluster. She is also the principal focal point for the Asia Pacific Group. Prior to joining the Office of the President of the General Assembly, Midhfa was a Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, handling the India Division, where she was responsible for advising the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Maldives-India relationship, overseeing development projects and other collaborations between both countries. She began her career as a Foreign Service Officer in May 2007 and has worked in several roles within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This includes several portfolios within the International Affairs Department, including as head of the United Nations Division, and as the Director of the Foreign Service Institute of the Maldives where she planned and executed several new programs under the Institute’s Action Plan. From 2015 to 2017, Midhfa worked as a Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Maldives to the UN in New York, where she was the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States on sustainable development. She shaped and executed negotiation strategies for Small Island Developing States on sustainable development issues, especially on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction, and the New Urban Agenda. Midhfa has a Master’s in public policy from the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick.

Laura Turner Seydel is a Board member of the United Nations Foundation. She is an international environmental advocate dedicated to creating a healthy and sustainable future for our children. Laura is chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation and co-founder of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Mothers and Others for Clean Air. Laura serves on the boards of the Turner Foundation, United Nations Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Turner Endangered Species Fund, Environmental Working Group, League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Children & Nature Network, Waterkeeper Alliance, Project Drawdown and is a Patron of Nature with the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 

United Nations Association of Atlanta and the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development of Greater Atlanta K-12 Action Group invites you to our fourth installment of the Sustainable Coffee TALK Series
Community Engagement, Impactful Internships, and Mentorships
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
4 PM - 5 PM EST

Lady Williams has held significant senior managerial positions, including Director of Marketing  for a regional Caribbean airline and Antigua and Barbuda’s Director of Tourism to the United  Kingdom and Europe. She operated from Frankfurt, Germany for two years as a Project  Tourism Executive for the Eastern Caribbean, under an Organization of Eastern Caribbean  States (OECS) initiative. Additionally, she provided consultancy services to both small boutique  hotels and large resort operations for a number of years. 

She is currently the Governor General’s Goodwill Ambassador and President of the Antigua and  Barbuda China Friendship Association. She is also the President and Founder of The Halo  Foundation, an umbrella charity established in December 2014 that addresses the needs of 32  charities under the patronage of the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda. 

Some of the initiatives of the Halo Foundation include: 

~ “Colours of Charity”, an event for the various local charities headlined by HRH Prince  Harry (Duke of Sussex) on his visit to Antigua in 2017 – and later organizing a function in  London at which Prince Harry was introduced to a cellist of Antiguan descent, Sheku  Kanneh-Mason, who was eventually invited by the Duchess of Sussex to perform at their  wedding ceremony in Windsor;  
~ a 2-year antibullying campaign currently being executed in 6 pilot schools;  
~ full 4-year university scholarships for students from Antigua and Barbuda who have  exhibited acts of kindness of bravery to St. Mary’s University;  
~ scholarships to local institutions for children with special needs;  
~ the provision of musical instruments to a local youth orchestra; 
~ part sponsorship of Team Antigua Island Girls’ row across the Atlantic ocean; 
~ partnership with the Prince’s Foundation, the Calvin Ayre Foundation and the  Government of Antigua and Barbuda to build and furnish homes for those families left  without shelter following the ravages of Hurricane Irma. 
~ the creation of a youth arm of the Halo Foundation, known as Generation Y, which  focuses on sensitizing young people to the importance of helping others;  
~ and much more. 

In 2018, Lady Williams was awarded the Faithful and Meritorious Cross for outstanding  voluntary service to the nation of Antigua and Barbuda. She received a Doctor of Civil Law  (DCL) honorary degree from Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2019, and  accepted a Vigor Unsung Hero Award in Toronto in that same year. 
​
She is the spouse of the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda, His Excellency Sir Rodney  Williams and has one son, Brent.

Dr. Angela Maria Wakhweya
Senior Director, Health, Equity and Rights (HER), CARE, Atlanta, GA

Dr. Wakhweya recently joined CARE after more than two decades of work across the development and public health sector in the United States and internationally, most recently as Founder and Executive Director of  Global Public Health Linkages, a US based non-profit tackling extreme poverty among families affected by HIV/AIDS, with a special focus on children, girls and women. Throughout her career, Dr. Wakhweya has sought out leadership positions that have allowed her to utilize her extensive knowledge in health planning, financing and policy in order to solve complex global issues. ​

Dr. Wakhweya has been working domestically at the forefront of organizations such as the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where she served as Deputy Director of the Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration, Deputy Director of the AIDS Administration and Health Officer of Anne Arundel County, the fifth largest district in Maryland. In Maryland, she also served as Chief School Health Officer for Health Services, Policy and Innovation for Prince George’s County Public Schools, the second largest school district in Maryland, where she led efforts to transform the paper based system to an online electronic school health electronic record system in nine months.  

Prior to joining the State government, she served internationally as Senior Technical Officer for Family Health International and as HIV/AIDS Advisor for Save the Children Federation. While there, she provided technical assistance for HIV/AIDS and OVC (orphans and other vulnerable children) programs funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria and TB. Earlier, Dr. Wakhweya  served as Assistant Professor of International Health at Boston University School of Public Health; Research Associate/Project Scientist for Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID); and Africa Regional Program Manager for Oxfam America. She first joined the United States public health scene as a Senior Health Policy Analyst with the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.
​
Dr. Wakhweya has a Doctor of Medicine degree (MBChB) from Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, Uganda; and, a Master of Science in Health Planning and Financing, jointly awarded by the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, in the United Kingdom.

Michelle White
Principal, Western High School, Baltimore, MD

​Michelle White, a Baltimore native and proud graduate of Baltimore City Public Schools, has been an educator for 20 years. After eight years of teaching Chemistry and Biology in Baltimore County Public Schools, Ms. White joined the City Schools team to serve as Science Academic Content Liaison for secondary schools. Following her passion to directly support students, Ms. White became an Assistant Principal at McKinley Technology High School in Washington, D.C., and later returned to Baltimore City to serve as Principal of her alma mater, Western High School. She is also a graduate of Villa Julie College and Towson University, where she earned her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, respectively. 

Ms. White has worked to enrich the educational opportunities of Baltimore City students by teaching masters level STEM courses to teachers seeking STEM certifications at Notre Dame University and Johns Hopkins University.   She is a board member of the Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL) where she helps to ensure that Baltimore students have adequate opportunity to discover their passions and find their voice and agency through high quality educational experiences.

A passionate educator committed to improving students’ life outcomes, Ms. White is the recipient of several awards, including the College Bound Administrator of the Year Award.

Colette Cottman
Community development Specialist, Engagement & Training Lead, Microsoft in Metro Atlanta

Position: Colette Cottman is a Community Development Specialist, Engagement &Training Lead for Microsoft in Metro Atlanta. She represents Microsoft locally.  She and her team are dedicated to supporting educators, young minds and educational institutions that develop the ingenuity, innovation and intellectual curiosity of our young adults.

Education: She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems Management, a Bachelor of Arts degree with concentrations in Organizational Psychology/ Business Administration, and a Master of Arts degree in Human Resources Management. 

Experience: Colette is an experienced Human resource Professional, Corporate Trainer and a decorated Veteran. She served in the US Army from 2001-2015 holding 6 progressive ranks in her tenure ranging from Private to Captain. Colette finished top 10 in her class at Initial Military Training; top 3 in her Signal (IT) Officer Basic course and was selected to Command a unit immediately following her HR Advanced Course. She held 2 Commands (generating force and headquarters), was a Network Support Manager and a Central Hub Signal Officer in Iraq, and served as HR Manager, Training & Development Manager, Family/Career Readiness Officer and Army Community Service (ACS) liaison.

Activities: Colette has pioneered leading-edge campaigns for transitioning military members and female warriors with her Life-Skills Expo, Female Mentor Network and Women’s Warrior Challenge Course. She volunteers in the community with many organizations supporting youth, education and wellness and currently provides support with digital transformation and remote learning by facilitating and directing training in M365 Applications, 21st Century Career Readiness, Coding and sought-after next generation digital skills.

Cheri-Ann Taylor
Director of Student Behavioral Health and Well-Being, Clayton County Publics School System, Georgia

Cheri-Ann Taylor, Ed.S is a certified School Psychologist who has worked with children and adolescents for 18 years in several capacities. Her journey as a mental health provider to youth began at Community Education Partners in Orlando, FL. There she served a Behavior Aide and Discipline paraprofessional from 2001-2003 while earning a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from the University of Central Florida.  Her graduate studies began at Georgia Southern University where she worked at the Regents Center for Learning Disorders as a testing assistant from 2003-2005. Through this work she began to realize the need for quality mental health services to minority youth in the K-12 setting and became drawn to the calling of creating access for students.  Upon graduation in 2006 with an Educational Specialist degree in School Psychology she relocated to the Metro-Atlanta area (Fulton and Troup County) and has served the youth of Clayton County Public Schools since 2007. She has also worked with private agencies in order to gain valuable experience with the provision of mental health services to varied populations. 

The 9 years served in Clayton County Public Schools as a School Psychologist have been in all settings from the Pre-school diagnostic center to the Alternative School, Mrs. Taylor has strived to be versed in each setting.  She served as the Lead School Psychologist for 4 years before being appointed Director of Student Behavioral Health and Well-Being in 2020. Cheri-Ann has a desire for each student in Clayton County Public Schools to have the resources they need to take charge of their own Well-Being. 

A specific area of interest for Mrs. Taylor is Mindfulness. She feels that especially at this time it is important to empower our students with tools needed for them to feel in control of their environments. Cheri-Ann is a dedicated mother and wife. She is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and believes in the value of philanthropy, respect, and perseverance.

Chinita Allen
Founder and Education and Advocacy Consultant, Chinita Allen Education and Advocacy Consulting, LLC, Georgia

​Chinita Allen is the Immediate Past President of the United Nations Association of Atlanta, Alumnae Director at Large Barnard College, Columbia University and President of Cobb Democratic Women.  Ms. Allen is a dynamic speaker, leader, award winning educator, consultant and political strategist.  Her expertise includes leadership and organizational development, education policy, innovative pedagogical practices, advocacy and campaign strategic planning, and community engagement and collaboration. 

In addition to her expertise, Allen’s most recent accomplishments include: 2021 Senior Campaign Advisor to current Cobb County Sheriff and Cobb County District Attorney, 2021 Higher Heights for America Civic Senior Executive Leadership Fellowship, 2021 Cobb County Board of Commissioners District 2 Community Outreach Advisor, 2020 National PTA position statement regarding institutional racism and schools,  2017 Atlanta Families Award of Education Excellence, 2016 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching and Georgia Department of Education STEM Laureate.  

Ms. Allen resides in Marietta, Georgia with her husband and three children.  In her free time, she enjoys reading and learning to garden.   

Madinah S. Ali
President & Co-Founder, Safe PC Cloud Atlanta Co-Lead for The Women in Technology (WIT) Network, Microsoft Business Partner Channel, Atlanta, Georgia

Madinah S. Ali is the President & Co-Founder of SafePC Cloud. The company primarily focuses on data backup and recovery for midsize, enterprise, and government IT environments with an emphasis on cybersecurity. Ms. Ali formerly served as The Women in Technology (WIT) Chair/Board member for the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) Atlanta Chapter and currently serves as the Atlanta Co-Lead for The WIT Network. Safe PC Cloud, was recently selected to participate in the Women in Cloud Accelerator for 2019.
Safe PC Cloud is a Managed Service Provider that focuses on data backup, IT security, and cloud-based applications. Ms. Ali received her Master of Applied Economics degree from Cornell University. She is a Magna Cum Laude Graduate of Florida A&M University. She is currently completing her Microsoft Certified Trainer designation as a part of the Microsoft Learning Partner Program, which is comprised of the premier technical and instructional experts in Microsoft technologies, including Azure Data Backup and Recovery. Ms. Ali is currently a member of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord which promotes a safer online world by fostering collaboration among global technology companies that are committed to protecting customers and users against malicious threats.
​
Over two years ago, she created the EdTech (Education Technology) Division with the focus of bridging the digital divide among women, African Americans, and Hispanics. To learn more about Safe PC Cloud’s Ed Tech division, you can go to their website, and her recent initiative with Microsoft Reskilling and upskilling initiative.

Carolyne Akinyi Opinde, Dr. h.c. (Roundtable Moderator)
Founder and CEO, The NGO Whisperer™, United Kingdom
​
Dr. Carolyne Akinyi Opinde is an award-winning global consultant and social entrepreneur providing technical support to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean so they can successfully impact people's lives.

​Dr. Opinde believes that socio-economic development within low-income communities can be achieved by “Connecting People, Raising Funds, and Impacting Lives™”. 

Dr. Opinde is a seasoned Resource Mobilization and Business Development Specialist with over 15 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector. Her knowledge and expertise in international development has impacted communities across the globe. She has raised over US$ 100 million and managed various projects worth US$ 20+ million.

Dr. Opinde’s commitment to making a difference in people’s lives, especially among women, girls and children in underserved communities led her to establish The NGO Whisperer™ in 2018, as a consulting business with a global reach that provides technical support to nonprofits and social enterprises, so they can successfully impact people’s lives. 

As the Founder and CEO of The NGO Whisperer™ Global Consulting, she leads a team of consultants to provide technical support to nonprofits in Resource Mobilization, Project Management, Governance and Organisational Management, Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management, and Executive Coaching and Masterclasses for leaders. 

As the Editor-In-Chief of The NGO Whisperer™ Magazine, she works with a team of highly respected subject-matter experts to provide high-quality content, industry best practices, and share stories of women and men who are impacting lives within their communities and across the globe. 

As the Host and Producer of The NGO Whisperer™ Show, she interviews women and men who are impacting lives within their communities and across the globe. Notable personalities featured in The NGO Whisperer™ Magazine and The NGO Whisperer™ Show include H.E Prof. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the first Female President of the Republic of Mauritius, H.E Lady Sandra Williams, Governor General ‘s Goodwill Emissary, President and Founder, The Halo Foundation, Inc., Antigua and Barbuda and Lillian Barnard, Managing, Director of Microsoft South Africa, among others. 

International Speaker and Evangelist for social entrepreneurship: 
Dr. Opinde is an international speaker and evangelist for social entrepreneurship. She has spoken to audiences of over 5 000, sharing the stage with Former President Bill Clinton, Bishop T. D. Jakes, Deepak Chopra, and Founders and CEOs of leading fortune 500 companies such as PayPal, Nike, Walmart, Yahoo and Hollywood celebrities to name a few. 
She has interviewed among others, Former President H.E. Prof. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Ndaba Mandela, and Hollywood actor, Charlie Sheen, among others.
She is also a certified Project Management Professional® (UK) and Certified Scrum Product Owner®, among other accreditations.  

Dr. Opinde currently lives with her husband Jose, in Manchester, United Kingdom. She enjoys cooking African and Portuguese delicacies and running.

Mary Ehrsam
President, Operation HOPE Partnerships, New York

As President of Operation HOPE Partnerships, Mary Ehrsam drives the cultivation of revenue streams and avenues for growth and sustainability while furthering the overall mission of HOPE. Mary is responsible for structuring development opportunities, oversight of partnership relations, and the execution of the scalability and sustainability strategy.  Prior to joining HOPE, Mary began her career in strategic economic development and poverty alleviation by launching the Los Angeles affiliate of Habitat for Humanity - growing the organization from a $35,000 budget to $3.2 million and constructing 64 homes in partnership with recipient homeowners. 

Mary expanded her focus to comprehensive revitalization of underserved communities as Vice President, Chief of Operations for Operation HOPE. In her role Mary oversaw the development of the HOPE Financial Dignity Centers and was responsible for operations, legal, fiscal management, compliance, community and political affairs, and financial development.

Mary is a 22-year member of the HOPE legacy team. She developed and launched the HOPE youth programs, expanded the HOPE Inside model nationwide, and led the global expansion in South Africa and the Middle East. Working with the Global Dignity Co-Founders, Mary developed the base “A Course in Dignity” curriculum that has since been delivered, in partnership with the World Economic Forum of Young Global Leaders, in 100 countries on four continents.

She received a degree in economics from Gettysburg College, and currently serves on the boards of directors of Gettysburg College, Art & Soul, and the Gettysburg ESii. Mary is an advisor for the SaveThe Arts Foundation and a member of the ODE National Economics Society. 

Farhana Hasan
Founder and CEO, HerWILL, Atlanta, Georgia

Farhana Hasan is the Founder and CEO of HerWILL, a US based social enterprise for women’s empowerment that focuses on breaking social barriers to success through education, advocacy, discussion, and innovative technology. HerWILL is committed to helping to achieve gender equality, the UN SDG goal #5, by 2030.

Farhana was a senior leader in global aviation for almost 20 years, with experience in data science applications, , business intelligence, aviation technology, and leadership development. She led the technology implementation for partnership development at Delta Air Lines, in collaboration with Delta’s strategic partners around the world. She has also served in SkyTeam IT Executive Board for five years. 

Farhana was in charge of multi-million-dollar technology investments for partnership integration for joint ventures and equity investment. Farhana’s team has built the first on-time performance forecasting model for Delta Air Lines, which was endorsed by the US Department of Transportation.

Farhana has consulted for multiple for-profit and non-profit organizations in the US, Asia, Europe, and South America. She also taught Business Intelligence for Executive MBA at Georgia State University. 

Her recent endeavor has been launching an international consulting firm that is dedicated to Data Science and Leadership Development. Farhana is trained by Leadership Management International in Total Leadership in addition to earning her Six Sigma Master Blackbelt.  

With HerWILL, Farhana has married her passion for women’s empowerment, innovative technology, and data insight. Her cross-cultural and multiple industry leadership experiences have made her well-suited for founding the social enterprise she is now leading.

Farhana.hasan@Herwill.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/farhanahasan1/

Professor Thuli Madonsela
Founder, The Thuli Madonsela Foundation (Thuma), South Africa

Professor Thulisile “Thuli” Madonsela, an advocate of the High Court of South Africa, is the law trust chair in social justice and a law professor at the University of Stellenbosch, where she conducts and coordinates social justice research and teaches constitutional and administrative law. She is the founder of the Thuma Foundation, an independent democracy leadership and literacy public benefit organization and convener of the Social Justice M-Plan, a Marshall Plan-like initiative aimed at catalyzing progress towards ending poverty and reducing inequality by 2030, in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) and Sustainable Development Goals (SGGs). She is a monthly columnist for the Financial Mail and City Press/Rapport, and occasionally writes for other newspapers.

A multiple award-winning legal professional, with over 50 national and global awards, Thuli Madonsela has eight honorary doctor of laws degrees, one of which was awarded by the Law Society of Canada. She holds a BA Law from Uniswa, a Bachelor of Laws from Wits University and a Harvard Advanced Leadership Certificate, and has been trained in legal drafting, leadership, strategic planning, scenario planning, gender mainstreaming, mediation and arbitration, and training facilitation, among other things.

Thuli Madonsela was the Public Protector of South Africa from 2009 to 2016. She is credited with transforming the institution by enhancing its effectiveness in promoting good governance and integrity – including ethical governance and anticorruption in state affairs – through her reports, jurisprudence on the powers of the Public Protector and introduction of ADR. She is the architect of the OR Tambo Declaration on the minimum standards for an effective ombudsman institution and cooperation with the African Union on strengthening good governance and co-founder of the African Ombudsman Research Centre (AORC) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and served as AORC’s founding chairperson. As a full-time commissioner of the South African Law Commission, she supervised several investigations – among them Project 25 – on aligning all laws with the Constitution and participated in the drafting of several laws. She chaired and later project-managed the Equality Legal Education Training Unit (ELETU), which provided foundational training for Equality Court judicial officers. She is the co-founder and one of the inaugural leaders of the South African Women Lawyers Association (SAWLA).

Thuli Madonsela is one of the drafters of South Africa’s Constitution and co-architect of several laws that have sought to anchor South Africa’s democracy.  She also contributed to the conceptualization and quality assurance of laws such as the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, the Domestic Violence Act, and the Repeal of the Black Administration Act. Her policy contributions have focused on the transformation of the judicial system, the promotion of equality – particularly gender equality – and the Victims Charter. She has also participated in the drafting of several international instruments, mainly on human rights, gender, race, disability, development, and gender-based violence, in addition to participating in the preparation of country reports and representing the country.

Robbin Jorgensen (Roundtable Moderator)
Founder and CEO, Women Igniting Change®

Robbin Jorgensen is the Founder and CEO of Women Igniting Change® - a global,  purpose driven organization that unleashes the contribution of women around the  world. She is a status quo disruptor, human rights activist, and global citizen. She is a  sought-after global speaker and social impact strategist with 25+ years of experience in  sales and marketing, training and business development. 
Robbin's expertise has been delivered in 14 countries on 6 continents. Her company is  trusted by major brands including General Electric, Bank of America, Deloitte, Oracle and many more. 

Robbin was honored as a Human Rights Champion by the United Nations Association of the USA, is the U.S. Ambassador for AVEGA Agahozo in Rwanda and has been  featured by the Cartier Women's Initiative, Voyage ATL, the Dana Barret Show, OWN  IT Magazine and the Atlanta Small Business Network (to name a few). She delivered  the keynote address for the 170th Anniversary of the first women’s rights convention  in Seneca Falls, NY joining the ranks of previous speakers who included Hillary  Clinton. 
​
Robbin is also the Founder of the CORA Women’s Center, an economic empowerment  initiative in Rwanda that leverages a gender transformative approach to address  women’s inequality. 

Ramona Houston, Ph.D., PMP
Host of The Empowerment Zone

Ramona Houston, Ph.D., PMP, is on a mission to inspire social impact. A scholar, social impact  strategist, speaker, and host of The Empowerment Zone podcast, Ramona combines her interests  and talents to advance Black and Brown relations, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), and  racial and social justice.
 
A US historian, Ramona specializes in American race relations, specifically its African American  and Mexican American dimensions. Through her publications and presentations, Ramona seeks  to dismantle systemic racism and reduce racial disparities primarily affecting the Black and  Brown communities. 

A social entrepreneur, Ramona truly believes in the power of social responsibility—the business  practice of contributing to the well-being of society. That is why businesses and public figures  hire Ramona to help them to design and execute their social impact visions. Through  collaborating with Ramona, businesses positively impact lives, strengthen their community,  advance the social causes they believe in, enhance their brand, and, ultimately, grow their  businesses through social impact.  

A passionate educator, Ramona also speaks often, enlightening audiences through her podcast,  lectures and trainings, and serving as a subject matter expert on various types of programs.  Whether Ramona is producing scholarship, coordinating community engagement projects or  speaking, one theme remains constant: social impact.  

Devoted to social impact, Ramona is persistently working to fulfill her professional mission of  “Inspiring minds, connecting communities, making social impact and transforming the world.”  

A graduate of The University of Texas (PhD in History) and Clark Atlanta University (BA in  Spanish and History), Ramona is a native of Brownwood, Texas, and currently resides in Atlanta,  Georgia. To contact or learn more about Ramona, visit www.ramonahouston.com.

Resources From Our Speakers:

International Women’s Think Tank https://www.iwthinktank.org (You are invited to a virtual Tea Social)

United Nations Association of Atlanta http://www.una-atl.org 
     Upcoming Event: March 22, 2021 at 12 PM EST, On The Road to Dakar, Recruiting the Voices of Youth for the 9th World Water Forum (this webinar is hosted by Global Water Alliance with support from UNA-Atlanta)

RCE Greater Atlanta https://rcega.org 

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgs.un.org/goals 

Results from UN 75 survey, a global survey on people’s hopes and fears for the future and how to address the challenges we face: https://un75.online 

Nirvana Tea Inc. http://Nirvana-tea.com

Women Igniting Change®  www.womenignitingchange.com

Parking BOXX https://parkingboxx.com/

Ramona Houston, PhD, PMP https://ramonahouston.com/

     The Empowerment Zone https://smarturl.it/ramonahouston

The NGO Whisperer™ https://ngowhisperer.com
     Masterclass April 2021: https://ngowhisperer.com/masterclass
     Magazine Issue, Jan – Mar 2021: https://ngowhisperer/magazine

Her WILL (contact Farhana Hasan)

     www.facebook.com/Herwill.org (FB Page - open to all)
     www.facebook.com/groups/Herwill (Women only FB Group)
     Insta Handle @HerWILL_Global (Follow us)
     YouTube Channel – HerWILL (Subscribe)
     www.herwill.org (Website coming soon)
     https://www.linkedin.com/in/farhanahasan1/ (feel free to connect)

Clayton County Public Schools, Department of Student Behavioral Health and Wellbeing https://sites.google.com/clayton.k12.ga.us/ccps-sbhw/home

Clear Strategy Group www.clearstrategygroup.consulting 
     Contact: Chinita Allen
     Email: callen@clearstrategygroup.consulting
     Phone: (678) 592-4163
     Upcoming Event: March 28, 2021 at 5:00 PM EST, Unsung Sheroes

Western High School  https://westernhighschool.org
     Upcoming Event: April 29, 2021 at 7:00 PM EST: From Girls to Gamechangers

CARE https://www.care.org/     I'm Every Woman - Chaka Khan & Idina Menzel | IWD 2021     https://youtu.be/Jb9aamNfTLU
Accelerate Atlanta University/ Safe PC Cloud https://www.safepccloud.com/education/aau/ 

Operation Hope https://operationhope.org/ 

United Nations Association of Atlanta, in partnership with Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development of Greater Atlanta (RCE Greater Atlanta), created the Sustainable Coffee Talks (SCT) as an initiative to provide networking and educational opportunities for members, partners, and the general public. Each talk focuses on one or more Sustainable Development Goals.