IBJ - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Core Team
- Volunteer Lawyer ( Delhi )
Ajay Raghav started practicing as a lawyer in 2005 as a trial courts lawyer. He has more than six years of experience in handling both civil and criminal cases in the District courts of Delhi. He has also handled Writ Petitions, Public Interest Litigations, civil as well as criminal cases in Delhi High Court and is volunteering with IBJ as a duty lawyer since September 2011. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Delhi University and L.L.M from Veer Kunwar Singh University from Ara, Bihar.
Job Titles:
- India Country Manager
- Member of the Core Team
- Senior Fellow
- India Country Program Director
Ajay is a practicing lawyer based in New Delhi, India. Besides his private law practice in the area of General Litigation, Criminal Law, Human Right Laws,
International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law and Prison Law, Ajay has also been representing many poor litigants on pro-bono basis who are unable to afford private lawyers to represent them before court. Many of them were those who were confined in prisons. Ajay also rendered services to Government of India as Senior Counsel before Delhi High Court. Ajay was Recognized as The Outstanding Young Person of the Year 2010 (TOYP) by JCI, Osaka, Japan and also handled responsibility as Vice-Chair of India Committee of American Bar Association, Section of International Law, from 2008-2010. As a Member Ajay is actively involved in American Bar Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, American Society of International Law, International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA), International Corrections and Prison Association (ICPA) and Supreme Court Bar Association. Ajay is also a Trainer in many regional and national training program organized for capacity building of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Prison Staff organized by IBJ and its partner organizations.
Ajay has earned his Bachelor of Science and Bachelors of Laws (LLB). After completing LLB Ajay has done Certificate courses on Cyber Law, International Trade Law and has completed various Training Programs from United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation, including a certificate Program on Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education.
Ajay is trained and certified as war crimes investigator by Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI), Hague and also a rostered expert of Justice Rapid Response which deploy experts on international justice and rule of law oriented missions, including UN commissions of inquiry and other fact-finding bodies dealing with violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Alex has over 30 years professional experience in a series of leadership roles that has consistently focused on building partnerships to address the world's biggest development challenges. Since January 2020, Alex has been serving as Senior Strategy Advisor to the Director of the Telecommunications Development Bureau at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs). In this role Alex leads and supports the implementation of BDT's strategy, and the scale up key digital development projects around the world.
Prior to joining the ITU, Alex has worked in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. From 2018-2019, he served as President of CG/LA Infrastructure, where he oversaw all operations and the development and implementation of a new strategy to advance development in the world's infrastructure markets. From 2000 to 2018, Alex was a member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum, an international organization for public private cooperation with a mission to improve the state of the world. At the WEF, he held several leadership roles including overseeing the development and rollout of the Forum's Global System Initiatives; heading the Future of the Digital Economy & Society initiative; heading the IT & Telecoms, Media & Entertainment industry teams; heading the Basics & Infrastructure industry teams; and heading the Center for Global Industries Geneva. From 1988-2000, Alex worked for 12 years in a variety of professional roles at Accenture as a Strategy Consultant, General Motors as a Quality Control Engineer, and the US National Parks Service.
He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto, and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.
Married with three children, Aline Nijimbere is a lawyer. She has joined the Burundi Bar Association in June 2000. During her ten years experience as a legal practitioner, she has defended many indigent arrestees, especially individuals involved in civil war crimes for organizations such as the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Burundi, Lawyers without Borders and local human rights organizations like APRODH and Ligue Iteka. Strong of her passion for the promotion of women and children's rights, she has taken many cases of vulnerable women and juvenile detainees and members of ethnic minorities for the High Commissioner for Refugees via a local association, the Burundian Lawyer Women"s Association of which she is an active member. Aline holds a Master degree in Human Rights and Pacific Resolution of Conflicts. She has conducted research and trainings on women and children's rights.
Anna is a strategic philanthropy, advocacy and impact professional with more than 25 years of experience in the non-profit, philanthropy and social venture sector. Since 2008, she has helped RS Group, a family office based in Hong Kong, shape its philanthropy portfolio and advance its "total portfolio approach" in managing all of the principal's investments. RS Group is now a leading voice in promoting impact investment globally. At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she supported the foundation's relationship with other funders and provided advice on the foundation's global health R&D strategy and advocacy activities. Anna has also recently joined Gore Street Capital, a private equity firm focused on renewable energy, as a Venture Partner to lead the firm's impact agenda.
Anna is on the board and advisory boards of several charities and B-Corps dedicated to tactical fundraising, access to justice and girl empowerment. She is the founder and director of a non-profit photography collective, Photographers for Hope which aims to use the power of images to support positive social change.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Director of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance
Tony Saich is the director of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Daewoo Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Harvard University Asia Center. He is Faculty Chair of the Asia Programs and the China Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. This work includes significant training programs for national and local officials from China, including a program to help Beijing officials prepare for the Olympics. He also sits on the Executive Committees of the Fairbank Center and the University"s Asia Center. From 1994 until July 1999, he was the Representative for the China Office of the Ford Foundation. Prior to this he was the director of the Sinological Institute, Leiden University, the Netherlands. He first visited China as a student in 1976-77 and has been there for longer or shorter trips almost each year since. Currently, he is also a guest Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, China. He has advised a wide range of government, private and not-for-profit organizations on work in China and elsewhere in Asia. He is a member of the Trustees of the China Medical Board of New York. His current research focuses on the interplay between state and society in China and the respective roles they play in the provision of public goods and services at the local level. He has written several books on developments in China, including: China"s Science Policy in the 80s (1989); Revolutionary Discourse in Mao"s China (1994, with David E. Apter); The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party (1996); The Governance and Politics of China (2004). He has just finished editing a book on reform of China"s financial sector and on HIV/AIDS in China. He studied political science in the U.K. and has taught at universities in England, Holland, and the U.S.
Astère brings more than 5 years of experience in legal clinical aid and project management to IBJ. His most formative experience was as Assistant Coordinator of the Clinical Legal Aid Project of the International South-African based non-governmental organization ACCORD (African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes), where he delivered capacity-building to grassroots organizations, provided legal counsel to indigents and managed partnerships with other relevant legal aid providers in the country. Astère now provides the on-the-ground leadership to IBJ's Burundi program. He contributes to refine the program's strategic goals, coordinates the main activities of the program and cements strong working relationships with the local partners. He holds a Bachelor of Law from the Law University of Burundi.
Bharat Dube is a graduate of Duke Law School (J.D. '86) and is a graduate of the United World College of the Atlantic, and Harvard University (A.B. magna cum laude, '83).
He is the founder and Executive Chair of Strategic IP Information Pte. Ltd. (www.sipi-ip.com), Asia's leading online brand protection company.
Bharat was a key member of the litigation and enforcement team of Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods conglomerate, between 1990 and 2010 and headed Richemont's global IP litigation team for several years. At Richemont, he was particularly responsible for the Group's two principal brands, Cartier and Montblanc. Prior to joining Richemont, Bharat worked with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in Geneva. He has lectured extensively at IP symposia around the world, including events sponsored by the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, the International Trademark Association, ACACAP, WIPO and various bar associations and universities.
Biljana leads the AIRE Centre's Western Balkans Rule of Law Programme. She has over twenty years' experience developing, funding and delivering more than fifty rule of law projects, ranging from strengthening national judiciaries and other forms of technical assistance, human rights training, legislative reform, and the fight against corruption, often in partnership with local civil society. She is one of the founders of the Rule of Law Forum for South East Europe, a network of highest courts of seven countries. A lawyer by training with degrees from Belgrade University and Lund University's Raul Wallenberg Institute, Biljana began her career at the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and has been associated with the AIRE Centre since 1998. She founded and co-edits the professional legal bulletin, Human Rights in Europe,now over 150 editions. She has also co-edited a series of guides for judges, decision makers and practitioners in South East Europe on range of topics such as freedom of expression, domestic violence, fair trial, international child protection, and European asylum law.
Pheak joined IBJ in February 2010. Currently working as a lawyer for IBJ's Phnom Penh office, Ms. Pheak is responsible for court advocacy for the effective enforcement of Cambodian Criminal Penal and Procedures Codes. Pheak also provides legal aid representation during the investigative and trial phases across Cambodia. Pheak has focused her career on access to justice promotion in Cambodia. She has extensive experience as a legal aid lawyer, focusing on representing indigent clients who otherwise have limited or no access to legal representation on domestic violence. Pheak also provides advice on divorce, assault, sexual and narcotic offences. Prior to joining IBJ, Pheak worked as a lawyer for three years at Legal Aid Cambodia. There she gained experience defending clients in criminal matters before the Provincial Courts, Appellate Court and the Supreme Court. Pheak holds both her Master of Law and Bachelor of Law from the Royal University of Law of Economics, Phnom Penh.Through her work at IBJ, Pheak holds the Police, Investigative Judge and Trial Judge accountable in upholding the Cambodian Criminal Penal and Procedures codes.
Job Titles:
- Provincial Investigator DRC1 Takeo Province
Since joining IBJ in January 2011, Vanny has worked as a Provincial Investigator in IBJ"s DRCs in Takeo Province. Vanny was motivated to work for IBJ by the opportunity his position provides to apply his knowledge of law that he developed as a student and want to get more experience from the law sector.The most rewarding aspects of his job are helping citizens in remote areas to learn about the law and their rights, and it makes him very happy when the lawyer he works with is able to get justice for a person IBJ is representing. In the future, Vanny would like to continue his legal education to work in Legal organization in Cambodia. Prior in 2010 Vanny worked as Legal Intern in IBJ Phnom Penh city; he assisted to lawyer with some tasks at the court and in the office. In 2009 Vanny worked as Legal Intern at Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) in trial monitoring project. In 2008 Vanny worked as Volunteer at Star Kampuchea Organization in advocacy program. Vanny holds a Bachelor of law from the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh.He was born in Kampot province, and completed his certificate at Samdech Cheasim high school in Kampot province.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
With over 30 years of experience in human rights and international law, Christine Cervenak has focused her efforts on advocacy, strategic consulting, teaching and research.
Chris served in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the U.S. Department of State, as Legal Officer for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's West Bank Operations, and with the UN's peace operation in El Salvador. She worked extensively in strategic planning and conflict resolution, consulting to such clients as The Asia Foundation, Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation, USAID and Mercy International Association's Global Action office. While living in Santiago, Chile, she was a director at the University of Chile Law School's Human Rights Center. For six years, she was the Associate Director at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Civil and Human Rights, where her teaching and research focused on issues of human rights and human trafficking. A University of Notre Dame graduate, she studied at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, earned a J.D. from UCLA, clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program. In 2001, she was honored by Notre Dame with the Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, CSC, Award for public service.
Job Titles:
- Senior Counsellor in the Rules Division of the World Trade Organization
Clarisse A. Morgan is Senior Counsellor in the Rules Division of the World Trade Organization, where she has served since 1995. She has over 30 years of extensive experience in high-level policymaking in a broad range of topics. Most notably, she has led teams of policy advisors providing expert technical assistance to Member governments, been integral to high-level multi-stakeholder policy negotiations, and provided expert legal and policy advice to many WTO dispute settlement panels. Recently, she created a set of experiential eLearning training modules to provide an integrated learning tool for national government officials.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Cornel West is the preeminent African-American intellectual of our generation (Henry Louis Gates, Jr.). Now a professor at Princeton University, he is the former Alphonse Fletcher Jr. and University Professor at Harvard University, teaching in Afro-American Studies and Philosophy of Religion. His most recent publication is The Cornel West Reader (2000). Among his numerous other published works are the two-volume Beyond Eurocentrism and Multiculturalism (Common Courage Press, 1993), Breaking Bread (South End Press, 1991), Race Matters (Beacon Press, 1993), Keeping Faith (Routledge, 1993), Jews and Blacks Let the Healing Begin (Putnam Books, 1995), co-authored with Michael Lerner, and Restoring Hope: Conversations on the Future of Black America (Beacon Press, October 1997). Professor West is a well-respected and extremely popular lecturer. His speaking style, forged in the Baptist Church, provides a blend of drama, knowledge, and inspiration.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- President of the International Law Association Hong Kong Chapter
Daniel Fung, the first person of Chinese extraction to serve as Solicitor General of Hong Kong, doing so under respectively Governor Chris Patten and Chief Executive CH Tung straddling the territory's reversion to Chinese sovereignty (1994-8), is Senior Counsel of the Hong Kong Bar and the Chairman of Des Voeux Chambers, voted by Asia Law & Practice as Chambers of the Year for 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2008, and an accredited arbitrator of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. Daniel is a specialist constitutional lawyer with expertise in the setting up of Special Administrative Regions (SARs) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and establishing their parliaments and legislative bodies. He has worked with the Central People's Government in Beijing, the Hong Kong SAR, the Macau SAR, the Shenzhen SEZ and the Zhuhai SEZ Governments. From 1985-1990, he was involved in drafting the mini-constitution for the Hong Kong SAR. He has advised the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on setting up of a Free Trade Zone straddling China, Russia and North Korea.
Daniel is President of the International Law Association Hong Kong Chapter, Honorary President of the International Association of Industry & Commerce, Vice-President of the Academy of Experts, Member of the Board of Governors of the East West Center, national delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, elected Council Member of China Law Society, Founding Governor of the China-US Exchange Foundation, Chairman of the International Advisory Board to the Government of Shanghai Xuhui District and member of the Strategic Development Commission of the Hong Kong Government. Made a Fellow of his alma mater University College London in 2005 where he graduated LLB (1974) and LLM (1978) and a member of Middle Temple since 1974, the English Bar since 1975 and the Hong Kong Bar since 1977, he was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990 and Senior Counsel in 1997. Daniel served on the Basic Law Consultative Committee from its inception to promulgation as Hong Kong's mini-constitution (1985-90), as Deputy Judge of the High Court (1992-4) and on the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong Government (1993-4). He was Visiting Scholar to Harvard Law School (1998-9), Senior Visiting Fellow to Yale Law School (1999), Distinguished Fulbright Scholar for Hong Kong to the United States (2000), Visiting Professor to Peking University Law School (2007- ) and to Sun Yat Sen University Law School in China (2004-7), member of the World Bank International Advisory Council on Law & Justice (1999-2005), special advisor to the UNDP on corporate governance in China (2001), on rule of law capacity building in Cambodia and Laos (2000-2), and on the establishment of the Greater Tumen River Initiative and the Northeast Asia Forum, non-executive director of the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (1999-2004) and the Hong Kong Airport Authority (1999-2005), and Chairman of the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority (2002-2008).
Deborah Twahirwa is a jurist, she was born, raised and studied law in Belgium. Of Rwandan and Burundian descent, she has always been passionate about the defense of human rights and found her vocation during her internship at the local Maison Shalom NGO in Ruyigi, Burundi, who promotes the rights of the children, where she was responsible for the management of files about minors in conflict with the law.
Deborah assists in the coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of RBJ's programme.
Job Titles:
- Member of the DR Congo Team
- MUNGUWAMPAGA - Country Program Manager
Originally from Bukavu in RDC, Dieudonné, became Programme Coordinator of DR Congo Bridges to Justice in 2017. Previous to this, Dieudonné worked with IBJ offering pro-bono legal services. He completed his undergraduate studies in Latin and Philosophy and then successfully graduated in Private and Judicial law from the University of Bukavu. As well as qualifying as a defense lawyer, he obtained certificates in International Humanitarian Law and International Law. Dieudonné completed internships at the TGI de Bukavu and the Institut National de Sécurité Sociale, as well as working with the Fondation Solidarité des Hommes on projects regarding detention. Additionally, he partnered with the American Bar Association on projects regarding children in conflict with the law. Dieudonné also teaches Law at the Centre Multimédia Langue et Métiers and at the Ecole National du Cadastre et des Titres Immobiliers in Bukavu.
Duty Lawyer Program: Our program in Shaanxi Province providing early access to competent legal counsel laid the groundwork for the 2018 creation of a nation-wide Duty Lawyer scheme now codified in China's Criminal Procedure Law.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Francis James brings over 25 years of progressive senior-level management experience in governance, rule of law, human rights, security sector reform, and post-conflict peace-building at the national and multilateral levels. He also brings a proven track record of leadership in both UN agency and peace-keeping mission contexts and currently serves as the Resident Representative for UNDP in Gabon. He previously coordinated an innovative joint rule of law programme in Haiti; served as the UN Development Programme's deputy country director in Senegal; as Director of the Justice & Human Rights Division in the UN Integrated Office in Burundi; and as a Justice & Security Sector Advisor at UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention & Recovery in NY. Prior to joining the UN, Francis worked for the Vera Institute of Justice, directing its international programs. He has practiced as a corporate attorney with Baker & McKenzie, as a public defender in the US federal courts in California, and helped train the first public defenders in Cambodia. He also served as a White House Fellow under President Bill Clinton.
Job Titles:
- Senior Volunteer Lawyer ( Delhi )
Mr. Bhattacharya has been practicing law since 2004 in Delhi before Delhi High Court and also before the Trial Courts. He has vast experience in handling both civil and criminal cases before the Learned District Courts of Delhi besides Writ Petitions, Public Interest Litigations, civil as well as criminal cases before the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi. Mr. Bhattacharya had volunteered has also been handling various pro-bono cases requested by IBJ India. He earned a BA. LL.B. (Hons.) from Meerut University besides graduation degree in BA (Hons.) Political Science from Delhi University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Founder and CEO of Helena
Henry Elkus is Founder and CEO of Helena. Helena is a global problem solving organization. Its purpose is to identify potential solutions to critical global problems and directly implement them through individual projects. Helena's past and current work has addressed elements of climate change, governance reform, exponential technologies, existential risk mitigation and more.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Hilde Schwab helped her husband Klaus Schwab in organizing the very first World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 1971, a platform for business leader discussions based on the multistakeholder principle he published the same year.At her suggestion, environmental and social activists were given a voice at the Annual Meetings helping to promote the causes of many, including anthropologist Margaret Mead, liberation theologist Archbishop Dom Helder Camara, environmentalist Carl Sagan and Swiss animal welfare advocate Franz Weber.Having a passion for contemporary art, and believing that culture is the language that inspires and allows people to better understand one another in a diverse world, Hilde invited famous artists to participate or exhibit their works at the World Economic Forum meetings. Together with Yehudi Menuhin, she created the Crystal Award in 1996 to honor each year outstanding leaders in arts and culture. She was the project manager for the new World Economic Forum building, completed in 1998, ensuring that the values of the Forum such as openness and transparency were incorporated in its construction. Hilde felt that grassroots social entrepreneurs, who have innovative ideas to address social and ecological challenges such as education, health and poverty, should also interact with corporate and political leaders. So, in 1998, she and her husband Klaus created the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. The Foundation now comprises a community of more than 160 outstanding social entrepreneurs worldwide who contribute to all the activities of the World Economic Forum. She serves on the board of Global Dignity, which promotes the right of every human being to lead a dignified life.
International Bridges to Justice is proud to celebrate Innocent Maja for his invaluable contribution to improving human rights in Africa and Zimbabwe. The Country Manager of IBJ's Zimbabwe program, Dr. Maja is also the...
Father of four children, Janvier Ncamatwi holds a Master in Human Rights and Pacific Conflict Resolution. He has been a lawyer at the Burundi Bar Association since 2004. Prior to joining the Bar, Janvier Ncamatwi worked in the Burundian army, first as a major in the military and then as a military court judge. He has thus a thorough understanding of the Burundian criminal justice system, including the civil and military jurisdictions. Passionate about human rights, Janvier cooperates with several other NGOs, including ASF, Ligue Iteka and the Christian Association Against Torture (ACAT). In 2006, he spontaneously assisted twenty juvenile detainees of Muyinga prison with the result that all of them were either released or convicted to lower sentences.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- CEO and Co - Founder of IDEX Africa
Jean Philbert Nsengimana (Phil) is the CEO and co-founder of IDEX Africa, a Digital Strategy and Investment company and a Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Phil's career spans the public sector, academic, international development and the private sector. Most recently, Phil worked as the Special Advisor for Smart Africa and prior to that, he served as Minister of Youth and ICT of Rwanda for 6 years. During his tenure, Phil led digital transformation efforts that resulted in 400% increase of the online population, more than 50-fold increase in digital financial inclusion, 90% of all government transactions with business and citizen being carried out online. He also spearheaded the Smart Africa Alliance and TransformAfrica as well as YouthConnekt Africa Summits. Phil is the Honorary Chairperson of the Alliance for Affordable Internet and has been a member of the World Economic Forum Future Council on Digital Economy and Society and Chairman of the World Summit on Information Society. He holds an MBA from SP Jain School of Global Management in Singapore, a Master's degree in Software Engineering and he is a certified Project Management Professional
Job Titles:
- Trainer
- African Regional Juvenile Justice & Youth Coordinator
Jean-Claude Barakamfitiye is a lawyer, trainer, mentor and consultant. He has been an active member of the Bujumbura Bar Association since 2013. He also holds a Masters' Degree in Intellectual Property (MIP) and is a graduate of the Peace-Building and Conflict Transformation Program at the School for International Training, a program of the World Learning which is in Brattleboro (Vermont).
In February 2022, Jean-Claude was appointed to be the IBJ African Regional Juvenile Justice & Youth Coordinator. In this capacity, he focuses on promoting children's rights and advocating for justice systems which protect the rights of the child not only in Burundi and the Great Lakes Region, but also across Africa. Previously, he served as Program Manager for IBJ's affiliate office - Burundi Bridges to Justice (BBJ) - during which time he succeeded in increasing access to justice for Burundi citizens. He also oversaw BBJ's Defender Resource Center in Bujumbura, a hub for volunteer lawyers providing vulnerable detainees citizens with early access to justice.
Jean-Claude's many accomplishments include: 2008 laureate of the JANUSZ KORCZAK award for the rights of the child; Alumnus of the Draper Hills Summer Fellowship on Democracy and Development with Stanford University; and 2021-2022 Global Child Law Fellow with the Child Law International Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Member of the DR Congo Team
- Senior Lawyer
Jean-Pierre BAHAYA SHABANI was born on March 25, 1982 in Cegera, in the territory of Kabare, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. He was educated at Kabindi Lwiro primary school where he obtained a Certificate of Completion in 1996. In 2005, Jean-Pierre obtained a state diploma in Latin and Philosophy at the Kayandja Institute in South Kivu. He began his university studies in 2006 at the University of Bukavu Faculty of Law where he obtained a degree in Public Law, and awarded his Graduate diploma in 2009, followed by his legal practitioner license in 2011.
Jean-Pierre has acted as legal counselor of the ‘Club des Amis du Développement et l'Environnement' (CADE) since 2009, and offers the same service to the organization, ‘Bukavu Nouvelles Construction pour le Développement', whose head office is located in Bukavu. He took the oath of Judicial Advocate in October 2016, which allowed him to become a true defender of human rights,
In March 2017, Jean-Pierre joined the DRC BJ team as a volunteer lawyer, where he provided quality legal assistance to indigent detainees who were unable to afford a lawyer. He also assisted in organizing roundtables event, rights awareness campaigns, and visiting ‘cachots' to monitor the conditions in which prisoners were kept. Since July 2018, Jean Pierre has been employed by DRC BJ as Senior Lawyer.
Jean-Pierre has participated in all the workshops and trainings organized by IBJ and DRC BJ including the Training of Lawyers and Judicial Defenders in October 2017 on Strengthening Access to Justice and the Rule of Law in the Republic Democratic Republic of Congo, which was held in Bukavu in collaboration with the Bukavu Bar Association.
Jean-Pierre is married and the father of one child.
Job Titles:
- Accounting and Finance Administration
Jeannette Nininihazwe brings significant experience to Burundi Bridges to Justice thanks to her past three years of work with gender based civil society organizations where she contributed to introduce gender based strategies within one non-profit organizations platform. She also participated in a number of field studies aimed at building a database for several projects. Jeannette joined BBJ in September 2017 as a volunteer and her work included ensuring that the gender component is taken into account in BBJ interventions, that from trainings delivered to criminal justice stakeholders to the legal assistance provided freely to the accused. From March 2018, she serves as Accounting and Finance Administrator. Jeannette holds a Bachelor from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Burundi.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Joan Darby practiced law in Washington, DC with the law firms of Dickstein Shapiro LLP and Blank Rome LLP, focusing on the administrative, regulatory, transactional and judicial aspects of developing projects in the natural gas industry. She also has experience in the airline, railroad, trucking, and maritime industries. She earlier served as a field attorney in the Milwaukee Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and a clerk for the NLRB Division of Administrative Law Judges. In 2004 and 2005, Joan served as the Deputy Director of International Bridges to Justice. Joan is a graduate of Wellesley College, and received her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
Job Titles:
- Executive Secretary and Defender Resource Center Lawyer
Joelle Kabagambe has been a lawyer since the 6th of April 2010 directly after having finished her studies and obtaining a license in Law from University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK). She then worked in the offices of her internship sponsor for some years.
She has been a member of Rwanda Bridges to Justice since 2016. She immediately became a member of the network of women lawyers (RBJ-WLN), and is a member of the Federation des Associations et Union des Jeunes Avocats (FA-UJA). She is also part of East Africa law Society (EALS and she is on the administrative board of the CIB (French International Bar Association). She joined IBJ/RBJ as a permanent Defender Resource Center Lawyer in June 2018. Presently, she is managing both a taskforce of 50 lawyers affiliated with IBJ/RBJ, and the women's network RBJ-WLN, which currently counts 25 members.
She is passionate about labor and criminal cases. She is moreover a notary since 2018.
Job Titles:
- Fellow and Rwanda Bridges to Justice Program Director
- Lawyer
John Bosco Bugingo is a lawyer and IBJ Fellow based in Kigali, Rwanda, where he also fulfills the responsibility of program Director. He is a practicing lawyer with over 14 years of legal practice.
John Bosco was born in Uganda where as a young student looked up to lawyers as symbols of intelligence and wit. When he left Uganda for his country home Rwanda in 1996, he knew it was time for him to pursue a legal career. He completed his Bachelor of Laws, LLB (Hons) at the National University of Rwanda in 2004 and a Master of Laws (LLM) in 2014.
He is a senior member of the Rwanda Bar Association (RBA), the East African Law Society (EALS), and associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-London. He has been leading IBJ mission in Rwanda since 2009 and as an advocate Leading the Rwanda Bridges to justice a local chapter of the IBJ, the program has now over one hundred (100) task force defense lawyers, volunteer teams of men and women professionals serving vulnerable categories of detainees and prisoners in Rwanda. John is also a senior consultant of Fountain Advocates, he has developed expertise in human rights and legal defense by providing counsel to vulnerable categories of prisoners, a trainer at the Institute of legal practice and Development
John speaks Kinyarwanda, has excellent command of English and a working knowledge of French and Swahili.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
John Jameson founded Winning Connections in 1996 to build on his telecommunications, political and government experience. Under his leadership, the firm has become America's premier telephone voter contact firm for progressive groups, causes, and candidates. John has led Winning Connections to earn more Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants than any other firm in the field. Its research-driven approach has helped win some of the closest races in the country, including Jon Tester for Senate, Al Franken for Senate, and Dan Malloy for Governor. Their clients have ranged from Planned Parenthood, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Sierra Club to Obama for President, the American Cancer Association and the Human Rights Campaign. Prior to starting Winning Connections, John garnered significant political and telecommunications experience. He managed four state-wide campaigns, and served as a congressional chief-of-staff, and gained in-depth knowledge of telephone technology at American Mobile Satellite Corporation.
John, who lives in Washington, DC, is a native of Eupora, Mississippi. He deepened his understanding of America in the two years he spent selling waterless cookware in 44 states. He has also travelled to more than 30 countries on five continents. John earned a BA from Millsaps College, a JD from Duke Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His writing has appeared in The New Republic, Playboy and Campaigns & Elections. He has served in leadership positions in organizations including Christ Episcopal Church, International Bridges to Justice, the Ballot Initiatives Strategy Center, and Harvard Business School DC Alumni Association.
Job Titles:
- Country Advisory Council Member
As a former prosecutor for over six years, Johnson knows too well how the lack of access to legal counsel impedes the justice system to meet his ideals of fairness, equity and transparency. In 2006, Johnson joined the Kigali Bar Association. He is also a member of the East Africa Law Society. Along with his sound experience both as a prosecutor and lawyer, Johnson brings with him an extended network of contacts within the judicial system, which will help IBJ Rwanda Fellow build a larger movement in favor of the rights of the prisoners across the country. His strength of determination in producing creative solutions when working in a challenging environment will help him, Herbert and John Bosco realize their vision of a legal aid system that ensures universal access to counsel in Rwanda. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Licence) (Hons) from the National University of Rwanda.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Member of the Board of Directors
A former public defender, Karen Tse first developed her interest in the cross section of criminal law and human rights as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow in 1986, after observing Southeast Asian refugees detained in a local prison without trial. In 1994, she moved to Cambodia to train the country"s first core group of public defenders and subsequently served as a United Nations Judicial Mentor. Under the auspices of the U.N., she trained judges and prosecutors, and established the first arraignment court in Cambodia. After witnessing thousands of prisoners of all ages being held without trials, usually after being tortured into making "confessions", Karen founded International Bridges to Justice in 2000 to promote systemic global change in the administration of criminal justice. In the initial stages, she negotiated ground-breaking measures in judicial reform with the Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian governments. Under her leadership, IBJ has expanded its programming to sixteen countries, including Rwanda, Burundi and India. IBJ has created a Global Defense Support Program to bring IBJ assistance to public defenders worldwide. In 2010, IBJ launched the Justice Training Center in Singapore. A graduate of UCLA Law School and Harvard Divinity School, Karen was named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's Best Leaders in 2007. She has been recognized by the Skoll Foundation, Ashoka and Echoing Green as a leading social entrepreneur. Karen was the recipient of the 2008 Harvard Divinity School's First Decade Award, and the 2008 American Bar Association's International Human Rights Award. She also received the 2009 Gleitsman International Award at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Dean of Georgetown University
Kelly Otter is Dean of Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies (SCS). In this role, she oversees the development and delivery of graduate professional programs; liberal studies programs at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels; professional certificate programs and custom education; and summer and special programs.
She leads a team of strategic leaders whose disciplines include academic and faculty affairs, program and curriculum development, assessment and compliance, enrollment management, marketing, digital strategy, operations, and finance and administration. The School comprises approximately 180 staff and faculty, enrolls 3000 degree-seeking students and 7000 non-degree-seeking students. Dr. Otter leads the school's partnership and program development initiatives internationally, primarily in the Middle East, Latin America, India and Southeast Asia.
Dr. Otter's professional portfolio comprises organization design, curriculum development, the design and management of technology-mediated education infrastructures and programs, international education and partnerships, adult and workforce education, and veterans support services.
Keo Dara lives in a small village in the Takeo Province of southwest Cambodia with his wife and nine year old son. He is well liked in his community, as he is both the...
Job Titles:
- Lawyer Appeal Court Office
Kin Vibol was working in IBJ"s office in Takeo province (DRC1) since August 2011. He moved to IBJ"s office in Phnom Penh in December 2012. As a lawyer Vibol provides legal services to persons accused of crimes who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer themselves. He also organizes Street Law and Rural Education campaigns for indigent Cambodian citizens. Vibol is passionate about his work and is committed to helping the poor in rural areas who have limited knowledge about their legal rights. Prior to joining IBJ - between 2005 and 2008 - Vibol worked as a legal assistant for a local government official. He graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor's Degree of Law from the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences, and in 2005 with a Master"s Degree of Law from the Build Bright University. Vibol was born in the Banteaydey district in Pursat province.
Long Savoeun joined IBJ in October 2011. Savoeun currently holds the position of Finance Officer, and facilitates the financial operations in Cambodia. Savoeun has more than four years experience in finance, initially working for Legal Aid Cambodia, providing assistance in accounting and financial management.Savoeun has a Bachelors Degree in Accounting and a Bachelors Degree in Forestry Science. Savoeun also has a Masters Degrees of Audit and a Masters Degree of Integrated Management of Agriculture and Rural Development. Savoeun has a strong work ethic and is committed to working honestly, giving confidence to donors and supporters of IBJ.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- President and CEO of the Art of Energy, Inc
Louise Mita, President and CEO of The Art Of Energy, Inc., and founder of Integrative Quantum Medicine ™ has studied metaphysical alchemy, the healing, and martial arts since 1968 and began teaching her trademark philosophies in 1998. Her background includes Parapsychic Sciences, Reiki, Hawaiiana, Kendo, Kung Fu, Aikido, Hapkido, Jeet Kun Do, and Sho Kon Do. Her focus is upon the practical application of these energies to our daily lives through lectures, seminars and individual treatments.
She has lectured and taught seminars internationally, working with such notable organizations as the World Economic Forum, Swiss Olympic Medical Center-Bad Ragaz, John Burns School of Medicine, The College of Psychic Studies- London, WIN Conference, World Knowledge Forum, Dupont, Oak Foundation, SPRINT, UNAXIS, U.S NAVY, British Petroleum, and the Universities of Hawaii, Alaska, and Arizona. Mita is also a certified practitioner and teacher of Chinese Energetic Medicine, Tai Chi, Qigong, and Feng Shui.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Country Director for Mexico of Amazon Web Services
Luis Velasco is the Country Director for Mexico of Amazon Web Services and an advisor to various organizations primarily focused on economic and social development. He provides advice on various corporate strategy and financial matters including, for NGOs, fund raising, fund management and investment execution. He currently sits on boards such as the World Education and Development Fund (N. Y. based foundation focused on Latin America's education sector), Promotora Social Mexico (Mexico based foundation focused on providing capital to projects targeted to the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid), and Banco Compartamos (Mexico's largest Micro-Finance Bank), amongst others. Before returning to Mexico, Mr. Velasco lived for 15 years in France and the U.S. He spent 11 years in NY, with a brief stay in Hong Kong, working in the M&A and Corporate Finance departments of J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs & Co. Before leaving NY, he was global co-head of J.P. Morgan's media M&A practice. During his finance career he initiated and executed capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, principal investment and other advisory assignments for clients across various industries. He has a Masters degree in Business Administration from Harvard University and a Civil Engineering degree from Universidad Anahuac. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and conversant in French.
Job Titles:
- Provincial Lawyer DRC1 Takeo Province
Kosal started to work for IBJ in December 2012 as a provincial lawyer in Takeo (DRC1) where he is providing legal services to the accused of misdemeanor or felony crimes who cannot hire a lawyer for themselves.
Born in Kandal Province, he graduated Diploma Associated Degree of Law in 2003 and continued in graduating a Bachelor Degree of Law from the Royal Phnom Penh University of Law and Economic in 2005. In 2007 he joined the Lawyer Training Center (LTC) and worked as a trainee lawyer for Legal Aid of Cambodia in 2008. He also completed numerous courses including Computer, Administrative and Secretarial, Marketing and English.
In 2009, Kosal worked as a lawyer for Legal Aid of Cambodia in Koh Kong province where he provided legal representation and consultation to rural poor people.
Job Titles:
- Volunteer Lawyer ( Alwar )
Mr. Manoj Kumar Yadav is a Lawyer based in Alwar, Rajasthan. He has been practising law since 2005 before the District & Sessions Court in Alwar. He is also a panel counsel for the District Legal Services Authority. Manoj has previously attended all training programs conducted by IBJ India and is now part of a group of pro-bono lawyers assisting prisoners held in Alwar District Jail.
Mao Sary is a lawyer at IBJ"s office in Rattanakiri. He started working IBJ in October 2010. He is currently the only permanent legal aid lawyer in Rattanakiri province. Sary was motivated to work for IBJ because it is an organization that will help poor people who do not have ability to hire the lawyer to represent their cases in the court and he want to help charged person who are charged inoffense. Moreover IBJ focus on represent the accused person who got detention in prison and IBJ provide lawyer to represent to charged and accused person.Prior to working for IBJ, he worked as lawyer assistant at CDP for two year as part time job and he worked as judge assistant for 3 years as part time job as part as well. Sary studied at the Lawyer Training Center from 2005 to 2007.He worked as a Lawyer for LAC from 2007 to 2010. Sary graduated with a Bachelors of Law from Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh in 2004.
Marie joined IBJ in 2016 and was initially the Program Associate working on the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of IBJ's programs in Burundi, Rwanda, DR Congo and Sri Lanka. Marie is from the UK and has an LLB (Hons) in law. She has a keen interest in human rights issues and humanitarian law, and has spent time volunteering in refugee camps in the north of France. Previously, Marie worked as a support worker for adults and children with learning disabilities for the Wilf Ward Family Trust in the UK. Marie took on the position of IBJ Indonesia Country Program Manager in March 2020.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Mia Yamamoto has had a distinguished career in criminal law spanning over 30 years. She is a past chair of the Multicultural Bar Alliance, and a past chair of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice - a state-wide organization of over 2500 private and public defenders, and a California State Bar Delegate to the American Bar Association. She has served on a number of boards and committees for groups including the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, ACLU, LA County Bar, National Lawyers Guild. She has conducted lectures and spoken on a number of panel discussions including the President's Initiative on Race, the ABA, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, CACJ/CPDA Death Penalty Seminars. She is called upon regularly to do commentaries in the news media on issues related to criminal and constitutional law.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow at the Internet Society
Michael Kende is a Senior Fellow at the Internet Society, a Senior Advisor at Analysys Mason, and an Affiliate of the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. He is currently a visiting lecturer at The Graduate Institute, Geneva, and most recently, he was the Chief Economist of the Internet Society. Prior to joining the Internet Society in August 2013, Michael Kende was a partner at Analysys Mason, a global consulting firm focused on telecommunications and media. He was head of the Policy and Regulatory sector, head of the U.S. office, and most recently was in charge of developing its Internet practice at Analysys Mason. He has done a significant amount of work on promoting Internet development in emerging regions around the world. He is also working on the economics of cybersecurity, as a means to reduce data breaches and increase trust in the Internet. He has a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and a BA in mathematics and economics from Bowdoin College. After MIT, he spent five years as a professor of Economics at INSEAD, teaching microeconomics to MBA students and a course in industrial organisation for Ph.D. students. He was also the Director of Internet Policy Analysis at the US Federal Communications Commission, where he was responsible for managing a wide range of policy analyses and regulatory decisions. Prior to MIT, Michael Kende worked as a systems analyst in the IT department for Proctor and Gamble in Geneva.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Michael Møller is a Danish former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and the 12th director-general of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG). Mr. Møller has over 40 years of experience as an international civil servant in the United Nations. He began his career in 1979 with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and worked with UNHCR in different capacities in New York, Iran, Mexico, Haiti and Geneva.
Between 1997 and 2001 he was the Head of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at United Nations headquarters; between 2001 and 2006 he was the Director for Political, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary-General, while serving concurrently as Deputy Chief of Staff for the last two years of that period. Mr. Møller also served as the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Cyprus from 2006 to 2008 and was the Executive Director of the Kofi Annan Foundation from 2008 to 2011.
Born in 1952 in Copenhagen, Mr. Møller completed a Master's course in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
Job Titles:
- Senior Volunteer Lawyer ( Delhi )
Mr. M.L. Yadav is a lawyer based in Delhi. He mainly practices before the Delhi High Court, and has done so since 1999. Besides his private practice Mr. Yadav works closely with IBJ India, taking on many cases of indigent prisoners to provide them with free legal assistance.
Nadine AMULI FEZA is a Congolese lawyer with a license in Public, Domestic and International Law from the Catholic University of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo and a member of the Bar Association of Bukavu. She was awarded a certificate of merit by the Catholic University of Bukavu for winning the national moot court competition in International Humanitarian Law organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross. She was also awarded a certificate entitled - "Young Hope of the DRC" - for her remarkable efforts promoting the issues of underpriviledged Congolese women. She also worked as a field officer for the United Nations Development Programme with a judicial monitoring project in partnership with the Faculty of Law of the Catholic University of Bukavu.
Currently, she is a Program Officer at DR Congo Bridges to Justice where she has a leadership role in providing free legal assistance to vulnerable, detained women. She also has an impressive track record in organizing round tables and awareness campaigns on the fundamental rights of vulnerable people, monitoring detention centers, and conducting project management activities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Nancy Hollander is an internationally recognized criminal defense lawyer in the New Mexico firm of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Davis. She is also an Associate Tenant at London's Doughty Street Chambers and Of Counsel to the Geneva firm of Savolainen Avocats.
Ms. Hollander has been admitted to practice in the US Supreme Court and in several federal and military courts. She is also on the list of counsel for the ICC as well as the DOJ Pool of Qualified Civilian Defense Counsel for Military Commissions.
For more than four decades, Ms. Hollander's practice has largely been devoted to representing individuals and organizations accused of crimes, including those involving national security issues, in trial and on appeal. She was lead appellate counsel for Chelsea Manning in her appeal and she won Ms. Manning's release in 2017 when President Obama commuted her sentence from 35 years to seven years. Ms. Hollander has also represented two prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and in 2016, she won the release of one of them - Mohamedou Ould Slahi - who had been incarcerated for 14 years without charge. His story is chronicled in his New York Times-bestselling book, Guantanamo Diary, which Ms. Hollander helped facilitate and publish and in a feature film, entitled The Mauritanian.
In addition to her criminal defense practice, Ms. Hollander has been counsel in numerous civil cases, forfeitures, and administrative hearings, and she has argued and won an historic case involving religious freedom in the US Supreme Court. Ms. Hollander has also served as a consultant to the defense in other international cases.
She has taught in numerous trial practice programs in the US and internationally. She has also written extensively and conducted more than 200 seminars and presentations around the globe on various subjects, including the securing of evidence in international cases, forfeiture, illegal search and seizure, expert witnesses, defense of child abuse cases, ethics, evidence, and trial practice.
In 1992-93, Ms. Hollander was the first woman president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Hollander has also received many professional awards. Among them, in 2001, she was named as one of America's top 50 women litigators by the National Law Journal.
Joining IBJ in 2007, Ouk Vandeth is currently the IBJ Fellow and Country Director of the program in Cambodia. Vandeth is responsible for the operation, coordination and success of IBJ's legal aid services, Street Law activities, Roundtable forums and Lawyer Training. Vandeth is also responsible for strengthening relationships with both local and foreign governments as well as private funders to ensure IBJ's growth in Cambodia.Vandeth survived the Khmer Rouge, and served as the Police Commander at refugee site two camp. He was a Police Official from 1985 to 1994, a time when it was socially acceptable for the police to obtain confessions by means of torture. After this experience, he was trained by Karen Tse and became one of Cambodia's first public defenders. Vandeth was also one of IBJs first Fellows. In 1996, Vandeth was named Head of Kandal Provincial Legal Aid Office, the first Legal Aid office of Cambodia reconstructed after the Khmer Rouge. In 2004 he then became the Director of Legal Aid of Cambodia. He is now nationally recognized as one of the leading public defenders in Cambodia and currently sits on the board of Development and Partnership Action in Cambodia. Vandeth joined IBJ to facilitate change both attitude and culture of the Cambodian civil and judicial society towards legal rights and the use of torture as an investigative tool. His extensive legal aid experience means he understands the needs of the accused and more importantly the strategies required to successfully defend peoples' basic human rights. He accepts that early intervention by a lawyer, citizen legal education and justice community discussions have positive impacts on preventing torture, excessive pre-trial detention and disproportionate sentencing practices. Mr Vandeth has therefore resolved to devote attention to preventing these injustices in Cambodia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the China Team
- China Program Director
Paula Ho is a Canadian and U.S. attorney with experience in rule of law and human rights programming, non-profit project management, private practice, and legal aid. Previously, Paula served as IBJ's China eLearning Project Manager in Beijing, overseeing the creation of online training tools for criminal defenders on both legal skills and the latest developments in criminal procedure law. During a hiatus from IBJ, Paula worked as a consultant for various non-profits, including on a China-related project for Justice Ventures International, working to eradicate human trafficking, empower the urban poor, and ensure access to justice. She also volunteered as a legal aid attorney serving low-income Asian immigrant clients at Greater Boston Legal Services. Paula holds a BA with Distinction from Cornell University and a JD from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. After graduating from law school, Paula practiced in commercial litigation and real estate for two years in Toronto, Canada.
Job Titles:
- Appeal Court Investigator
- Investigator
Since May 2011, Sophoes is an Investigator at IBJ"s office in Rattanakiri province. Sophoes was motivated to work for IBJ to develop his knowledge of law and help citizens in remote areas to know about their rights and laws in Cambodia.In the future, Sophoes would like to be a lawyer in Cambodia. From October 2010 to April 2011 he was a Lawyer Assistant Intern in Phnom Penh. Prior to intern at IBJ he has been a lawyer Assistant at BS lawyer office from 2008 to 2009. He was born in Phnom Penh. Sophoes completed his certificate at Chumpuvorn High School in 2006, and graduated bachelor degree of law at the royal university of law and economic in Phnom Penh in 2010.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Pooja Duggal is a renowned Nutritionist and one of the top five women in the global Diamond Industry. While spearheading the Indian arm of the largest diamond trading companies in the world, Rapaport Group, in 2010, she stood up against the diamond industry in India, a multi-billion dollar industry, as the voice that condemned blood diamonds, which had made their way into the country. She is a qualified gemologist awarded by the Gemological Institute of America.
Pooja is also is the CEO and Founder of HealthHunt, a content-led marketplace in the health and wellness space that is gravitating towards an AI-based platform. Using innovative technology, HealthHunt is powering some of Asia's largest corporates, schools and colleges with a curated repository of wellness information that's verified and fact-checked through its tool-the health wire. Entrepreneur, leader, mother to a beautiful baby boy, Aramnäya and wife to an incredible Geek, Sachin Duggal - she spends her spare time travelling, doing yoga, reading, and cooking healthy meals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- CEO of Leidar
Rolf Olsen is CEO of Leidar, an international advocacy, branding and communication consultancy with offices in Geneva, Brussels, London, Dubai and Oslo/Kongsvinger. He is also Honorary General Consul for Norway in Geneva and Canton Vaud. In addition to chairing Leidar's boards, he is on the boards of Osmotex and Reuge. Rolf has more than 40 years' experience in communications, the last 30 at a top tier international level. Before setting up Leidar, he was CEO Continental Europe of Weber Shandwick. Prior to this he held executive positions at both European and global level for two American Fortune 50 companies; firstly 13 years with Digital Equipment Corporation and then five years with Motorola. Before joining Digital, he was night editor in a daily newspaper, Public Relations Manager at the Norwegian Association of Disabled Persons and information officer for a political party working in the Norwegian parliament. He lectures regularly at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.
Mr. Serwanga Ronald was born, raised and studied from Uganda. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB) from Makerere University (MUK)'s Faculty of Law and a Diploma in Legal Practice (DLP) from the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD) at Nyanza in Rwanda. He gained experience and inspiration for the legal practice when, as part of his LL.B programme, he worked with SEBALU & LULE, one of the leading law firms and a fellow of DLA Piper Africa Group member firm. He is very familiar with both Ugandan and Rwandan legal systems and his comparative knowledge of both systems becomes an asset to IBJ.
Job Titles:
- International Program Director
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
The former Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University, Reverend Scotty McLennan has previously served as the University Chaplain at Tufts, visiting professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School. An ordained Minister in the Unitarian Universalist Church, Reverend McLennan holds M. Div and J.D. degrees from Harvard's Divinity and Law schools respectively. He has practiced in the Boston area as a church-sponsored poverty lawyer. The author and co-author of two books on topics of business, ethics, and religion - Finding your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up With Has Lost Its Meaning and Church on Sunday, Work on Monday: The Challenge of Fusing Christian Values with Business Life - Reverend McLennan brings a uniquely diverse set of experiences to the IBJ Advisory Board.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Director of Development for the Economic Studies Program at Brookings Institution
Sheila Dennis is the Senior Director of Development for the Economic Studies program at Brookings Institution. In this role, she serves as a member of the senior leadership team in Economic Studies, setting the strategic direction for the program's long-term, sustainable growth and working closely with the Vice President and scholars on engaging and soliciting donors. Prior to joining Brookings in August 2020, Sheila was the Director of Principal Giving and Interim Associate Dean of Development and External Relations at Harvard Divinity School. Bringing over three decades of fundraising experience to Brookings, she has also held senior development positions at The Wilderness Society, Deerfield Academy, the Union of Concerned Scientists and The Nature Conservancy, in addition to work at Yale University and the American Museum of Natural History and other organizations. Sheila graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a BA in Politics. When she is not working, Sheila is an outdoor enthusiast and loves hiking, walking and cycling. Sheila lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Steve Sénèque is an Australian and Swiss national living in Geneva. Steve holds a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University and has 30 years of international experience. He began his career as an economist working principally in Vietnam on poverty and development projects for UNICEF and UNDP. After moving to Geneva in 1997 he began a career in wealth and fund management. Since then Steve has held a variety of senior management roles, including Senior Vice President for Santander Group (Geneva), President and Chief Investment Officer of Sparx International Hong Kong, Head of Equities (Japan) for Fidelity International in Tokyo, Investment Director at Octogone Gestion SA (Geneva) and most recently Chief Investment Officer of XP Private Europe. He is currently an independent financial consultant. Outside of his professional activities, Steve has been involved with philanthropic causes, including the Ashoka Support Network, through which he began his involvement with IBJ in 2014.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Tracy Holland has spent the last 25 years of her professional career leveraging her legal and tax background. She started her career at Arthur Andersen managing a mid sized team that focused on international tax and law for clients like Estee Lauder and Marubeni Corporation, in addition to, high net worth individuals. She spent the majority of her 25-plus year professional career as a board member of a Family Office. In that function she was involved in many areas including the compliance oversight of all investment transactions.
Tracy's passion has been philanthropy and co-founded Save Our Lives Ghana, a foster home for 96 children/teenagers in Kumasi, Ghana. Her focused dedication created significant improvement in the living conditions for those children by her ability to engage high net worth individuals in strategic fundraising. In addition, for years running, she successfully organised a team of individuals to attend two week working trips. She also leveraged her strategic thinking and business management skills to ultimately create a financially self sufficient home. Her involvement created systematic ways to secure employment for the children once they are no longer eligible to stay in the home through secondary education/apprenticeships etc. Tracy successfully initiated the building of a primary school on the land to educate the children, which ultimately was able to attract outside paying students thus creating a steady income for the home. She is also proud to be involved with the Association of Alzheimer charity by organising events for fund raising.
Tracy holds her Bachelor of Commerce and a Chartered Account ant degree from Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg South Africa, and her LLB, Law degree from University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg South Africa. On a personal note, Tracy became a Yoga Instructor, creating her own Yoga Studio where she taught regularly for over 12 years. In addition, Tracy is a proud mom of two adult children whom she raised in Geneva, Switzerland, and enjoys the mountains and golf.
Job Titles:
- Member of the China Team
- Operations Manager
- Operations Manager for IBJ 's China Program
Zhang Yun is the Operations Manager for IBJ's China Program, currently overseeing our in-country regulatory compliance and other administrative matters. Extensively experienced with GMS accounting, Zhang Yun also facilitates financial reporting and is responsible for ensuring accuracy and quality control. Experienced in event organization, Zhang Yun has successfully organized trainings, workshops, and roundtables over her many years with IBJ. With a wide network of stakeholders in the justice community in China, Zhang Yun provides strong support to IBJ's China program development. A graduate of Fujian Normal University, Zhang Yun holds a B.A. in English, as well as a special certificate in accounting. Prior to joining IBJ, she served as an high school English teacher in Fujian and an Administrative Officer in the People's Government in Zhangzhou city, Fujian Province, where she was responsible for filing accounting reports to the provincial government.