ElsaMarie D’Silva is the Founder and CEO of Red Dot Foundation (India) and President of Red Dot Foundation Global (USA). Its platform Safecity, crowdsources personal experiences of sexual violence and abuse in public spaces. Since Safecity started in Dec 2012, it has become the largest crowd map on the issue in India and abroad.

ElsaMarie is a 2020 IWF Fellow and a Gratitude Network Fellow, 2019 Reagan Fascell Fellow, a 2018 Yale World Fellow and an alumni of the Stanford Draper Hills Summer School, the US State Department’s Fortune Mentoring Program, Oxford Chevening Gurukul and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Leadership Program. She is also a fellow with Rotary Peace, Aspen New Voices, Vital Voices and a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader. She is listed as one of BBC Hindi’s 100 Women and has won several awards including Government of India Niti Aayog’s #WomenTransformingIndia award and The Digital Woman Award in Social Impact by SheThePeople.

In 2017, ElsaMarie was awarded the Global Leadership Award by Vital Voices in the presence of Secretary Hillary Clinton. She is also the recipient of Gold Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year – Government or NonProfit -10 or Less Employees in 2016. Her work has been recognized by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations through the Intercultural Innovation Award, SDG Action Festival and the UN Foundation at the Solutions Summit 2016. She has penned articles that have appeared in CNN, Huffington Post, WIP amongst others. She has spoken about her work at the Rotary International Assembly 2019, Aspen Ideas Festival, at TEDx MidAtlantic, UN Women, State Department, Vital Voices South to South Leadership Summit. She has been a panelist for World Bank, NDI, USIP, SheThePeople and hosted a roundtable at the Bloomberg CityLab London 2015. Prior to Safecity, ElsaMarie was in the aviation industry for 20 years where she worked with Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines. Her last portfolio was Vice President Network Planning & Charters where she oversaw the planning and implementation of 500 daily flights.

Nika Kovač is the founding director of The Research Institute of 8th March, a movement-building organization that uses storytelling and advocacy to confront gender and economic inequalities across Slovenia. 

Kovač and her team initiated the Slovenian #metoo campaign (#jaztudi) and have gone beyond raising awareness by articulating positive demands for concrete change.  Under her leadership, the Institute’s advocacy successfully initiated the legal redefinition of rape and sexual violence in Slovenia, enforcing a new legal definition in line with the affirmative consent model, “Yes means yes.”  

Kovač coordinated two winning national referendum campaigns: one against the privatization of water in 2021 and the other against political influence on public media in 2022. She also led the most extensive “Get-Out-The-Vote” campaign in Slovenian history ahead of the 2022 Parliamentary election, which contributed to a 71 percent voter turnout. She is currently coordinating the “My Voice, My Choice” campaign across Europe.  

Hellen Lunkuse Waiswa is the founder and executive director of Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF), aUgandan NGO working extensively with women and at-risk children, child victims of sexual abuse, and survivors of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence. With their mission to empower women to take charge of their lives through human right awareness and protection, affordable health and care services, and entrepreneurship, Lunkuse Waiswa and her team connect survivors to emergency medical and psychosocial services and help relocate those in imminent danger to safety. Lunkuse Waiswa is also the founder & CEO of Hellen Lex Beauty and Cocoa Delight. She holds a masters in human rights, a masters in gender studies, a bachelor’s in environmental management, a diploma in law, and several post graduate certificates.In 2019, Lunkuse Waiswa was nominated to be part of Vital Voices VV100 program. She is a member of National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, a member of the Global ThinkersForum, the World Federation Against Drugs, and TrustLaw under the Thomson ReutersFoundation. She received the Trust law Impact Award in 2018 from the Thomson ReutersFoundation for her project Protecting Children in Uganda. The project aimed to ensure that staff and volunteers were fully protecting the rights of children within their network. Lunkuse Waiswa was also a nominee of the Global Thinkers Forum in the category of ‘African FemaleLeaders’ which recognizes the best female philanthropists in Africa.

Rudayna Abdo is the Founder and CEO of Thaki, a nonprofit organization that advances digital inclusion by providing gently used laptops with preloaded educational content for underserved communities in the Middle East. Thaki’s educational features include a bilingual, content-rich app that enables offline learning, and a Digital Toolkit for teachers, acting as an educational bridge between ed-tech solutions and vulnerable communities, enabling children and teachers to interact with the digital world that would otherwise not be available to them. Its circular economy model is based on collaboration and low-effort contributions from the private sector, leading to huge social impact.

Abdo has a bachelor’s of science degree in Architectural Studies from MIT, a master’s degree in Urban Planning from McGill University, and is a graduate of Amsterdam’s THNK School of Creative Leadership executive program. Her original career in urban planning involved envisioning, managing, and tailoring solutions to challenging housing, land use, and urban transportation issues across diverse urban geographies including the Arabian Gulf region where she held leadership positions in the private and non-profit sectors.

Abdo received the 2017 TEDxAmsterdamED Award and has been featured in several publications and podcasts. Under her leadership Thaki won numerous recognitions and awards including MIT Solve and selected among HundrED’s Global Collection of 100 of the brightest innovations in K12 education from around the world.

Maya Manchester founded Period101, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to fighting period poverty. Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products. Period101 creates period product kits, which are canvas bags filled with menstrual products and a motivational note. Manchester Co-Founded the first Period101 Chapter at Thomas A. Edison High School, and Period101 has since expanded to other schools through chapters and partnerships. Period101 has donated 3,000+ period product kits and 17,900+ individual menstrual products.  

As a First-Year Student at American University in Washington, DC, Manchester is majoring in international studies, hoping to focus on international development or human rights and pursuing a minor in French. In the past, Manchester participated in the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program as a Fellow and hopes to seek out more opportunities relating to international relations in the future.  

Yutsil Carpintero is a young Indigenous woman from the Ngäbe-Buglé region, motivated, perseverant, proactive, organized and responsible. She is currently in the process of obtaining her degree in Banking and Financial Administration with emphasis in Foreign Trade. Yutsil has more than three years of experience working with the Indigenous organization Kramikada Kansendabidi Foundation, where she has participated in the development of training programs for Indigenous leaders, youth and women. She is also co-founder of the Reloop project, which focuses on the circular economy and aims to efficiently manage organic waste. Although her level of English is not yet advanced, Yutsil is confident that, if given the opportunity to participate, she will reach the level of proficiency she desires and further strengthen her communication skills. She also believes that interacting with new people and learning about different initiatives will improve her knowledge, allowing her to implement innovative ideas in her workplace and personal projects. She considers it a valuable opportunity to be part of this program.

Yutsil Carpintero es una joven indígena originaria de la región Ngäbe-Buglé, que se caracteriza por su motivación, perseverancia, proactividad, organización y sentido de la responsabilidad. Actualmente se encuentra en proceso de obtener su licenciatura en Administración Bancaria y Financiera con énfasis en Comercio Exterior. Yutsil tiene más de tres años de experiencia trabajando con la Fundación Kramikada Kansendabidi, una organización indígena con la que ha participado en el desarrollo de programas de capacitación para líderes indígenas, jóvenes y mujeres. También es cofundadora del proyecto Reloop, que se enfoca en la economía circular y busca la gestión eficiente de los residuos orgánicos. Aunque su nivel de inglés aún no es avanzado, Yutsil confía en que, si se le brinda la oportunidad de participar, alcanzará el nivel de dominio que desea y fortalecerá aún más sus habilidades comunicativas. Asimismo, considera que interactuar con gente nueva y aprender sobre distintas iniciativas enriquecerá sus conocimientos y le permitirá poner en práctica ideas innovadoras, tanto en su lugar de trabajo como en sus proyectos personales. En su opinión, formar parte de este programa representa una valiosa oportunidad. 

“As a woman judge in a position of power in my community, the least I can do is work to defend the rights of underprivileged women. I understand the limitations of legislation and know that in all cases of gender-based violence, victims need support from the community. I want to work with our society to create peace and eliminate violence against women.”

Josselyne Bejar has been a penal judge in Mexico for 20 years. She believes judges have a role in eliminating violence against women and collaborates with the police, prosecutors, government and civil society to ensure that victims of gender-based violence have access to the justice system.

Education is one of the keys to ending violence against women, says Josselyne. She advocates for open discussion about all forms of gender-based violence, including psychological, economic and physical abuse. Josselyne trains judges, magistrates and lawyers on judicial reform and wants to strengthen the system’s ability to help survivors find justice.

Clare Bailey is the Leader of the Green Party of Northern Ireland and was first elected as a Member to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016. She is the current chair of the NIA Women’s Caucus, Chair of the All-Party Group on Arts and served as Vice Chair to the APG on UNSCR 1325 as well as Co-Chair to the APG on Domestic & Sexual Violence.

Upon taking her seat, Clare was the first member of the legislative assembly in Northern Ireland to designate as Feminist. She is an ardent Women’s Rights campaigner and continues to fight for abortion rights. Before being elected, she worked for a charity helping victims and survivors of sexual & domestic violence.

As a lone parent, she experienced the economic and social barriers faced by many marginalised women and spent time living in a homeless hostel with her children. In 1981 she was one of the first 28 children to attend NI’s first integrated school where she remains a proud alumni. Returning to education as a mature student, she graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a Politics major and Culture & Media Studies minor degree in 2009. During her time at University, she was involved in student politics and elected as Mature Student s Officer.

Mary Blackford is the Founder of Market 7, a community marketplace that features Black-owned businesses for the purpose of alleviating food and retail deserts in Washington, DC. Mary graduated from Babson College with a bachelor’s degree in business management. In the summer of 2017, she launched her most recent venture, Market 7. Market 7 has worked with over 80 Black-owned businesses in the DC area to create alternative community pop-up markets that include fresh food, lifestyle products, and home essentials in Ward 7 (DC). Market 7 is currently building the first Black-owned food hall in Washington, DC; a new 7,000 sq ft food space slated to open within the next year.

In 2019, Blackford also worked with Whole Foods Market (Mid-Atlantic) to bring new Black-owned brands to their stores in DC. Blackford has also developed partnerships with Google and the Greater Washington Urban League to provide entrepreneurial training in underserved communities.

Beth Bell is the Executive Director of BraveWorks, a 501c3 nonprofit based in Charlotte, North Carolina with a mission to empower women overcoming trauma and injustice, bridging the gap from pain to purpose through artisan enterprise and personal transformation.

Previously, Beth served as National Charity Director for BeautyKind, an online platform designed to bring commerce and conscience together. Beth’s experience includes over 10 years as a designer before moving into human services. Beth graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Fine Arts and Business and is passionate about utilizing design to bring lasting change to underserved populations.

Beth is mission-minded with an extensive portfolio of community engagement and has been recognized for her leadership work through board engagement and effective change management. Beth was named to Charlotte’s “40 Over 40” leaders by the Charlotte Ledger in 2020 and has served on the Board of Directors for Charlotte Family Housing (2017-2022). Beth chaired the Board of The Harvest Center of Charlotte (2010 – 2012) and continues to serve as an advisor. Beth also served on the Executive Leadership Council for the American Cancer Society (2018-2021) and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Mission Charlotte Advisory Board.

Aya Chebbi is a multi award-winning Pan-African feminist. She rose to prominence as a voice for democracy and shot to global fame as a political blogger during 2010/2011 Tunisia’s Revolution. She also served as the first ever African Union Special Envoy on Youth and the youngest diplomat at the African Union Commission Chairperson’s Cabinet.

Over the span of the past decade, Aya has single handedly transformed the youth participation space across Africa and created various online and offline platforms including Afrika Youth Movement, one of Africa’s largest youth-led movements and Afresist, a think tank documenting youth work in Africa. She served at Oxfam Independent Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Generation Unlimited Board, Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, the Council of the Africa Public Health Foundation among others.

Aya is graduate of University of Tunis El Manar with Bachelor in International Relations, Fulbright scholar at Georgia Southern University and Mo Ibrahim Foundation Scholar for her Masters in African Politics at SOAS, University of London. She received the 2019 Gates Foundation Campaign Award and was named in Forbes’ Africa’s 50 Most Powerful Women and New African Magazine List of 100 Most Influential Africans.

Amina Mohamed is the founder and executive director of Cameras For Girls, a project that empowers young Ugandan women through photography and business skills. With the gift of a camera and a 4-phase year-long program, women elevate their talents and seize opportunities in male-dominated fields of journalism and photography. Since 2018, the initiative has trained 47 young women in Uganda, with over 70% securing full-time paid work in journalism, communications, and photography.

Mohamed’s career in Canada’s film and television industry spans over 20 years, starting from wardrobe to producing films and documentaries, refining her storytelling skills. Transitioning into freelance photography, she found the inspiration for her initiative to support women in her homeland, Uganda. Mohamed expands Cameras For Girls to Tanzania this year and South Africa in 2024. Her outstanding contributions have earned nominations for the RBC Women of Influence Award in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Recently, her photos were exhibited nationwide in Canada, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Asian Expulsion from Uganda in 1972.

“As a visionary leader, I aspire to empower and uplift the voices of African women.”

Leah Lizarondo is an inventive social entrepreneur who’ s engaging everyday citizens in the fight to end hunger and reduce the environmental damage caused by food waste. She’ s the co-founder of 412 Food Rescue, a food recovery organization that uses technology to link retailers with excess food to distribution volunteers, preventing un-sellable but perfectly good food from going to waste.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Leah lives in Pittsburgh, where her social enterprise got started 5 years ago. She turned a lifelong passion for food into a pioneering model for sustainability after learning about the magnitude of global food waste, which has devastating implications for both people and planet.

“We started in direct response to the disconnect that we as a society waste 40% of the food supply while 1 in 6 people go hungry,” explains Leah. “Food waste is also the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, affecting us all.”

As CEO of 412 Food Rescue, which has been called ‘Uber for food recovery’ , Leah has helped redirect over 9 million meals from over 2300 food retailers to over 900 NGOs, getting food to those who need it and preventing 9 million pounds of carbon emissions in the process. Currently operating in 6 North American cities, with over 10,000 volunteer drivers in its network, Leah’ s plan is to create a global movement of that reaches 100 cities by 2030.

Set to expand globally, Leah’ s work at 412 Food Rescue has been featured in national media including NPR, Fast Company, FoodTank, Martha Stewart Living, Food & Wine, Saveur, Organic Life, Bust Magazine, Redbook, Success Magazine and Civil Eats. In April 2014, she gave the TEDx Talk “Why the Farm Is Not Getting to the Table.” Leah was named in FoodTank’s “17 Food Heroes to Inspire Us in 2017” and in 2018 she was named “Pittsburgher of the Year” by Pittsburgh City Paper. Additionally, 412 Food Rescue was recognized as Pittsburgh Tech 50’s “StartUp of the Year” in 2018 and received the Carnegie Science Award for Information Technology in 2019 – making it the first social enterprise to receive both awards.

Leah received her graduate degree in Public Policy & Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. She serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at the Block Center for Technology & Society at Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She was born and raised in the Philippines and currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Lizarondo’ s organization supports the following SDGs:

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal 13: Climate Action

“Food Rescue Hero facilitates a point-to-point distribution model that completely changes the way we enable food access. Not only are we able to recover healthy, perishable food, we are able to distribute food more widely — mitigating barriers such as transit access, mobility, disability and time. We have prevented over 6 million pounds of food from going to landfills to feeding those who are in need. This is the largest volunteer transport network and the most food recovered by a grassroots network globally.”

Leah was selected as a 2019 WE Empower Awardee and a 2020 Global Leadership Awards Honoree.

Du is the Founder and CEO of Moola Money, a fintech startup that helps millennials in the UK gain financial confidence through AI-assisted planning tools. In 2025, Moola Money was recognized internationally when Du won the Bronze Stevie Award (International Business Awards) for Best Young Entrepreneur.

Previously, Du worked at McKinsey & Company in retail banking strategy and held leadership roles across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She is also Managing Director of Okta Investment GmbH, her family investment office in Berlin, which was named Best Alternative Investor 2025 – Germany and received the Excellence Award in AI/Crypto Investments 2025.

“As a visionary leader, I redefine access to finance by combining technology, cross-cultural insight, and impact-driven investment to create financially inclusive opportunities for the next generation.”

Rania Harrara is a gender equality advocate, sustainability expert, and social entrepreneur dedicated to empowering women and girls across the SWANA region.  

As the founder of Climate Sirens, an award-winning social enterprise focused on economic empowerment, technology, innovation, and sexual and reproductive health rights education, Rania fosters sustainable solutions rooted in indigenous knowledge and feminist values. She co-founded the Young SWANA Feminist Collective, which focuses on advancing political empowerment for women and girls in the region, and co-leads the Girl Up Arab World Coalition. For her work, she was named a UNICEF Morocco Climate Champion, UN Women National Gender Activist for Morocco and an Aspen Institute Climate Future Leader, and a UNESCO Women Pioneer in MENA Peacebuilding. She has mobilized + 70K in funds to support young women in SWANA region survive conflict and crisis and leading a helping to provide legal assistance and support for women facing violence in the region. She is aspiring to attend law school and use her degree to protect women from violence internationally. 

Catherine Namara is the founder of the Be A Mentor Community, a network dedicated to empowering women and girls in STEM fields. Her vision is to bridge the gender gap in STEM by providing mentorship, career guidance, and skill-building workshops to young women and girls. Through her initiative, Namara connects experienced women professionals in STEM with mentees, fostering a supportive community that promotes personal and professional growth.

With over a decade of experience in project management and educational outreach, Namara has led initiatives like the Women@Work program at MTN Uganda and served as the STEM Cohort Lead for Girls for Girls (G4G). She holds a Master’s degree in Management Science and is passionate about creating lasting social impact through mentorship.

“As a visionary leader, I strive to empower women and girls to reach their full potential in STEM, creating a more inclusive and innovative future.”